Elton John review. McDiarmid Park, 6 july 2008.

photo by J.Baker.


Sunday Night Is Alright For Elton:

You know how they talk about old school pro's being able to work an audience, construct a set, project there personality and fill every corner of the auditorium? Well never a truer word could be said about Elton John. The man is an icon, as soon as the short figure enters with that trademark waddle, you know you're going to get a show. Not the warmist of July nights but the rain held off (always a bonus at an outside concert). His set started at a leisurely pace as you sensed this was just things warming up, his voice sounds stronger than ever since his throat operation which has also given him a lower tone, (tenor to baritone) Elton is one of the few who's voice has got better as he has got older. He genuinely seemed happy to be there, was engaging in his banter and was only too happy to don the odd hat thrown onto the stage. Soon the hits were flowing fast and furious, the crowd were singing & dancing in the aisles and as the night darkened the light show came into it's own. The band were excellent with Scottish guitarist Davey Johnstone getting the loudest cheer of the introductions! The evening climaxed with an encore of two favourites, "Pinball Wizzard" & "Your Song" it was worth the wait and even with the total running time well over two hours, it was over before you knew it.
This was Elton's only Scottish date in a tour that takes in Venice, Las Vegas, Paris and London and with it also being the debut concert held at McDiarmid Park, most of the audience were only too appreciative to have witnessed this little piece of local history.
The only negative for Elton is that he backed the wrong horse in the recent US Democrat Presidential candidate election but then again he is a Watford fan! "Oh when the saints ...."

Elton John in Perth?

I cannee believe it, Elton John in Perth, Scotland this weekend! He's in Venice on Wednesday and a string of dates in Caesars Palace from the end of the month, it makes perfect sense to stop off in Perth on the way, lol. This will be the first concert that has been held at McDiarmid Park (home of St.Johnstone FC) and I hope the first of many. I know for a fact that they've been approached in the past to put on concerts and they've always been reluctant, instead opting for the likes of Jehovah witness conventions, so I hope it's a great success. We've recently seen a new concert hall in Perth built with a 1600 max capacity and with McDiarmid holding up to 10,000, Scone Palace used for concerts for the first time last year, maybe we'll see some more? Just need to get a bit more contemporary (on a regular basis) and we'll be laughing! I'm not a huge fan but I will certainly be going along, there's no doubt he has written some great songs over the years, " Your Song" is still an all time favourite (even been known to belt it out a couple of times myself) although I've got reservations about the support Richard Fleeshman ( Craig the goth - from Coronation Street), his singles are fairly unobtrusive, however with his debut peaking at number 78 in the charts last year and the follow up not even charting he's done well to even get this gig! Good chance I'll be at the bar.

After bigging up Andy Murray in the last blog, he finally hit a brick wall in Rafeal Nadal and we've now this weekend got the unsurprising final of Nadal vs Federer. Murray's game against Richard Gasquet had everything, it was great to see the crowd so enthusiastically behind him and there has been no back lash! Another beacon of hope for the future has been the emergence of 14 year old Laura Robson who has progressed through to the girls final where she faces 17 year old Noppawan Lertcheewakarn. Glad I never followed my enthusiasm down to the bookies anyway, what with the tennis & the football I would truly be a poor man now.

Been a busy week on the networking sites, I've been setting up this page (more disc space than agelfire) and have recently rediscovered Friends reunited, they have done away with the subscription fee so its now free to search and chat. A lot of us signed up once but how many could be bothered to renew and pay again? so good move FR. You sometimes wonder if its wise digging in the past but I've had great fun hooking up with old friends some of whom it's been nearly 20 years without contact. I had a great weekend in May catching up again with a pal and his family back in London, there was regret there had been a gap but it was like picking up where we left off. We get a little older & wiser but the things you liked about them then you still like today (and the things you didn't like then, you're more tolerant of now) and I look forward to catching up with some more old friends in the future. The internet certainly makes the world smaller when you've got no address or a phone number. Have also updated the tune of the week on Bebo blog ( see link on left) which this week is......

go and have a look!