Member Tilde follows up on last week's setlist with a full EJ review:
The piano-rocker’s latest tour was billed as All Hits, All Night. But it wasn’t. It was much more than that. And much better.Glad to hear it Tilde. And thanks for taking the time to provide us with both the setlist and the review.
Oh sure, there were hits aplenty during the epic 160-minute show. Everything from his 1970 breakthrough Your Song to eternal radio staples like Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting, Candle in the Wind, Bennie and the Jets, The Bitch is Back, Crocodile Rock and more. But that was no surprise; at this point in his career, John has more hits than he could possibly play in one sitting.
But just as clearly, the 64-year-old singer-pianist was not content simply to go on autopilot and churn out note-for-note oldies like some musical Xerox. So the flamboyant rocker — sporting red-lensed shades and decked out in a Nudie-meets-goth-meets-Mariachi black coat decorated with a glittery skull, cross and red, white and pink flowers — led his five-man band (featuring veteran drummer Nigel Olsson and guitarist Davey Johnstone) and his four female vocalists (including Rose Stone of Sly & the Family Stone) through a set that sprinkled new material and arrangements in with the familiar favourites.
John’s creative intentions were clear almost from the beginning. After opening with the one-two punch of Funeral for a Friend / Love Lies Bleeding (whose lengthy instrumental beginning not only built some tension, but allowed stragglers to get to their seats) and a raucous Saturday Night's Alright, John switched into the earthy Levon, stretching it out with an extended gospel segment at the end. The title cut from Madman Across the Water also boasted an expanded arrangement. Both it and the opening to Take Me to the Pilot served as showcases for John’s impressive and often underappreciated playing, which seamlessly melded elements of classical, jazz, blues and honky-tonk. But the real eye-opener was Rocket Man, which has evolved into a massive multi-stage piece that brought the crowd to its feet more than once.
John tossed in a handful of tunes from his most recent album, last year’s Leon Russell collaboration The Union. Backstage, he admitted to me “The new songs are the hard part. Sometimes the audience isn't ready for them. But if I don’t play them, I’ll go nuts.” I appreciated his honesty.
There was a time during his career when Elton was a real prick to his friends and his fans. It seems as if age has mellowed him out.
Hey Ahab and Monkey Suit went over surprisingly well with the crowd, earning him more standing ovations. It’s just too bad Leon wasn’t there to share the moment.
Ultimately, of course, the night was about entertaining the fans, and Elton didn’t fall short. While he’s not quite as spry as when I first saw him in 1976, he was still fairly active, leaping to his feet to coax applause out of the audience, standing up to bang away on his grand piano now and then, and and even climbing onto the instrument and carefully jumping down a couple of times. Later he thanked fans for their decades of loyalty, and even spent a few minutes signing autographs near the end of the show.
Could it have been better? Sure. Despite the changes, the performance felt a little rote now and then — no surprise, given that John and some of his band have played many of these songs literally thousands of times. There might have been one too many new ballads in that Union section. And sure, a little more zip or a slightly bigger show — the requisite video screens and cornucopia of swirling, twirling lights were the extent of the production — wouldn’t have hurt.
But so what if it was just probably another night for Elton? Nothing wrong with that. His average show still tops the best a lot of artists can do. Ultimately, the fans got their money’s worth. In fact, they got more than they bargained for.
I sure did.
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