Fan report by Simon Gambling.

There was another great "Red Piano" performance in Birmingham on December 16, 2008. I won’t go into too many details on the songs as we all know the routine of this sort of concert now.

As soon as "Bennie And The Jets" began I could tell the sound quality was ten times better than the first night he played here (the first concert of the "Red Piano" tour). It was a real improvement and Elton, wearing his Treasure Hunter jacket, has never looked or sounded better – certainly no signs of bronchitis!

He told us all he was “going to have a lot fun, I’m in a great mood then dived into "Philadelphia Freedom". Everything seemed so much more relaxed tonight compared to the last time he was here, inflatables on stage went up and down like clockwork, the lighting was even better and there was a lot more “production” in the screen to the left and right of the stage.

"Rocket Man" was outstanding, Davey was much more prominent on guitar and the neon light at the bottom of the big screen flashed throughout, giving the song drama and impact.

There seemed to be many more people allowed on stage during "Saturday Night’s Alright (For Fighting)" – I noticed Elton got slightly lost towards the end of it but it didn’t really show.

"I’m Still Standing" was great as well – he sang this in the style of his solo shows which made the contrast between his voice and the band sound fantastic.

At the end of the night Elton finished by saying “I’ll see you all again sometime, I’m not quite sure where I’ll be next year…but I’ll be around somewhere” then went into "Your Song".

Following is the complete set list of the Birmingham show on December 16, 2008:

• Bennie and the Jets
  
• Philadelphia Freedom
  
• Believe
  
• Daniel
  
• Rocket Man
  
• I Guess That's Why They Call They Call It The Blues
  
• Someone Saved My My Life Tonight
  
• Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
  
• Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word
  
• Tiny Dancer
  
• Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me
  
• Candle In The Wind
  
• Pinball Wizard
  
• The Bitch Is Back
  
• I'm Still Standing
  
• Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting
  
• Your Song

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