04 December 2014 (gig)
05 December 2014
Elton John ended the show with the song ‘Circle Of Life’ from the very successful ‘Lion King’ a phrase that perfectly represents the show.
Forty years on from Elton’s Double album ‘Goodbye Yellow Brick Road’, which is central to the fabulous body of work he released in the 70’s, to the horrible music of the 80’s, to the re-evaluation of himself as an artist and getting back with his bard Bernie Taupin in the 90’s, to Sir Elton John the ambassador of Aids, Gay Pride, husband, father and guru to artists suffering addictions, he is back on stage with his band here in Milan now in 2014,having come full circle, still with that enigmatic smile, that twinkle in his eye.
Elton is raring to perform, you can sense it, holding fort on stage, never leaving his piano except to milk his applause from the very appreciative Milanesi crowd. Leading a five piece band with original members from the GYBR album, Davey Johnstone on guitar, Nigel Olsson on drums (the late Dee Murray on bass replaced by Matt Bissonette) it’s a pleasure to appraise what a wonderful musician he is, his Yamaha piano a ‘collant’ for the band as they skillfully tackle ballads, boogie, rock’n’roll, blues licks etc that make up the really great set list. Obviously starting off with side one of the GYBR album is magnificent (especially for me, it being along with Thin Lizzy’s ‘Jailbreak’ the first album ever bought).
‘Love Lies Bleeding’, ‘Bennie & the Jets’, ‘Candle in the Wind’; Wow!
The rest of the set is brilliant, as part of his circle of life, Elton has been able to assess what is good and what is not in his vast repertoire. His voice is true, and even if more baritone than the years of youth, it’s stronger than McCartney’s for example. Like Bowie, he reinterprets each and every song, rephrasing lines, not just singing them so that certain songs one may consider twee at times like ’Sorry seems to be the hardest word’ are given weight and significance.
He plays 2 songs solo, ‘The One’ dedicated to Gianni Versace and ‘Your Song’ dedicated obviously to every soul on the planet.
Elton said he has never felt happier, more at ease on stage than now and it’s easy to believe him.
There are no more costume changes, dazzling glasses and crasy hats, drug fuelled emotional scenes etc it’s all about the music and it’s up there with the very best.
Setlist Milan 4/12/14
•
1. Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding
2. Bennie and the Jets
3. Candle in the Wind
4. All the Girls Love Alice
5. Levon
6. Tiny Dancer
7. Believe
8. Daniel
9. Philadelphia Freedom
10. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
11. Rocket Man (I Think It's Going to Be a Long, Long Time)
12. Hey Ahab
13. I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues
14. The One
(Elton solo on the Piano without the Band)
15. Your Song
16. Burn Down the Mission
17. Sad Songs (Say So Much)
18. Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word
19. Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me
20. The Bitch Is Back
21. I'm Still Standing
22. Your Sister Can't Twist (But She Can Rock 'n Roll)
23. Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting
encore
24. Crocodile Rock
25. Circle of Life / Can You Feel the Love Tonight?
