elton john 3 arena

Roll on Friday, first time seeing him live and hopefully him and his crew will be safe for the next few days. Playing Swansea tomorrow I think

For Cork

Doors 6pm

Gig starts 8pm sharp

Got a premium level ticket but not expecting much from it tbh. More than likely only indoor bar/food and toilet facilities

Didn't he shout at a security guard a few years ago too

Even with him been sober for almost 30 years he still has his anger issues

His voice is completely shot.

If you are charging people 200 euro then you play the hits, its that simple. Give the people what they want.

I went to see Van Morrison the other night in Cork, 96 euro for ~95 minutes and he played hardly any of his hits or best songs. Infuriating

Those Hot dogs and Burgers must be top notch

Really looking forward to this. Caught him in the point around 10 years ago and he was fantastic.

That was fuckin fantastic

Those merch prices were crazy but I gave in and bought one of those glasses (and a t shirt)

That was unreal. That's my 6th time and may be the best. He looked so damn happy.

The organisation was a joke though. They forgot to set up merchandising that was accessible for those at the floor seating🤦🏻‍♀️

Telling people they couldn't use the stadium loos and just the portaloos? One alcohol bar?

Agreed on the merchandise but now have a new t-shirt and a program..

My day started by getting up for work at 8am on Thursday. Finishing work at 7pm. Heading to the airport from Abu Dhabi to Dublin to then go to Cork and we drove back to Galway. I got in 10 mins ago. Almost 48 hours solid on the go (taking in the time difference) to see him. Would do it all Again

That was my eleventh Elton show - the third one outdoors - and I thought it was superb. It's sometimes possible to feel a bit detached from concerts on that scale, but it was very engaging throughout, and even the deep cuts, such as Levon and Burn Down the Mission got a great response.

Also, while tickets were expensive, there's no disputing the scale of the show, in terms of the screens and production design. Every cent is writ large on the stage.

Merchandise has got very expensive in general. T-shirts at most gigs seem to be €40 now, with anything more elaborate (long-sleeved, etc.) considerably more, whereas it's not that long ago where €35 for a t-shirt seemed extortionate.

I was in pitch seating (I got right up the front for the last ten songs) and myself and several others had to negotiate to get out to the rear pitch to the merchandise booth. I later discovered a smaller one in the stand, but it was so anonymous - and not part of a main thoroughfare - that I doubt many people realised it was there.

I arrived early and those with pitch seating tickets were directed to that end of the stadium. The set up of the entry gates at that point seemed to corral everyone with pitch seats down there, with no option to double back and explore vendors elsewhere; that may have changed later.

Even so, there seemed to be only one food option there - O'Flynn's gourmet sausages - and (as Twitter outrage will testify) one bar. Now, I'd have thought you could get to the other end, where other options were available, but I got the impression that the people in that section were effectively stuck there, hence the bar debacle. Perhaps others can clarify.

But none of this detracts from what was a really great performance from Elton and the band. I don't care that the setlist has changed little in recent years - and only very slightly during the current tour; Indian Sunset replaced by Have Mercy on the Criminal, Cold Heart wisely added. It's always a great show, and last night really was excellent.