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Elton John and band performed in Würzburg on July 14, 2012
Monday, July 16 2012 |
Fan report by Mireille Herz.
Elton started the show a few minutes before 7:30pm at July 14, 2012. The beautiful Würzburg Residenzplatz was still flooded with bright sunlight. Just half an hour ago, the dark rains clouds had vanished and given way to a bright blue evening sky. We later learnt that “2Cellos” were scheduled as warm-up act from 7:30pm to 7:45pm but Elton decided to go on stage straight away because there had been problems with his flights to Würzburg. He feared that if he did not start the show at 7:30pm, he might not be able to return home afterwards.
When Elton hit the first keys to start off with “Saturday Night’s Alright”, many spectators were apparently taken by surprise and thus rushed to their seats. Halfway into the song, the sold-out town square was packed with people. Elton was wearing all black and blue attire – matching shirt, pants, glasses, and shoes. Over the back of his coat was printed a huge glittering “Z” for Zachary.
I will not go into detail about every single song because we have heard most of them in the one or the other version plenty of times. “Grey Seal” and “Levon” rocked quite hard which neither I nor the audience expected. A Würzburg newspaper reported the day after that people had come to see Elton John expecting a quiet show with loads of his famous ballads. What they got – at least for the first half hour – was highly danceable rock music. And dancing was allowed. The fans kept standing from the first bar, and no-one asked us to sit down – a nice change from often stiff audiences and harsh security restrictions.
Elton remained rather quiet in-between songs, only saying a few sentences or a “Dankeschön” throughout the show. His longest speech came after the first few songs: Elton explained that their first gig in Würzburg is 11 years ago to the day. “So: See you again in 11 another years”, he concluded. During band introduction, Elton noted that today is Bob Birch’s birthday and played a quick “Happy Birthday” with the audience singing.
As the shows last year already suggested, the 2Cellos and the four female singers are a great addition to the Elton John Band. “I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues” sounded much fresher with the interaction and dueting between Elton and the background singers.
At about 10:15pm Elton left the stage for good. He happily accepted a stuffed toy and picture book from a fan as a gift to bring home for Zachary.
Following is the complete set list of the Würzburg show on July 14, 2012:- Saturday Night's Alright (For Fighting)
- Bennie And The Jets
- Grey Seal
- Levon
- Tiny Dancer
- Mona Lisas And Mad Hatters
- Philadelphia Freedom
- Candle In The Wind
- Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
- Rocket Man
- Hey Ahab
- I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues
- Sacrifice
- Funeral For A Friend
- Love Lies Bleeding
- Honky Cat
- Sad Songs (Say So Much)
- Daniel
- Nikita (solo)
- Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word (solo)
- Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me
- I'm Still Standing
- The Bitch Is Back
- Crocodile Rock
- Your Song
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