Sunday Night Was Alright: Elton John Rocked Beijing

Elton John (or Àiěrdùn Yuēhàn to the Chinese) is arguably the King of Piano Pop. At 65, the man still has a gleam in his eyes behind those rock star glasses. Even his stage presence casts a long shadow over younger pretenders. Cascading, twinkly piano melodies with big bright chords and a clear strong baritone are his musical trademarks, and both were in fine fettle at the MasterCard Center last night, where Elton had a one-night residency on a massive world tour.

Playing to a stadium 80 percent full, the Englishman clearly knew how to work a crowd, jumping up after almost every song and embracing an appreciative audience. Over two-and-a-half hours, John rocked the house with his slick grey-haired band, pumping up the sound system with a set that was heavy on rocky album numbers but a little short on his most well-known songs.

His passion and voice can still lunge into spine-busting power, as happened with a roaring rendition of "I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues." As he traded call-and-response vocals with his backing singers, glow sticks were waved enthusiastically, but not enough of the audience was familiar enough with his catalogue to fill the arena with shared singing. "Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word" was dealt with a touch briskly; John preferred not to stretch out the song or dwell on the sentiment. Overall, the set list was short on slower piano ballads – probably just as well, as the capacious MasterCard Center did suit livelier numbers, appearing at times like a disco-themed planetarium.

As we reached the end of the night, "I'm Still Standing" and "Saturday Night's Alright" got everyone up and moving. And when John left the stage, everyone cried out for more.

He returned for an encore with "Your Song," dedicating it to Beijing. Then, as images from The Lion King came up on the screens, the audience went mad; in front, a lady visibly shook her husband as she stood. "Circle of Life," the opening song to everyone's favorite film about Shakespearean lions, was played with gusto and everyone lapped it up. But it was not followed up with "Can You Feel The Love Tonight?" – much to the dismay of the lady who had jumped up with so much enthusiasm. Maybe Elton's advisers should have told him how much that song means to the sentimental folk here. I think a few punters left a little disappointed.

Perhaps he would have had the chance if the audience had been patient enough for a second encore, but alas, the Beijing subway's operating hours disallow such luxuries. People trundled home, entertained but not quite enthralled, and John continues on with his professional, rollicking tour.

Photo: Lu-Hai Liang