Fan report and photos by Pierre Raiche.

Wow! That’s the word I have in mind at the moment. I just walked out of the 1st concert in Johannesburg and I must say, it was fantastic. For the past 10 years, I have always wanted to see Elton John live. At many occasions, I was in the same city where Elton was playing but for some reasons, I couldn’t not go to the concert. I missed the show in London in 2004, the one in Montreal in 2001…and so on.

I knew for sure that I would be in Johannesburg in January 2008 so I have decided to please myself and buy tickets for both nights he would play there. It was worth every penny!

Let’s go back to the concert! The event was at the Coca Cola dome, which is the biggest inside venue for such events. The doors opened at 5:30 PM and we were the first people to get in. We were actually the car #4 to enter the parking lot.

We had time to drink a little, buy the program and find our seats. It was a packed house. We were seating on the left side of the stage and we could see the entire band perfectly, a bit far though. I knew I would be far the first night so I made sure to buy excellent seats for the second night.

At 8:06 PM, the lights went out and blue lights came from the ceiling. The first notes of "Funeral for a Friend/Love lies Bleeding" started. We both had tears in our eyes. It had been a dream for me to see this legend play live and he was right in front of me.

He then went on with "The Bitch is Back". Which reminds me that they were sealing caps with “The Bitch is Back” written on top. Before the song even starts, Elton was standing on his piano looking at us. The songs started and he nailed it, well, as usual!

The following song was one of my favorites, "Madman Across The Water". If someone would have told me one year ago that Elton would play that song again in concert, I would not have believed it. Thanks to the birthday set list in New York for that. Elton and the entire band played every single note of that song like the original version. It was amazing.

Then "Tiny Dancer", and one of my favorites, "Believe". The songs started and it just hit me like a wall, it was phenomenal. It was definitely the best song of the show. The following songs were "Take me to the Pilot", "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" and "Daniel". When "Daniel" started, the place went wild. It was nice to see.

Elton was wearing a blue outfit with a print of himself on the back in a crocodile’s month which I thought was so nice. The concert went on and he played all his hits one after another. Being a huge fan, I know the piano routines and the little things that he does before or after each song, but he was still able to impress me by doing new things that I have never heard before. The intros for "Levon" and "Take me to the Pilot" were totally different than the ones I knew.

"Rocket Man" was wonderful. I am not a big fan of that song but I must say that the jam the band did towards the end of the song is breathtaking. I can still hear Elton saying out loud R.O.C.K.E and T!

"Someone Saved My Life Tonight", "Candle in the Wind" and "Circle of Life". Before playing "Circle of Life", he told the audience that for the past four years, he and David had been coming to South Africa to experience the Kruger Park and the wild life that there is. He confessed that the song reminds him of it and that Africa is the best place to play it. I hadn’t hear that song live in years, it turned out to be one of the highlights of the show with the two giant screens showing some parts of the movie.

Through the entire concert, we were dancing and having fun, I thought that the people were not very participating but I was, which was the important thing. When "I’m Still Standing" started, I couldn’t stay sitting. I stood up and danced the night away. Elton definitely rocked the place with "Crocodile Rock" and "Saturday Night's Alright". I had so much fun! During "Saturday Night's Alright", I phoned my father and left the phone for the entire song, he didn’t want to hang up, Elton sounded so good!

The entire band disappeared backstage with Elton and eventually came back two minutes later for the encore. Elton thanked us for being so great and mostly thanked the people in the front standing up through the entire concert. He then sang "Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me" and he finished with an honest version of "Your Song". At one point before the encore, he turned around putting his two hands behind his ears pretending he could not hear the screams. It didn’t take 10 seconds that the place was going crazy!

The concert was great, the sound was great, Elton had fun and played with the audience a lot. I cried at the first note of "Funeral for a Friend" and at the beginning of "Believe". I am warning people, if you are going to see Elton live, it is very addicting and you will want more. That’s why I also went to the second concert the following night.

>> Click here for photos from this show.

Following is the complete set list of the Johannesburg show on January 18, 2008:

• Funeral For A Friend
  
• Love Lies Bleeding
  
• The Bitch Is Back
  
• Madman Across The Water
  
• Tiny Dancer
  
• Levon
  
• Believe
  
• Take Me To The Pilot
  
• Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
  
• Daniel
  
• Rocket Man
  
• Honky Cat
  
• Sacrifice
  
• Someone Saved My Life Tonight
  
• I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues
  
• Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word
  
• Candle In The Wind
  
• Circle Of Life
  
• Benny And The Jets
  
• Philadelphia Freedom
  
• Sad Songs (Say So Much)
  
• I'm Still Standing
  
• Crockodile Rock
  
• Saturday Night's Alright (For Fighting)
  
  
• Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me
  
• Your Song

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