Saw Elton John in Farewell tour last night

TomB'sox · #1 10-30-2022, 12:42 PM

Got a call from some neighbors who had tickets to Elton in San Antonio last night and could not go and asked us if we wanted them. We said yes and fought the crowds to go.

The Alamodome holds 72,000 for a concert and it looked pretty dang full to me. I would have to guess well over 65,000 but I have not seen official numbers on that.

Elton is 75 now, but he can still play with energy and sings well for that age, some of his high notes have been replaced with a different melody or enhanced with back up singing and guitar, but really very good. He no longer does handstands on the piano or play with this feet, but he still has a fantastic band and really rocked it out. He played for 2 hours to a very enthusiastic crowd spanning all age groups. Ray Cooper his percussionist is very entertaining as is the whole band.

I was never a big fan and would not have bought tickets, but really glad we went, had a good time, and really appreciated the band and the music. The dude has had a huge number of hits and puts on a very good concert.

He is not moving too well these days, but he has lived a hard loving life and is still here rocking it at 75.

fitness1 · #2 10-30-2022, 01:09 PM

It's really been an amazing career and life.

I saw him 7/11/76 with 89k at the Pontiac Silverdome. Louder Than Concorde But Not Quite As Pretty tour. He came on stage as the Statue of Liberty. Quite a performance, GREAT sound for such a huge place that wasn't desinged for it!

Glad you got to see him.

Couple of my fave YT concerts by him - this one with a bunch of very happy young people

And this one where he digs deep into the album tracks and plays for 3 hours on his 60th......

And great footage from the early BBC shows...

jseth · #3 10-30-2022, 02:55 PM

Is he really hanging it up after this tour? Well, you got the chance to see a living legend! Glad he put on a great show for everyone.

I am so glad to have seen him on his inaugural US Tour, back in 1970, with just a trio (NO guitarist! Gasp!)... he was opening for Leon Russell at the Swing Auditorium in San Bernardino, Ca. Saw him again, less than a year later, again at the Swing Auditorium, except THIS time, he had a 4 piece band (Nigel, Dee and Davey Johnstone on guitar), and Leon Russell was opening for HIM! Ha!

His first 5 or 6 albums were simply wonderful... kind of lost track of him later in his career. I was more than a bit "put off" by all the pomp and circumstance that his show became...

Glad it was good for you!

fitness1 · #4 10-30-2022, 03:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jseth

Is he really hanging it up after this tour?
I am so glad to have seen him on his inaugural US Tour, back in 1970, with just a trio (NO guitarist! Gasp!)...

A while before Covid hit he announced this farewell tour, but I think it got messed up and postponed. When he announced it, there was also a very cryptic advertisement about "what was coming next". So he's left the door open for something

Would have been REALLY cool to see that '70 tour: One of his best works for sure...

islandguitar · #5 10-30-2022, 07:53 PM

Great to hear about your fun and memorable night Tom! Very cool!!

Lkristians · #6 10-31-2022, 07:12 AM

Good on you and Kathy, Tom! I recently finished his autobiography and it was a great read. Played hard, worked hard, partied way too hard, but got through it.
He and Bernie were (are) a dynamic duo.

cliff_the_stiff · #7 10-31-2022, 07:23 AM

my wife and I went to the show when it rolled through San Francisco. It was fantastic as mentioned above-
I too was amazed by his percussionist.

frankmcr · #8 10-31-2022, 11:10 AM

Gee, I missed it, too bad.

Guess I'll just have to wait for his next farewell tour.

TomB'sox · #9 10-31-2022, 11:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by frankmcr

Gee, I missed it, too bad.

Guess I'll just have to wait for his next farewell tour.

Each to their own, but thanks for adding to the thread anyway.

During his encore he did say quite a bit, (really did not say much during the show), but his words seemed sincere and I doubt based on what he said that he will tour again. That does not mean he won't do some appearances elsewhere on occasion, but a full tour, really doubt it. He was really having a hard time just walking around for too long on stage.

frankmcr · #10 10-31-2022, 12:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TomB'sox

Each to their own, but thanks for adding to the thread anyway.

During his encore he did say quite a bit, (really did not say much during the show), but his words seemed sincere and I doubt based on what he said that he will tour again. That does not mean he won't do some appearances elsewhere on occasion, but a full tour, really doubt it. He was really having a hard time just walking around for too long on stage.

I've seen too many "Final, Last, This Time We Really Mean It" farewell tour announcements in my time. I guess that's why I'm so bitter & cynical

.
But I'm glad those who saw the show enjoyed it.

boombox · #11 11-03-2022, 07:08 PM

I have always appreciated his music, though was never a big enough fan to go see him live. Still, glad he's putting on a good farewell tour and you got to see it - some of the videos have been great. It's sad to see all these musical icons thinking about stopping touring, though some are still going: David Freiberg of Quicksilver Messenger Service and Jefferson Airplane/Starship just turned 84 in August and is still touring and singing 'Jane', the song he co-wrote in 1979. Last week, I went to see Uriah Heep (combined age of 325 years and leader Mick Box is 75) and they put on an excellent hard rock show and will be back out touring again next year when they release their new album.