Last week I went to see Elton John on the opening night of the
brand new First Direct Arena in Leeds. The wait for this arena has been a long
time coming but the wait was certainly worth it. As a Leeds resident I’ve
always had to travel down to either Sheffield or Manchester arena to see my favourite
bands play which has always been a bit of a hassle and caused more expense. So
I’m very excited that the new arena is now up and running!
The arena itself is
a very modern, state-of-the-art building, with a 13, 500 seating capacity. I
must admit, at first glance the building is very peculiar – it looks almost
futuristic, like a strange looking space ship. The front of the building
features multi-coloured lights which are lit up at night and change colour –
the colours that night were very vibrant and bright, possibly to reflect the
flamboyant style of Elton John. Inside the arena, the seats are set out very
much like an amphitheatre. They are arranged in a semicircle, as opposed to a
circle like in most arenas, allowing everybody to face the stage directly. This
arrangement is supposed to make everyone feel closer to the stage and provide
good views from wherever you are sat. So the further away your seat, the
steeper it got!
The show kicked off with a performance from support act
2Cellos, who played a few of their own numbers before being joined by members
of Elton’s band followed by the man himself. Opening number ‘The Bitch Is Back’
got the night off to a swinging start, followed by the crowd pleasing ‘Benny
and the Jets’ which managed to get a fair amount of people up on their feet. I
must say, Elton and his band sounded brilliant and the sound system in the
arena was fantastic – my ears were still buzzing a day later. For his first
concert back after having his appendix removed, he put on an amazing show as
ever. His recent illness certainly hadn’t hindered any of his showmanship and
he most definitely proved he was a worthy choice for the official opening, powering
through a massive 26 song set and playing for almost 3 hours.
He played a string of hits from his back catalogue,
including 'Tiny Dancer', 'Candle in the Wind' and 'Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me',
as well as two new songs from his upcoming album ‘The Diving Board.’ Needless
to say, whatever he played went down a storm. He also played my personal favourite 'I’m
Still Standing, during which fans were invited to stand right up next to the
stage, followed by the equally lively 'Crocodile Rock' and 'Saturday Night’s
Alright For Fighting.' Before closing the show with Your Song, Elton returned to
the stage to sign some autographs for fans standing at the front of the stage.
I have never seen any musician do this at a concert before, but I thought it
was exceptionally cool of him to take the time to stop and do that. The chance
to get anything signed by someone as legendary as Elton John is pretty slim, so
I commend him for giving people that opportunity. He is clearly an artist who
appreciates his fans and that was so nice to see. If you ever get the chance to
go and see him in concert I would urge you to go; you are guaranteed a great
performance and a fantastic show.
Below is a short video from the show. Enjoy!
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