Show: The Rocket Man – A Tribute To Sir Elton John
Format: Tribute Show
Genre: Rock/Pop
Performers: Jimmy Love & Tara Marie Armstrong
Review Date: January 16 2020
Performance: January 16 2020
Location: Empire Theatre, Liverpool
Duration: 160 Minutes incl. an interval
Age Rating: 8+
As one of Britain’s most iconic singers, Elton John has a long and colourful career packed with many memorable hits. The Rocket Man is the ideal tribute for Middlesex’s finest, with Jimmy Love taking on the role of Elton, supported by Tara Marie Armstrong and a talented band of backing musicians, and last night, it came to Liverpool’s Empire Theatre.
The Rocket Man
Description Of The Rocket Man
Kicking us off was Pinball Wizard, before we began to hear the story of the man himself, from his birth to his initial steps towards becoming a musician and, as the show went on, various highs and back-stories behind particular songs. Your Song was one of the evening’s more recognisable hits, and this was followed by Take Me To The Pilot and Funeral For A Friend. We were then treated to Daniel, with Jimmy Love jokingly suggesting he would initially dedicate it to an attendee named Tracy.
The hits kept coming with Philadelphia Freedom, Tiny Dancer and Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. We then (sort of) had two songs in one, as Candle In The Wind was performed featuring the lyrics from both the original (which was written about Marilyn Monroe) and the subsequent tribute to Princess Diana. The first half concluded with Rocket Man (hence the name of the show), and at this point, the drummers played with light-up drumsticks, which was a unique visual!
Second Half
The Bitch Is Back kicked off the second half, followed by Are You Ready For Love, Kiss The Bride and one of Elton’s most famous hits, Sacrifice. More gems were to come courtesy of I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues, Blue Eyes (which was sung about another attendee named Irene; she and an audience member named Lindsay also got a rendition of Happy Birthday shortly afterwards), I’m Still Standing and Don’t Go Breaking My Heart, which saw Tara join in to take on the Kiki Dee role. After a nod to The Lion King with Circle Of Life, the main part of the show concluded with Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting and Crocodile Rock, and after a brief encore, the show ended proper with Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me.
Analysis Of The Rocket Man
Jimmy Love did a fine job in the role of Elton John, and tried to recreate the all-time great performer with frequent and likeable soft-spoken audience interaction, numerous costume changes (which included suits, coats, hats and sparkling glasses of varying colours), some spot-on piano playing (all but one of the night’s tunes saw Elton sat behind the famous white piano), and of course for his singing; Jimmy admitted as the show was nearing its end that his voice was getting croaky, but when you are able to deliver these songs to such a strong standard, it’s forgivable for the high notes to take their toll. It always helps, of course, that the soundtrack is so legendary. And people came specifically to hear those songs. But the stars of the show still have to perform the tunes to a high standard. And they were definitely capable of achieving that.
The set was quite minimal, with a colourful backdrop showing the logo of the event being the only setting. This placed the focus primarily on the performers throughout. There was also a clever use of lighting effects to shine a spotlight on Elton at various stages. This also impacted the mood with dark and light colours at various points. That demonstrated the effort that was put into ensuring that each song had the desired effect, especially given how Elton’s songs vary greatly in terms of pace and emotion. Tara Marie Armstrong also deserves a mention for providing strong backing, and when she got to showcase more of her vocal skills during Don’t Go Breaking My Heart, she proved that she was more than worthy of holding her own for a tribute show, should an appropriate one come about in the near future.
Crowd
The audience were a bit hit-and-miss. Many attendees didn’t participate in the likes of hand-clapping to the beat of a particular song. Meanwhile, a small group of people were overly loud and obnoxious. This severely impacted one’s enjoyment of the show towards the end. (That I heard somebody nearby say “never again” sums up their behaviour. Mind you, the offenders have probably already forgotten their antics by now.) In terms of the production itself, it was a little hard to hear the verbiage by Jimmy Love early on. That consequently made it hard to join in with some of the lesser-known songs. But this was remedied fairly quickly. And thankfully for the performers, the audience was in full voice and on their feet by the show’s climax.
Summary Of The Rocket Man
Elton John fans will love The Rocket Man. However, all music fans are going to love this show too. The soundtrack is awesome, the duo of Jimmy Love and Tara Marie Armstrong pay a strong tribute with their performances, and the evening as a whole is a highly enjoyable homage to one of the greatest vocalists that we have ever known.
Notes
Target Audience: Age 8+
Content: Infrequent Mild Language
Recommendation: Yes
Overall Rating: 8.5/10 – Excellent
Further Link
For more information about The Rocket Man – A Tribute To Sir Elton John, click here.