The Providence Performing Arts Center’s “Cool Summer Nights” concert series continues Friday, June 16, with the Elton John tribute band “The Rocket Man Show.” I spoke with Rus Anderson, star of the show last week, as he was preparing for an East Coast swing ahead of a tour of the UK. “I’m very grateful that I’m able to perform and that people are buying tickets again,” said the Scottish musician. “The live music scene is really rocking again.”
Anderson and his band tour regularly, performing around 75 shows a year in medium-sized theatres, casinos, and other venues like PPAC. How his show emerged is a classic American success story – he built it from scratch, getting involved almost by accident.
“It evolved from nowhere, actually,” he explained. “I came over here from Scotland in 2003, to go to college. I’ve always been a musician, played the indie rock scene, played the grunge scene in London and Scotland in the 90s and early 2000s.”
When Anderson began playing beach bars and Top 40 gigs in Florida, fans kept requesting Elton John songs. So along with his wife, the lifelong fan put together a show focusing on the rock icon’s music from the 1970s, complete with costumes modeled after Elton’s lavish wardrobe. (By the way, he changes outfits about 5-6 times per show.) “We started small in restaurants up and down the beaches here in Florida. It got bigger, and agents started calling, and from there, we had to hire a band. We had the best time just building the show up from nothing,” said Anderson.
“That was around 2009 … fast forward to 2017, we got a call from Elton John’s office in London; of course, I was terrified,” he laughed. “Someone in his office had seen me, and they were looking for someone to do some re-enacting, acting, and body double work for Elton from the 70s. It was for his ‘Farewell Yellow Brick Road’ tour. I was able to go out and meet Elton and his family, his management, and his band. For a tribute act, getting recognized by the actual artist is like the Holy Grail. It’s a great feeling to be recognized by Elton and his team.”
Anderson brings his own voice to the performance – it’s not his goal to create an exact replica of John’s sound but to interpret the music while still remaining pretty close to the original recordings.
“One of the things that got me hired for the job is that Elton doesn’t like impersonators,” explained Anderson. “His producers were very specific, they told me to ‘Do what you do, do your own thing, do the songs the way you do them, perform them the way you normally perform them.’ They liked the idea that I was bringing my own approach. Elton’s own words were ‘capturing the essence of an Elton John concert.’ That is so much more than making yourself look like Elton. It’s the whole energy; his presence was always so huge on stage. I perform an honest tribute to him in my own way.”
The Rocket Man show focuses on Elton in 70s classics, many from the Yellow Brick Road period. “We go into the 80s for one or two numbers, like “I’m Still Standing,’” he said. The song that gets the biggest reaction from the crowd – “Bennie and the Jets.” “For some reason, the minute that iconic intro starts, the screams are so loud I have to prepare my eardrums, every time I start that song. They’re all huge hits; we do ‘Rocket Man,’ ‘Crocodile Rock,’ ‘Tiny Dancer.’”
Anderson’s favorite Elton John song? “We named the show after it, of course, ‘Rocket Man.’ The more I started learning it, playing it, I realized it has such a unique soundscape. You’ve got classical piano mixed with a space-type rock song, up until then, that hadn’t been done before. It became his trademark sound from that point forward.”
He’s looking forward to the Providence show and notes it is a great family experience, “We have kids there, age 12 and 13, with their great grandparents, who are in their 90s. That’s the beautiful thing with Elton John. You’ll see those big boots, the feathers, those big glasses,” made famous at the height of Elton’s popularity. “It’s a big show, with big costumes, a full Broadway-style stage presentation. I think they will be losing their voices again this weekend!”
Click here for tickets and further information to the show.
