What: Elton John
Where: The Royal Albert Hall, London
When: 22nd September
Reviewed by: Roger Goodgroves

A couple of months ago I wrote a stinging review of Madonna’s gig at the O2 where I compared her and Elton John for their money grabbing, over priced and seen too often tours.

Last night’s gig is where I eat my words (well some of them at least!).

For a start we are in The Royal Albert Hall and not the mega hollow, O2 aircraft hanger. As a result this is and feels like an intimate gig.

Tonight Elton is not in it for the money. In fact he’s giving it all away! This special gig is to raise money for the Royal Academy of Music. Elton studied there before rising to international super stardom. This isn’t the first time he’s raised money for them and that in itself has to be applauded.

Elton managed to keep a straight face whilst saying “I never thought I’d be doing a concert to buy a new organ”. Considering Elton has been fighting the onset of age related impact for many years this is certainly not a given fact.

The other complaint I made against Madonna was the high ticket prices. These were no exception, but this time the money was not only going to a great cause but also Elton (or his wise management) added in some seats starting at £35.

Kicking off the show were members of the Academy itself. They performed (very admirably) a host of “show” related numbers including Elton’s own Circle of Life (from The Lion King) and Solidarity (From Billy Elliot).

An anti-climax in the evening was Elton’s support on his forthcoming tour, Teddy Thompson. There was nothing wrong with what Teddy did, however one man and an acoustic guitar following a zillion” piece orchestra and a Football Cop sized chorus was never going to be easy.

The Royal Albert Hall is my favourite gig venue. There are none of the “protection” crowd barriers at the front of the stage that separate the gig goer from artist. In fact being a horseshoe shape, the wing seats are almost on the stage as can be seen by my photos.

I have seen Elton a couple of times before but never in such an intimate setting. In fact being only about 15 feet away was somewhat bizarre as when he walked on stage (to no fanfare) it felt somewhat odd, almost like he was invading my space or I was a voyeur in his.

This was no greatest hits outing and I am not nearly fan enough to get the full benefit. There were many obscure and seldom played songs filling tonight’s set list. This is not to say it wasn’t enjoyable however I can well imagine that if I was a real fan I would have been in rapture.

Elton sat alone with piano not even centre stage. It almost felt like he was hugging his normal left of stage position as some form of security blanket. Here he was isolated and alone spilling his heart out with many songs of an intense nature. For almost two hours he played alone, his beautiful melodies bringing extra life to the finely crafted lyrics of Bernie Taupin. His stubby fingers defying logic and fully mastering the grand piano in front of him. He is a wonderful musician and undoubted star, however his insecurities surfaced at the end of each song as he rose to take the adulation of the crowd looking like he needed the exchange of energy to power him through the next track.

This was billed as a concert of Elton John and Ray Cooper playing together for the first time since 1995. I was beginning to despair that the vast array of percussion instruments hiding in the shadows behind Elton’s piano would never see the light of day. Eventually my rising disappointment was satisfied. The superb Ray Cooper quietly stepped up to the stage. If you missed his entrance you couldn’t miss his presence. The pounding of the kettle drums announced and continued to herald his arrival. Ray can be subtle and yet in many ways dominating as he adds texture to Elton’s song delivery with his own inimitable flair. All in all a value packed evening that whilst not raising the crowd into dancing in their seats certainly left them feeling fulfilled and having felt like they had been part of something special.

Whilst the afore mentioned Madonna seemed to be “working to rule” with her time keeping and no encore “going through the motions” routine; Elton was onstage for almost three hours. The normal Royal Albert Hall eleven O clock curfew came and went and a few people crept away reluctantly to relieve baby-sitters or to catch the last bus home. OK in reality, judging by the A,B,C1 clientele more like they’d booked the limo ride home assuming a certain finish time and didn’t want to put too much upon the “help”.

My video from the performance can be found below:

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