Elton John
Rochford Winery, Coldstream, Victoria, Australia ("A Day On The Green")
Sunday 1 October 2017
Recorded by eckythump from front seat section for first half, then GA section in front of left speaker stack second half (see recording notes for explanation)
Source: Nokia Lumia 930 (called Lumia Icon in North America) w/built-in HAAC mics > Audio Recorder Pro app > 16bit/48 KHz PCM/WAV
Encoding: Trader's Little Helper > FLAC (Level 8)
Track List:
01 - The Bitch Is Back
02 - Bennie and the Jets
03 - I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues
04 - Take Me To The Pilot
05 - Daniel
06 - Looking Up
07 - A Good Heart
08 - Philadelphia Freedom
09 - Elton talks
10 - I Want Love
11 - Tiny Dancer
12 - Levon
13 - Waltzing Matilda (Banjo Paterson / Christina Macpherson cover)
14 - Rocket Man (I Think It's Going To Be A Long, Long Time)
15 - Elton talks
16 - Have Mercy On The Criminal
17 - Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
18 - Your Song
19 - Sad Songs (Say So Much)
20 - Elton introduces the band
21 - Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me
22 - I'm Still Standing
23 - Crocodile Rock
24 - Your Sister Can't Twist (But She Can Rock 'n Roll)
25 - Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting
26 - Encore Break
27 - Candle In The Wind
Elton John � Piano, vocals
Matt Bissonette � Bass guitar, backing vocals
Kim Bullard � Keyboards
Ray Cooper � Percussion
Davey Johnstone � Guitar, banjo, backing vocals
John Mahon � Percussion, backing vocals
Nigel Olsson � Drums, backing vocals
Show Notes: Fantastic show by Sir Elton and his band, Elton loves Australia and Australia loves him right back. This was his only Victorian show for this relatively short Australian tour, at a winery about an hour outside Melbourne (part of the "A Day On The Green" concert series that happens across the country every summer), and it sold out quickly. I can't fault the setlist or Elton and his bands performance - he might not be able to sing the high notes anymore, but he's still got it and it was worth the long drive and the hour plus it took to get out of the carpark. I have no doubt we'll see Elton back again in Australia before too soon!
Recording Notes: This is a recording of 2 halves - the first half where I was sitting next to obnoxious pricks (the singer on my left who sang Daniel at full voice into my ear, and the talking drunk pricks who only cared about the hits and taking selfies on my right), and the second half where I ditched my expensive seat and moved to the general admission area to the left of the stage down the front, where it wasn't that busy (probably because you couldn't see the full stage, but you could see Elton quite well). So from The Bitch is Back until Levon the recording is pretty good still, but you can hear quite a bit of talking and singing at times, though thankfully my recorder did a decent job of minimising them, but they're still audible. During Levon I had had enough, and decided to move. So during Levon, the sound goes a bit dull for a little bit while I had my back to the show whilst moving to my new spot. After that, the recording improves immensely, firstly because I didn't have anyone around me to piss me off and ruin the recording, and secondly the quality of the recording improves as I was standing closer to the left speaker stack. Then during the encore break for Candle In The Wind I made my way closer to the venue exit from where I was, so it still sounds fine, but there's a bit more audience noise. All up though, I think the recording sounds really good, but it definitely excels from Waltzing Matilda onwards (or even from halfway through Levon) and it's worth a listen if you're an Elton fan. Enjoy!