{"id":1476,"date":"2019-12-08T01:28:17","date_gmt":"2019-12-07T14:28:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/greatgigs.com.au\/?p=1476"},"modified":"2019-12-10T13:11:39","modified_gmt":"2019-12-10T02:11:39","slug":"elton-john-mt-duneed-estate-for-a-day-on-the-green","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/greatgigs.com.au\/index.php\/2019\/12\/08\/elton-john-mt-duneed-estate-for-a-day-on-the-green\/","title":{"rendered":"Still Rock In That Ol' Croc'\u2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Elton John @ Mt Duneed Estate for A Day On The Green<\/strong>
7th December 2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tonight is A Day On The Green’s<\/strong> 475th live show and they couldn’t have celebrated it in finer style or with a bigger name… It’s Rock n Roll Royalty with a Capital E… As a nod to just how high-flying today’s attraction is, Sir Elton John’s personal luxury helicopter has been sitting quietly unnoticed by most in the paddock behind the stage security scrims since early afternoon. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s quite a big deal to the trainspotters amongst us but it’s just business as usual for the security personnel on the ADOTG team \u2013 who, upon seeing me cotton on to what I’ve just spied through a gap in the fence \u2013 give me a nonchalant smile and a knowing wink. During the afternoon as the ever growing crowd settle in for the evening, I chat with a few of the on-ground staff and find them all super friendly and helpful. It’s comforting to to know that whatever transpires later on, you’re in seasoned, experienced hands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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As the last few rays of comforting Victorian sun slowly ebb their way lower and lower over the Geelong horizon, and a few amongst us start to feel the first chills of a light evening breeze, a familiar A Minor chord repetitively tolls across the paddock and joyous arms of instant recognition shoot skyward… ‘Bennie & The Jets’ <\/em>(and ‘his solid walls of sound’) have once more reconvened to the rolling hills of Geelong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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‘Bennie & The Jets<\/em>‘<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The sound techs have done a great job at soundcheck and the mix tonight is right on the money \u2013 and even with a light cross wind \u2013 the band sound glorious… tight, big, brassy and bold. With nearly 5 decades belting out the hits, it’s only fair to expect that Elton’s vocal register is going to be a bit lower than on record… perhaps one of the reasons he can still perform close to a 3 hour show night after night after night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sir Elton is known to have certain idiosyncrasies, and one of the most well known of these is that he prefers NOT to be photographed any closer than from back at the sound desk… (we’re talking at least 100 metres away). My great mate Carbie, a seasoned pro snapper is towing the official line and is relegated to only shooting songs 1 and 5 tonight, so has no choice but to front up with a massive telephoto lens \u2013 the only way he’s assured of getting anything decent from that far away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first big surprise of the evening follows, with Elton dusting off the wonderful ‘All The Girls Love Alice’<\/em> from “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road’… tonight it’s greeted with dewey eyes by some of the older Elton fans, who can scarcely believe they are getting to hear it live for quite possibly the last time in their lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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‘All The Girls Love Alice’<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

‘I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues’<\/em> is the second singalong of the evening… a classic with many as it’s greeted with more than a few loving glances and embraces among the crowd.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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‘I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues’<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Next up is the incredible ‘Border Song’<\/em>, the first single from Elton’s second self titled album in 1970. Before he begins, he takes a few moments to contextualise just why it was such a watershed moment for himself and Bernie Taupin<\/strong> as young songwriters and composers. Apparently 8 weeks after the album came out, he and Bernie got a call from their music publishers to say Aretha Franklin<\/strong> had recorded her own version of it, which was a tremendously encouraging shot in the arm for the pair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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‘Border Song’<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I notice that during ‘Tiny Dancer<\/em>‘, Elton seems distracted by someone in the pit directly below him at the piano… between breaths, he glowers at them repeatedly and still not seeming to be communicating his annoyance, mouths… ‘GOOO AWAAAAY!’… <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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