Fan report by Stephan Heimbecher. Photos by Michael Sperken.

What a perfect way to kick off the Elton concert season again: This was my first Elton show after the band concerts at London's Wembley Arena in December last year, and the intimacy of the venue, the amazing audience and Elton in superb playing mood very soon turned this into a night to remember.

The crowd on Museumsplatz (a place in between two art museums) of Germany's former capitol Bonn was with Elton from the very beginning and it stayed with him until the very end of the 180 minute set, despite the fact that it was a standing only event and there was a large number of 'older' fans in the audience which must have been exhausted at the end of Elton's musical marathon.

The set was very much the same as during ealier solo tours, but with Elton being in such a great mood, even some of the 'usual songs' sounded fresh and new. As always, one could easily tell from the solos in e.g. "Honky Cat" or "Take Me To The Pilot" that Elton was enjoying this performance.

During the first few songs, his voice sounded a bit like back in Australia in 1986 (shortly before he had the operation), and judging from the combination of his new hair style and the cragged voice, some people in the crowd might have felt like being at an Rod Stewart show. But fortunately his vocal cords warmed up soon.

The first highlight of the evening no doubt was "I'm Still Standing" followed by the always enjoyable "Ticking". But the real climax was when Elton 'Audrey' John performed his beautiful version of "Moon River". It simply was 'to cry for'. I have said this before and I will say it again: Elton's voice is perfect for these kind of songs and I am still waiting for him to perform a special night of Gershwin songs (and other tunes alike) in a small club one day.

A choir of 8,000 Bonn souls joined in for the "lalala" part in "Crocodile Rock" before this night came to and end with the two encores "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me" and "Circle Of Life". The only negative things that come to mind is that in my opinion the synthesizer sounds during e.g. "Carla/Etude" where a bit too prominent. And Elton should think of combining two uptempo tracks here and there instead of making the audience go wild with a fast song and then immediately knocking them down again with a slow number.

The Bonn performance was recorded by German TV station WDR for a future broadcast of "Rockpalast" (air date not yet known). So there is a chance for you to experience this wonderful show even if you haven't been to Bonn last night.

Following is the complete setlist of the Bonn show on June 20, 2003:

• Your Song
  
• Border Song
  
• The Greatest Discovery
  
• Someone Saved My Life Tonight
  
• Ballad Of The Boy In The Red Shoes
  
• Daniel
  
• Mona Lisas And Mad Hatters
  
• Honky Cat
  
• Rocket Man
  
• I'm Still Standing
  
• Ticking
  
• Tiny Dancer
  
• I Want Love
  
• Nikita
  
• Philadelphia Freedom
  
• Candle In The Wind
  
• Moon River
  
• Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word
  
• I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues
  
• Original Sin
  
• This Train Don't Stop There Anymore
  
• Carla/Etude
  
• Tonight
  
• Take Me To The Pilot
  
• The One
  
• Blue Eyes
  
• Bennie And The Jets
  
• Crocodile Rock
  
  
• Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me
  
  
• Circle Of Life
  

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