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Elton John & orchestra performed in New York City on July 13, 2004
Wednesday, July 14 2004 |
A Criminal, a King, Freaks....and Renee! - Fan report by Rich Joline. Plus a fan report by Tony Centofante.
 The man finally brought his magic to the big stage at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on July 13, 2004, and once again Elton John has reaffirmed himself as the greatest performer of all time.
A show for true fans, this die hard was hardly disappointed. He simply walked on stage to warm applause, told us a bit about how the show would be different than the past, and got on with it.
The opening numbers from the Elton John album set the tone and off we went. The band, looking and sounding as happy and solid as ever, led the charge and the backing of those wonderful young musicians and singers helped propel Elton through some of the all time classics.
"The Greatest Discover", "Burn Down the Mission" and "Madman" blew me away! "Believe", a staple in the Red Piano, was nearly as incredible as "Holiday Inn".
Another reviewer put it just right - he seemed to embrace that tune like an old friend. I thought for a second we were going to get the "french fry" verse.
He played air guitar while Davey was rocking "Have mercy on the Criminal", told us he hadn't played "The King Must Die" in the US for 32 years before blasting through it, and got many of us excited with a the preview from "Peachtree Road", a bluesy but oh-so-Elton "Freaks in Love."
He finally sent us all away with sounds from heaven as the fabulous voice of Renne Fleming floated through the acoustically perfect hall, telling us "how wonderful life is..."
On at least two occasions he mentioned how old he felt/is getting. Well that goes for all of us,and that is why I will attend the remaining four shows before scooting out the Nevada next weekend for the third time!
Thank You Elton for yet another evening I will never forget!
Following is the complete set list from the New York City show on July 13, 2004:
- Sixty Years On
- The Greatest Discovery
- I Need You To Turn To
- Border Song
- The King Must Die
- Burn Down The Mission
- Believe
- Come Down In Time
- Tell Me When The Whistle Blows
- Tiny Dancer
- Madman Across The Water
- Holiday Inn
- Levon
- Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word
- This Train Don't Stop There Anymore
- Freaks In Love
- Philadelphia Freedom
- Have Mercy On The Criminal
- Carla/Etude
- Tonight
- Take Me To The Pilot
- Saturday Night's Alright (For Fighting)
- Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me
- Your Song
Fan report by Tony Centofante
On July 13, 2004 we used frequent flyer miles for the one night trip to New York to witness history. Elton John and Orchestra ... in America for the first time ... in Radio City Music Hall for the first time.
In addition to the concert ticket, we also purchased tickets to the Radio City Music Hall Stage Door Tour at 1:00 p.m. that day. The reason for doing this should be obvious ... we were hoping to see Elton John at soundcheck. No such luck. But, it was great to see the venue beforehand. We also saw them setting up the concert souvenirs and there were still ladders on the stage.
Also, we got to talk to several members of the orchestra as part of the tour. The tour guide confirmed Elton was probably "already here" and that the two tours after us would not be allowed to go into the seating area because of soundcheck.
After dinner and seeing a great TV taping of David Letterman with Will Smith as guest, it was time to go to the venue. We arrived about 15 minutes before the show and the seating area was almost empty. We anticipated the show would be starting late but at 7:55 p.m. the orchestra and choir members took their seats and at 8:05 p.m. Elton walked out onto the stage.
Instead of starting with music, this show started differently with Elton talking directly to the audience explaining the format of the show. It's funny how he said that he did an album in Australia with an orchestra and wanted to do it here never explaining why it took only 18 years before it finally happened!
I am perplexed by other reviewers who found this concert "perfect" and "flawless" because it's not the same concert I saw. It was definitely historically significant but far from a triumph. I'll take witnessing history anyday but I am sure that all four concerts following this one sounded better.
The first sign of trouble came during Elton's announcement when you could hear the sound of an open mic buzzing. Not unexpected I suppose since it is the first night and there are over 150 mics on stage.
"Sixty Years On" opened the show and was full of sound problems. Clive Franks was definitely having problems finding the right mix. Elton could be seen talking to the techs after this one.
Well, that's okay. Things will get better, right? Well, in the middle of "The Greatest Discovery" Elton's vocals suddenly added an echo. It was as if Clive Franks flicked a switch right in the middle of the song. It was quite distracting.
The next few songs sounded better but you could see Elton talking to the techs after almost every song. This show was starting to resemble the first One Night Only show I attended at MSG in 2000. Remember it was on that night Elton was having so many technical problems he made another one of his famous retirement announcements.
After six songs from 1970, it was great to hear "Believe" and this was the first time during the show I thought the orchestra nailed it. And it was great to hear a song from the 90's to establish that the orchestra has been an integral part of Elton's entire catalog.
"Come Down In Time" was next and seemed out of place in the setlist. "Tell Me When The Whistle Blows" was the next disappointment. Elton butchered this one. For some reason, he was oversinging it and drowning out the orchestra. What makes the original so good is the vocals are understated allowing the orchestra to take full effect. Not tonight.
Well, almost an hour into the show and I'm telling you that, at this point, this show was in danger of getting away from Elton and turning into a big disappointment. And for those of you who think I'm wrong, the way Elton quickly announced "The Madman section is next" you could tell he was not happy.
But from then on, everything started to click into place. "Tiny Dancer" was strong and the New York crowd started to energize after being a little subdued to start. "Madman Across The Water" was strong and made me wish it would be performed more often live. "Holiday Inn" and "Levon" continued the momentum. An interesting sidenote, the concert program (maybe the best one ever done by David Costa) specifically states that "All The Nasties" is part of the setlist. Imagine what the choir could do with that one!
Elton's mood had improved significantly by this point. He next said "We are going to introduce everyone on stage ... well, not everyone as we will be here until next week." He then mistakenly said this was a gayla event instead of gala event. Then, corrected himself to say with him it would be a gayla.
"Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word" and "This Train Don't Stop There Anymore" were next. I actually booed after the second one drawing the ire of those around me. Why does anyone like this song? Do you know what the lyric is about ... it's about Elton being a has been. And anyone in attendance at the Radio City Music Hall knows Elton is still significant. He should have played "Original Sin" instead.
Someone who reads the internet then yelled out "Philadelphia Freedom" to which Elton replied "Hold on...it's coming." But, before that the world premiere of "Freaks In Love" and instantly those who saw the orchestra shows in the UK are envious. Since this show was taped for Bravo cable in November, it makes sense this song was played since it will be a single then. It's another winner.
Next, someone yelled "Empty Garden". Nice that someone would keep the memory of John Lennon alive in New York City. Unfortunately, not part of the setlist. But, "Have Mercy On The Criminal" and "Carla/Tonight" were done well.
I swear I heard a little snippet of "Written In The Stars" as part of the piano intro to "Take Me To The Pilot". Perhaps Elton giving a little nod to Aida that is soon concluding a successful five year Broadway run.
"Saturday Night's Alright (For Fighting)" was disappointing only in that the orchestra was only used at the start and end of the song. "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me" was powerful.
And then the little surprise at the end with Renee Fleming duetting on "Your Song". A little awkward in that her first verse was "And if I was a man who made potions..." and it also seemed as though the opera singer was restraining herself. I think it would have sounded better if she tried to take it the song to another level.
10:25 p.m. and this wildly uneven but historically significant spectacle came to an end. Our flight the next night was canceled by thunderstorms and we had to spend the night at LaGuardia but I still have no regrets. Thank you Elton for finally bringing this show to America and keep your word that you will occasionally do more of them.
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