On the day of the concert itself,11am Squat Sam calls me up (an hour before his final exam paper) saying a friend of his that was going down with him to Singapore for the Elton John concert had to cancel cause a family member got admitted to hospital, could i take her place? Leave for Singapore at 2.30pm. Can or not... Can or not?
I was very hesitant and reluctant because my last mega splurge was just a week ago- my Phuket trip. After much deliberation I said okay. Putting myself into debt before i've even found a freakin job! No one ask me out for anything that costs more than RM5 till at least 2months after i've started work. Thank you.
At 3pm we drove down and Joshie the Pudgie came too, replacing Sam's other friend that last minute wasn't keen to go as well... Tsk tsk- See la, UM Law students. Needs USM and UPM to bail them out.
I drove from Melaka all the way into the Red Dot, and let me tell you, their traffic lights system is SO WEIRD. I was freaking out when i reached a junction, cause though its a green light to turn, cars are still zooming by on the other direction. Scary as hell! Not only that, in the yellow box there's another box where cars were waiting in.
Mind boggling. Basically i think its like this- if you wanna turn, you can do so at any time when your light is green, BUT for cars on the other lane its also green, so it has to be when there's no cars.
To me its just added confusion and it looks messy cause the yellow box has cars randomly stopped in it amidst the traffic lights. Weird. Low Por, can you explain it better?
Anyway, we managed to find our way to the Indoor Stadium using several maps, just in time to change our clothes (in the car) and meet up with Jee Lee at the North Entrance.
We missed about the first 20seconds, searched for our seats and sat back to enjoy the next 2 and a half hours.
The stage layout was pretty simple, but the lighting was fantastic. 6 of them in all - piano, drums, keyboard, guitar, bass and percussions. Sadly, the all-male band is Elton's generation so Jee Lee and I didn't have any eye candy so to speak.
But they were gooooooood.
And the man himself?
Was definitely worth the journey and the money i don't have.
From the moment he began till the very end, it was song after song after song, with him taking turns playing the piano while singing effortlessly, and singing while playing the piano effortlessly.
Some of the songs i wasn't familiar with, but he played loads of golden oldies that i grew up listening to...
True, his voice couldn't hit some of the high parts, like in Daniel, he went low for the last line of the chorus "Daniel, you're a star". I don't evaluate him based on that, cause the dude's 61 years old for goodness sake, it's okay if he can't falsetto. He is still a world class performer and delivered my money's worth, not like some concerts where you leave feeling a tad cheated. To me for his age, he still got it.
When it came to I'm Still Standing, i was really enjoying myself, and he upped it by playing Crocodile Rock
My dad said he watched Elton John perform when he was about my age in London.
Thats 30years ago!
We were at the tier furthest away from the stage, but it was central so i could see the whole stage and Elton John was about half a cm tall maybe? Loved his loud jacket which said Town of Plenty amidst colourful graffiti, and realize when he walks around the stage he looks very stout like a Humpty Dumpty. I really liked that after 2 or 3 songs, he got up and thanked the crowd, acknowledging all sections, not just those directly in front of him.
Some of the great songs he sang:
Bennie and the Jets . Candle In The Wind . Crocodile Rock . I'm Still Standing . Goodbye Yellow Brick Road . I Guess Thats Why They Call It The Blues . Levon . Philadelphia Freedom . Rocket Man . Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word . The Bitch Is Back . Tiny Dancer
For the encore, he did Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me and he wrapped it up beautifully with Your Song.
Phew.
What a night!!!
Our sunglasses tribute.
*Pics courtesy of Jee Lee*
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