Fan report by Sacha Wicki. Photos by Walter Weiler.

In the mythic Nîmes arenas, that July 13, 2003, Elton has pleased more than 8.000 people. There’s the story of a very hot afternoon and an unforgettable concert.

A horrible heat under a beautiful blue sky, these are the conditions of the waiting outside the arenas. I wish to thank my two very good friends who came with me for this concert, Olivier and Danny. Then a big hello to the great italian fans Graziano and Andrea, then to the spanish group, to Jayne who came directly from London, to Marie-Christine, and to Thierry and his wife, for whom it was the first EJ concert.

We had chance that a little van offering cold drinks and ice creams was near to us because we really needed it ! The few shadow places were squatted immediately.

The doors opened at about 6.15 pm and we ran up to the front of the stage. But as the arenas are like a labyrinth, it was hard to get there immediately. We took about three or five minutes for that! During the two hours waiting, before the beginning of the concert, there was as always background music through the loudspeakers. We could recognize Ryan Adams, Coldplay, John Lennon (with among others the hit song "Whatever gets You through the Night") and the Beatles.

8.23 pm: The Orchestral Finale of "Aida" announced that the concert would begin. Elton entered the stage dressed in a black suit, with lots of diamonds and brilliants all over the shoulders and the front of his jacket. The shoes were also incrusted with diamonds ! "Your Song" began, and for the first time since a long time, the intro was shortened of a few seconds.

In French, Elton welcomed everybody and said that it was fantastic to come back here after a long time. He also said that he’s going to talk in French and in English to show people that both countries are totally together. "Border Song" was great, also was "The One" which fits very good in the beginning of the setlist in my opinion. Then "Someone Saved My Life Tonight" always very intense, and "Ballad of the Boy in the Red Shoes" introduced by Elton with the usual talk about the Ronald Reagan administration who did nothing, "zero", for people with Aids.

"Daniel", still one of my favourites solo, and then something very funny! Elton did say that the next song was written in France, and he was saying : "I have to look at my setlist to see how many songs were written in France". And he took around one half minute to look at his little white sticker on the left of his piano, pointing every song…! Hilarity in the audience! He finally said : "There are six". And he began, laughing, "Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters".

"Honky Cat" was one of the highlights of the show, as this version was very powerful. The end was played faster as usual, and Elton did have a lot of fun! "Rocket Man" was my only little disappointment during that show: the voice effets were great, but the end impro was not as inspirated as usual.

"I’m Still Standing" made in 2003 was simply 'out of this world'! First of all, the intro was like during the Sydney concert in 1986 and the joy and musical inspiration was so amazing ! The performance was long and fabulous! "Ticking" had a slightly change in comparison to the other solo performances of that song in 1999 and 2000. The tone of Elton’s voice was higher. You can refer to the 1994 tour with Ray Cooper.

"Tiny Dancer" and "I Want Love" followed, and then, Elton dedicated "Sacrifice" to his "french family". He thanked many people, all french surnames, probably from his french staff and friends, I don’t know.

The next song did begin like during the 1992 tour ... with a great piano intro! "Philadelphia Freedom" was excellent, and the audience was responding so well to that title and the rhythm. Elton did have a lot of fun, and you could see it!

"Candle In The Wind", always beautiful, and then, he said that it’s hard for him to chose a song that he didn’t write himself. There are lots of great songs, but he choose this standard by Henri Mancini from the movie "Breakfast at Tiffany", "Moon River". It’s a really magic tune which fits perfectly with Elton’s low and warm voice.

"Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word" brillant! "I Guess That’s Why They Call it the Blues", which is not usually my favourite song in solo shows, here, has gained good points in my point of view. "This Train Don’t Stop There Anymore", "Carla-Etude"/"Tonight" were all perfect tracks to be performed in such a magnificent place.

Oh my gee, the "Take Me To The Pilot" intro was simply… what can I say… fabulous, enormous, magnificent… I can’t find bigger words to describe. That man is 56, but he really performed as a 25 young man! His fingers were rolling and rolling on the piano so hard and so much, that we could imagine he had more than two hands! Elton was shouting "Oh Yeah" many many times during the song!

The "Song For Guy" uptempo performance inside the tune was great! Oh, and I forgot to mention that he began the song with "The Marseillaise"”, as always when he comes to France!

"Bennie and the Jets" and "Crocodile Rock" were outstanding! As was "Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me" and the last track, "Circle of Life", too.

I must confess that I’ve never seen a show like that one. Every track had a new style or a new performance type for a solo show. The last solo show I did see was in Berlin two years ago, and in Nîmes that Sunday, it was really not the same !

I have to say to finish that article, that Elton has, as everybody knows, a huge respect to his fans! We could see it during the concert: the stage was too far to the first row of audience, so the people were throwing things on the stage (flowers, gifts, tour programs, t-shirts…) in hope to be signed by Elton. And Elton saw that, and went to sign all those things, for about six to ten minutes during the whole show!

Following is the complete setlist of the Nimes show on July 13, 2003:

• Your Song
  
• Border Song
  
• The One
  
• Someone Saved My Life Tonight
  
• Ballad Of The Boy In Red Shoes
  
• Daniel
  
• Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters
  
• Honky Cat
  
• Rocket Man
  
• I'm Still Standing
  
• Ticking
  
• Tiny Dancer
  
• I Want Love
  
• Sacrifice
  
• 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
  
• This Train Don't Stop There Anymore
  
• Carla/Etude
  
• Tonight
  
• Take Me To The Pilot
  
• Bennie And The Jets
  
• Crocodile Rock
  
  
• Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me
  
  
• Circle Of Life
  

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