Band name: Elton John (with his band)
Date: Saturday, November 11, 2017
Venue/location: Ford Center, Evansville, Indiana, USA
Tour name: Once in a Lifetime
Recording type: Matrix (aud+aud)
Taper(s): BootlegHuntr, Chickenwing
Media: Lossless; 2 CDs
Source information: Digital Masters
Source 1 (BootlegHuntr): Tascam iM2X microphone -> iPhone SE into Voice Recorder and Audio Editor (16 bit, 44.1 KHZ wav) -> Cubase (volume boost) -> mastered in Goldwave
Source 2 (Chickenwing): Zoom H2N internal midside microphones (16 bit, 44.1 KHZ WAV) -> mastered in Goldwave
Universal lineage: Matrix formation and mastered in Goldwave -> track splitting in Goldwave -> encoded to FLAC level 6 using Trader's Little Helper
Generation: Master
Total running time: 2:16:46 (137 minutes)

Track listing:
01. Crowd
02. The Bitch Is Back
03. Bennie and the Jets
04. I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues
05. Take Me to the Pilot
06. Daniel
07. Looking Up
08. A Good Heart
09. Philadelphia Freedom (first takes)
10. Philadelphia Freedom (Elton John Band�song)
11. I Want Love
12. Tiny Dancer
13. Levon
14. Piano Solo
15. Rocket Man (I Think It's Going to Be a Long, Long Time)
16. Have Mercy on the Criminal
17. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
18. Your Song
19. Sad Songs (Say So Much)
20. Band Introductions
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
27. Candle in the Wind

Notes and comments:
Lineup: Elton John
The band:
Elton John � lead vocals, piano
Nigel Olsson � drums, vocals
Davey Johnstone � guitar, musical director, vocals
John Mahon � percussion, vocals
Kim Bullard � keyboards
Matt Bissonette � bass

BootlegHuntr recorded from section 103, row Q.
Chickenwing recorded from section 119, row S, seat 1.

Chickenwing's notes: I picked up tickets for this gig back in the summer, and three months of waiting was absolutely miserable when Sir Elton John is coming up. My ex-girlfriend's dad went with me to this one, the same guy who crashed the Bon Jovi show in Nashville with me earlier this year. We left from Owensboro at around 4:45, and began the 45 minute trek to Evansville. The drive down was smooth, and if you happen to be curious, Slash with Myles Kennedy, Styx, Def Leppard, and of course Elton were all on our playlist.
Our intentions were to eat at Red Robin before making it downtown to the Ford Center an hour before the show, but they had an extreme wait. No "yums" for us. We stopped by a place I'd never heard of entitled "Licks." Their gourmet sub is phenomenal, but don't go for the Grippo chips. There were too many chemicals in those tiny single-serving bags.
We walked from Licks to Ford land, and were in the incredibly efficient line more than an hour before show time. The doors opened early, and we veritably flew through security. Billy and I had purchased seats apart, as there were no two seats together in the entire venue by the time we made it to buying ours. I sat down and called a friend while we waited for Elton to come out. I also set up the gear I had brought, with my H2N in 4ch mode and an Olympus LS-14 in my breast pocket.
Once everything was set, the couple who would be sitting next to me arrived. The guy sat next to me, looked over, and said "well, looks like you're all set to record." I nodded to him, and offered him a free copy after the show. I explained the taper's case of anti-bootleg sales, but he wasn't interested. He did, however, want to talk technical, which I appreciated. We spoke of sample rates and recording quality for a while, before moving onto typical things like work and family. He was very nice, and provided lots of interesting insight on the city of Evansville. He was born and raised there, and he made me look forward to someday spending some time there exploring before a show.
Elton came out a few minutes late, and I'll be damned if it wasn't close to the best intro of my life. Everyone promptly came out, got behind their instruments and started owning. No fanfare, no embellishments. The concert was a raw performance, which I find is underrated in today�s age of pyrotechnics and fancy interludes. However, the problem was in the sound. Jeff leaned over to me and mentioned how modulated Elton's vocals sounded, and they were definitely distorted to a small extent. The harsher sounding X-Y source is inferior to this matrix, however, and BootlegHuntr's audio adds depth and clarity to the Midside source provided by me to add stereo audio. I am very glad I decided to tape in 4CH mode on this night, and I expect you will be also.
Back to the show! Elton's vocals were marvelous! Don't get me wrong, he didn't go for too many high notes, but his voice was energetic and contains the resonance which drew me to him in the first place. His piano was on point as well, and evidence is woven everywhere in the show. The band sounded tight, and though the members didn't seem extraordinary in themselves, together they were a force to be reckoned with. About 45 minutes in, Elton's piano had an issue with a pedal, and actually had to stop the show for a couple of moments while his crew investigated. The crowd loved it and I was grateful for an event to make a Saturday night in Evansville, Indiana unique.
The show spanned roughly two hours and fifteen minutes, and they were some of the best I've seen from a performer. I actually expected two and a half hours from Elton, but the energy and authenticity combined with moments you don't experience in every concert made the night for me. Billy is also an awesome guy to attend shows with, and I look forward to the next one we can make it to. He shot video of the entire show on his iPhone, and I hope to make a blu-ray of this show at some point. He mentioned that during the extended encore break, Elton ran around the stage signing everything held out to him by audience members in the front row. Records, clothing, you name it. Elton has definitely struck me as a kind and genuine performer, one who I would pay to see over and over.
Recording notes: This matrix sounds phenomenal to my ear and many thanks to BootlegHuntr for contributing his source. As I mentioned earlier, the midside source provides more of a stereo image while BH's mono audio adds vocal and instrumental clarity. This is my first ever audience+audience matrix, and I am very proud of the work here. You will, however, notice that BH's audio has had autogain or compression applied to it during the recording process, and it fades down for a few brief seconds once or twice during the show. All in all, this source is superior to either of our sources alone, and is just how a matrix should be.

Support Elton John: https://www.eltonjohn.com/
My masters: https://www.dropbox.com/s/rw7vl4egxozs9nt/Masters.txt?dl=1
If you're interested in a trade, a taper around Kentucky, Ohio, Indianna, Tenessee, or Missouri, or would like to contact me for any reason, I can be reached via the ID Chickenwing8 on www.dimeadozen.org or www.thetradersden.org. Alternatively, feel free to email me. Shane.lowe6989@gmail.com
I would like to include a heartfelt thank you to the people over at Setlist.FM for constantly doing their best to update and accurately post setlists from every show possible. Everyone makes mistakes (and they're known for it) but they have helped me immensely in writing up track listings for my show, and lots of the information found accompanying my shows is thanks to them. Whether I have used Setlist.FM to collect information for this particular show or not, they deserve so many thanks for all the help they have given me in the past.
Finally, the confusion in regards to the legality of recording concerts is due to those dishonorable individuals who sell them. I do not condone selling freely-shared live music, and blame those who sell concerts for the lack of people recording and sharing content. Let it also be noted that any who sell this recording deserve nothing more than to have their own collection confiscated and shared freely with the masses. Please only degrade audio quality for personal use. Also, I ask that you keep this info file intact.
Mastered by Chickenwing on November 16-20, 2017.
Enjoy!

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