Elton makes Saturday night alright
All roads led to Ashley Down on Saturday night, as thousands of Elton John fans made their way to Gloucestershire County Cricket Club to see the world-famous star play the first ever-concert on the ground.
This was a concert for people of all ages. There were mums and dads with their young children, groups of students, 30-somethings wearing pink cowboy hats with frivolous abandon, and grey-haired music lovers who could dance with the best of them.
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In Nevil Road, unofficial temporary stalls had been set up that were doing a brisk trade in ponchos as the rain began to fall at about 6pm, but then returned to selling glow sticks, bunny ears and the aforementioned pink cowboy hats, one of which was thrown onstage and Sir Elton placed on his grand piano for most of the night before wearing it for Your Song, the last song of the night.
"I've never looked so butch," he joked, before saying that it would form part of next season's kit for Watford, the football club where he is honorary life president.
There were a few Watford kits among the crowd, and these yellow shirts were among the less colourful outfits that included feather boas, wigs, oversize glasses (some of which also started flashing as the night drew in) and, of course, the cowboy hats in a variety of outlandish colours.
Most of the 10,000 fans sat on the outfield of the ground, with seats placed directly onto the grass, which felt like a carpet underfoot it was so pristine.
Above our heads, several hot air balloons glided serenely past as support act Richard Fleeshman played. Back on terra firma, Sir Elton and his band were dwarfed by the huge stage, and for those who could not see the musicians, two giant screens on either side broadcast live footage, including from a camera on Sir Elton's piano that showed just what a phenomenal player he is.
The sound was crisp, the songs were note-perfect, and Sir Elton sung them all with passion and vigour.
The drama queen also endeared himself to his many fans by taking several minutes to sign many items handed to him by audience members as he returned to for the encore.
One of the few gripes on the night were the long queues for food and drink, some of which were well over half-an-hour long.
There was also plenty of work for the stewards, who were told to get everybody standing up to sit down, before their job was made redundant as the sun set and every single member of the crowd had risen to their feet.
Many of the more adventurous fans were standing from the start, and it was a game of cat and mouse, as the stewards told them to sit down as they were blocking the view of people behind them, they sat down, and then stood up again as the stewards walked away.
Fans embraced the concert for what it was – an evening of high camp with timeless pop songs that span generations.
And to keep that memory fresh, for sale after the concert was a CD of the show, ready for collection mere minutes after the closing bars of Your Song, as the fireworks exploded in the night sky above Ashley Down.
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by Louise, Cornwall
Friday, July 03 2009, 1:46PM
“I have seen Sir Elton in concert 5 times now and took my 9 year old daughter to this concert - it was the best ever and 'skyline pigeon' made it perfect. I look forward to seeing him again in 2011 with Billy Joel - maybe he'll perform at a venue closer to Cornwall!!
The back of the ticket says that 'people around you may stand' - but even knowing that it still makes it difficult when no one around you stands. My daughter and I were singing along and dancing in our seats for a while but then we just had to stand up - we wanted to dance and see Elton on the stage - we didn't go there to watch a screen - we could do that at home!”
by Michael, Arlingham, Glos
Saturday, June 20 2009, 8:19AM
“I went to the sir elton john concert with 5 other freinds after spending the day inn bristol, and we bought 6 pink cowboy hats such as mentioned in the article, and it was a freind of mines idea to present elton with one of our pink hats so my freind james gave his hat to elton john and that was the hat elton wore on stage for 'your song' and the same hat he was playing about with on his piano.”
by Michael, Arlingham, Glos
Saturday, June 20 2009, 8:15AM
“Me and 5 other freinds went to the Sir Elton John concert and we bought those pink hats featured in the article, and my freind gave one off our pink hat to elton on stage and that was the hat he wore for 'your song' and was playing around with it on his piano!”
by Sara, Wakefield, Rhode Island U.S.A.
Thursday, June 18 2009, 1:15AM
“George in Bristol your an ass , and wouldn't know great music if you tripped over it !! Hail to the piano God !!! Love you Elton”
by Sarah, Little Stoke, Bristol
Monday, June 15 2009, 9:13PM
“What's the point of going to a concert, if all you are going to do is sit there all night...
Where's your party spirit? "Live a Little"
I Know the artist gets more enjoyment seeing people enjoying themselves dancing then watching loads of people just sit there...
Fab concert, although I agree setup could be better and yes standing area rather than sitting.
Would have made my night if The Scissor Sisters were supporting again.. But Hey you can't have it all..”
by marie, kingswood, bristol
Monday, June 15 2009, 5:49PM
“I live in Kingswood, and I could hear everything very clearly, it was like I was next to the stage, and I didn't have to pay a penny for my seat.......”
by dave, long ashton
Monday, June 15 2009, 5:45PM
“im supprised no ones mentioned the big punch up down on the centre, im sure the people involved had been to the concert........”
by Mark, Bristol
Monday, June 15 2009, 3:53PM
“I think a lot of people would have taken issue with people all getting up and dancing in any area.
Some tickets cost as much as £100, for people in the cheaper seats to be able to go up nearer the stage and dance around would be a bit of a mockery of the pricing structure.”
by Annette Hennessy, Portishead
Monday, June 15 2009, 3:47PM
“My teenage daughter Jemma loved Richard Fleesham who played at the beginning of the concert, who made her evening by signing her souvenier book which was taken backstage by one of his band, returning it before the looming security guards got annoyed that we weren't in our seats! My highlight was Elton John who was in his usual superb form. At the end dancing near the stage, it was amazing to be amongst so many different generations.
The previous comment about having areas where people can stand up and dance instead of just sitting on chairs, should be taken on board for the future. In Taunton Cricket Ground, Elton announced at one point for the crowd to ignore the security guards if they wanted to get up and dance which everyone loved. Many had the chance to get near the stage with no incidents, but in Bristol it was confined to the first four rows unless you sneaked past the heavy handed security teams and barriers to get close to the great man himself. ITV News' Steve Scott's comment in the Post that the crowd took a while to warm up was enforced by many being told to sit down.
Cannot understand the complaints about queues for food and drink though - I only went to watch Elton (not eat) and he didn't disappoint. Listening to him sing Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me on what turned out to be a dry and mild evening in the end with last minute sunshine, was just amazing.”
by Laura, Portishead
Monday, June 15 2009, 3:19PM
“A fab performance by Sir Elton.
Park and ride was excellent, the booze queue was slightly slow, but good it was available.
My one minor comment would be that I have never been to a concert where you stay sat down for the duration... it was a shame that some people refused to stand, therefore making it impossible for others to make the most of the experience. It was fab when everybody invaded the grassed area and was dancing with each other, and thats when the party truely started!
As for those who are complaining about the traffic... you chose to live next to an 'international' cricket ground - need i say anymore!”