Bennie & the Jets

Elton John Concert : Elton John and His Band 2008 Singapore

The stage was half-fucked. Something like a normal school big event stage. The backdrop of the stage was just a simple big piece of black cloth. Only LCD projector was used. There were only 6 people on the stage including Elton. And yes you can see masking tape stitching the poorly maintained make shift carpets for the stage.

To even think this is the stage for Sir Elton John is unthinkable. Doesn’t the queen himself deserve or expects more from his quality productions?

I checked my clock, I was 15 mins late ( traditionally so ) thinking that Mrs Elton will be an hour late or so. The indoor stadium filled up like a sponge, slowly but steadily. Far cry from any Chinese concerts where you see young Chinese kids holding light sticks and support banners. All I found were groups of Caucasians holding asian beer in one hand and an asian girl in the other. The crowd held an average age of 35 year old. I was probably why the average wasn’t higher.

The lights dimmed linearly with the rising of the crowds noise. I found myself no more than 20 metres away from Elton’s Piano. Premium seats in my opinion just without premium prices. My clock read 8:30pm. The crowd stood straighter than when the national anthem played. The queen has arrived.

The atmosphere was transient and I am not sure how I would want to describe the sight of him on stage. Elton John, Singapore, Me, 2008 just didn’t gel well together with reality. He raised his arms in the air as if he won the world cup hailing to his supporters. Donned in long black trench coat with a huge cross worn in front of his chest resting nicely on the bulge of his ever bloated stomach and that blue tinted spectacles says that’s he cleared the customs without being mistaken at all as Elton John.

He sat down without a word played his piano. The flimsy LCD screen was showing a cut zooming in on him playing the keys. There you find the fattest and oldest 10 fingers in the world floating across the piano keys. The sound was superb. His band ramped up and the combination was heavenly. This is concert. This is why all he brought was his smelly grey carpets and a black back drop. Because he didn’t need the rest of the glitz. He is the only Glitz.

I see happy faces around me. Mostly in their 30s, coming with their better half. This lady who stood, or should I say danced beside me came in formal office wear but pulled out her top from her skirt to let loose a little. All the people were standing and my Bushnell high resolution binoculars told me that even the further seats held crazy fans who swayed to his songs.

My Bushnell high resolution binoculars was my answer to make my 100 dollar ticket looks like 500 dollar premium seats. I spent time looking at Elton himself. His is a happy man too.

At 61 years old, he sang with the energy of 20 year old. His voice is powerful and there was no sign of him being in his non-existence dwindling career. I told myself before the concert, if not this time I may never see him singing in real life anymore. He is getting old. But I am proven so wrong. He is still not the fat candle in the wind.


All his tracks are encore materials done in the most perfect fashion. The band worked so well with him , it didn’t shortchange the name of the concert “ Elton John and HIS BAND”. Each song was delivered flawlessly. The queen never fail to thank the audience after every song. He stood up and thank 360 degrees before going on to the next.

Perhaps he didn’t talk too much. Not much at all to satisfy our desire to want to listen to him. But his music connected to the core of the audience. No one made a noise when he sang. You can almost feel it . Feel that the audience is replying to him with their tentative heart felt listening. Listening from the heart. And I think Sir Elton felt it too.

I shook my bum bum along too even though I did not grow up with his songs. “Sacrifice”, “ don’t let the sun go down on me”, “ Believe “ are just the very few I know part of the lyrics. But everyone was an immediate fan no matter HOW alien you are to his works.

Did he play the encore game with us ? NO. He walked off the stage towards the end and walked up again to bow to the audience, shook some of their hands and sat down for two more songs and walked off professionally into the dark alleys never to return. That’s Elton.


He knew we enjoyed it and we knew he enjoyed it too. I brought away from this concert one piece of memory of a legend. Something no DVD and not even the best sound system can replicate. It is the admiration you develop live with the performer in the concert.

I am not star struck because Elton transcends more than just himself. It is already not him. It is the being of Elton. As he walked off the stage I looked at my clock again. It says 11pm. The concert promised 2:30 hours of singing. Elton delivered without a break. I looked at my ticket again, it says SGD 100. My heart says “priceless”

Thank you Sir. You are the queen of hearts.