Fan report by Tanja Friend.

On such a hot day as it is today, it’s nearly impossible to imagine how stormy and cold it was last Thursday July 3, 2003 when we went to the south of Sweden to see another concert with Elton John.

It truly was a very wild experience. Just as it was with Sundsvall, we probably would never have gone to Christinehof in our lives, if not for Elton.

The Christinehof castle is situated in the middle of nowhere. In order to get there we took the commuter train to Stockholm, an express train to Lund, an express bus to Tomelilla, a local bus to Eljaröd, and then we walked in pouring rain for about two hours.

But we got there! My husband Ronnie and I stayed at the hotel in Tomelilla, while our friend Carola enjoyed the hay in a stable in one of the youth hostels of Eljaröd. It seemed like everyone had some sort of transportation to get to the castle. Everyone but us. We walked on the road, while cars were passing by one by one.

We had seats in the so called "Golden Circle." There were only 30 rows of seats, which were separated from the standing area by a fence. Our seats were in the 25th row. Actually, not too bad, considering the fact that we never sat throughout the concert. First, who wants to sit when Elton John’s playing? Second, who wants to freeze on cold wet seats? After all, we all had flowers to give to Elton, and we were waiting for a chance to do so.

Before the concert we talked to a security guard, who said that they would allow us to come to the stage after "Crocodile Rock". The stage itself was the highest we’ve ever experienced – way over our heads! Probably that’s why Elton was seen so well even from the 25th row.

The concert was amazing! Elton wore a blue suit and dark glasses. The next day, they wrote in some paper, that Elton must have been the only person in Sweden wearing sunglasses that rainy afternoon! But Elton seemed to have fun despite the dreadful weather. He said that he would "try to justify our bravery" of coming to see him play in the rain. And he did indeed perform marvelously.

A nice surprise followed "Border Song". Elton actually played "The One", which was probably the highlight of the whole show for us, as it is our favorite song. "The Greatest Discovery" never made its way back into the set list. And "Someone Saved My Life Tonight" was so cute with the funny way Elton’s been singing "didn’t you, de-ah …"

When we saw Elton play in Sundsvall, he had a bad cold and therefore shortened the instrumental parts of "Honky Cat", "I’m Still Standing" and "Take Me To The Pilot", and omitted half of the second verse in "Moon River". This time, however, he put his whole soul into playing, and his voice was crystal clear.

Nearly after every song Elton stood up, bowed and thanked the audience. He also was quite talkative, introducing songs a little differently from the other concerts. He said that Robert Downey Jr. played him in the video of "I Want Love", which was "very nice." And when introducing "This Train Don’t Stop There Anymore", Elton said that Justin Timberlake played him in that video, and that he (Elton) "is getting younger with every video."

It seemed like "Candle in the Wind" was the highlight for the audience, who couldn’t stop clapping and even rose from their seats. The line "when the rain set in" pretty much described the mood of the concert. It was indeed pouring rain, and some guy from the crew came on stage before "Carla/Etude" to wipe off the rain puddles gathered on the plastic covering, in which the whole piano was wrapped. That made Elton laugh. And with a grin on his face he performed the instrumental songs.


As usual we had signs and posters at the concerts. And this time they unfortunately got wrecked in the rain. Our clothes were soaked through. And my Elton John cap grew heavy and dribbling on my head… It was still so fun. We ran to the stage during "Take Me To the Pilot", and stayed there right until the end. Elton’s extended piano solo during "Pilot" even included a rocky version of "Song for Guy!" "Bennie and the Jets" was also simply fantastic! And after Crocodile Rock Elton accepted flowers from us.

It was also very beautiful to see the rain through the lights of different colors. Several times it even seemed as if it was snowing… Who knows, maybe it was.

The crowd kept moving around. People were coming in and out, grabbing hot drinks or sandwiches, others were "hopping and bopping to the Crocodile Rock" with us. Elton only signed one autograph (lucky someone!). My guess is that he didn’t really want to come to the edge of the stage in fear of getting wet. But the stage was also very high, which meant that Elton had to get on his knees and lean forward to even accept our flowers.

As always, whenever the concert ends I become sad. This concert was not an exception. When will we see Elton again? Will he even tour for another couple of years? Elton is truly the best musician and performer in the world. He has been on tours since 99, pretty much non-stop. He deserves a break. But I don’t want him to stop. Seeing Elton in concert and looking forward to seeing him keeps me going and helps me to live everyday life. Elton, please, keep on going!

With the end of this concert, our adventure did not end, however. I know, it’s hard to believe, but we were literally stuck in the middle of nowhere. There were no buses to get us to Tomelilla, and it would be impossible to walk at night, in mud and rain for probably 10 hours. My husband and I stood at the parking lot, trying to get a taxi, but everything was either full or pre-ordered. In a couple of hours, the last car was gone. And it rained so heavily, and it was so cold, but it also was pitch black.

There was a drunk somewhere close. And I got so scared. I kept expecting someone to spring from behind a tree with a knife. It was so dreadful. And we were trying to reach the taxi office by phone, but it seemed like all the taxis were taken. Actually, I couldn’t make out their Southern Swedish, and they couldn’t make out my Swedish or English. How difficult can it be to order a cab? It can be impossible from the middle of nowhere.

So we started walking, in pure darkness, on the road of mud, in the rain. But we didn’t care about getting wet or dirty. We were very scared. And at that moment we actually regretted coming to Christinehof at all. But we ordered the taxi somehow, after what seemed hours of calling the office and trying to make out the Swedish of Southern Sweden. We were happy to pay as much as that driver wanted. We did get to the hotel sometime around 2 a.m. at night, all dirty and wet, tired and yet happy. Too bad we didn’t have many extra clothes. The next day we "enjoyed" our damp jeans and coats. Some Elton stuff even got ruined in the rain, things we wanted him to autograph… But it was truly nice to get back to the hotel.

And now, sitting here at the computer in a nice warm apartment, it seems like there has never been any rain at all. Why is it so hot now, when it was so stormy on Thursday?

And now, it feels that the nightmare of that night was worth the happiness and joy of seeing our favorite artist Elton John. It was worth everything. And I think I could go through it again, if it meant that we would see Elton. Thank you, Elton!

Following is the complete set list from the Christinehof show on July 3, 2003:

• Your Song
  
• Border Song
  
• The One
  
• Someone Saved My Life Tonight
  
• Ballad Of The Boy In The Red Shoes
  
• Daniel
  
• Mona Lisas And Mad Hatters
  
• Honky Cat
  
• Rocket Man
  
• I'm Still Standing
  
• Ticking
  
• Tiny Dancer
  
• I Want Love
  
• Sacrifice
  
• Philadelphia Freedom
  
• Candle In The Wind
  
• Moon River
  
• Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word
  
• I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues
  
• This Train Don't Stop There Anymore
  
• Carla/Etude
  
• Tonight
  
• Take Me To The Pilot
  
• Bennie And The Jets
  
• Crocodile Rock
  
  
• Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me
  
  
• Circle Of Life