Fan report and photos by Annelies and Patricia.

When we entered the Zenith we were surprised by how small the venue was. We went to our seats which were on the front row right in front of Davey! We already knew this was going to be a night to remember.

The two front rows seemed to be all Rocket members and there were people there from all over the world (Spanish, Italians, British, Americans, Germans and us: Belgians). The people on the first rows were so enthusiastic and this enthusiasm spread all over the venue right from the first notes.

The show started off with "Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding" which gave us goosebumps. During this song we were clapping our hands off and apparently Davey noticed how enthousiastic we were and threw Patricia a guitar pick.

Elton spoke quite a lot of French which pleased the crowd a lot of course. He and the band seemed to be in a great mood and the sound was just fantastic. Elton did a solo version of "Circle of Life" as the musical is about to premiere in Paris saying that writing that song was for him a life-changing experience and that it’s one of his favourite songs.

After "Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word" the crowd went wild and everybody tried to get a place in front of the stage. We made it to the first row and had a great view of the band and Elton’s remarkable shoes (black with white glitters). During one of the songs, Davey got up and gave Patricia a few pics which she all dropped because she was gobsmacked by his sudden appearance right in front of her. Later we managed to pick one up.

Elton played the intro of “La Marseillaise” (the French national anthem) before playing "Crocodile Rock" - which made the crowd go wild once again. Suddenly, somewhere near the end, John Mahon came from behind his percussions and took Bob Birch’s place behind the microphone and started singing along.

During the entire concert Bob and Davey kept smiling and making signs to us, which was a lot of fun. Elton took a lot of time at the end of the concert before the encores to shake hands and sign all the things people held up (like tourist guides of Paris). We managed to grab his hand which was the highlight of the evening, a thing to always remember – short said: a very, very, very nice experience.

Before your song the band changed clothes and came on stage again. We absolutely have to mention Bob’s outfit which was funny to say the least, being a Los Angeles shirt, a wide and white pair of shorts and Cat’s boots.

All in all this was most likely one of the best concerts we ever had, the venue was superb (small and cosy), Elton rocks and the band rulez!

Following is the complete set list of the Paris show on September 11, 2007:

• Funeral For A Friend
  
• Love Lies Bleeding
  
• The Bitch Is Back
  
• Hercules
  
• Madman Across The Water
  
• Tiny Dancer
  
• Daniel
  
• Rocket Man
  
• Honky Cat
  
• Sacrifice
  
• I Guess That’s Why They Call It the Blues
  
• Burn Down The Mission
  
• The Bridge
  
• Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word
  
• Circle Of Life
  
• Bennie And The Jets
  
• Philadelphia Freedom
  
• Something About The Way You Look Tonight
  
• Are You Ready For Love
  
• Sad Songs (Say So Much)
  
• I’m Still Standing
  
• Crocodile Rock
  
• Saturday Night’s (Alright for Fighting)
  
• Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me
  
• Your Song

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