Sir Elton John brought his three-year, globe-spanning ‘Farewell Yellow Brick Road’ Tour to a sold-out U.S. Bank Arena last night. John has been touring since 1969 and musically he still is at the top of his game. While people have the debate over The Beatles vs. The Rolling Stones – no one ever debates their love of Elton John. It is just something that is within all of us.
John boldly started the evening with, “Bennie and the Jets,” or rather with the song’s first chord, before jumping in to the song. The roar from the audience was deafening, as it should have been.
“I had a huge problem putting the set list together,” John said near the start of the show. “If I don’t play your favorite song tonight, I truly apologize.” No apologies needed. John covered the big hits, fan favorites, with a few deeper cuts mixed in.
Musicians who have been with him since the 1970s, including Nigel Olsson on drums; Ray Cooper on percussion; and his bandleader, Davey Johnstone, on guitar joined John on stage. It says something about John to have had most of his band with him for majority of his journey.
John and his band stretched songs, “Rocketman,” “Levon,” and “Burn Down the Mission.” Playing as if they wanted them to last as long as possible as a goodbye to us.
After “Believe,” John strung together some of his more fast-paced songs, “The Bitch Is Back,” “Crocodile Rock,” and “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting,” in a sequence that further demonstrated the range of his music. He seemed to be having the time of his life during these songs. Standing up often to address his fans and banging on his piano.
During, “I’m Still Standing” highlights from his half-century-long career flashed on the screen. Appearances on The Muppets, Will & Grace, Live Aid, The Simpsons and so on. Towards the end of “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting,” confetti fell from the ceiling and fell like a blanket onto the crowd.
Never one to be subtle, Sir Elton John came back for his encore in his robe and closed the show with, “Your Song” and “Goodbye Yellow Brock Road.” Fans sang along and many were wiping tears away.
There were points within the evening, that got emotional knowing that this would be the last time Sir Elton John would grace the Queen City on the road. “I will miss you very, very much,” he told the arena audience as he spoke about retiring from touring, “I would like to thank you, and say to you, that I will miss you a great deal, but I’ve had enough applause over all those years to keep me for the rest of my life and beyond.”
Thank YOU Sir Elton John for having a huge part in the soundtracks of our lives.
Setlist:
Bennie and the Jets
All the Girls Love Alice
I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues
Border Song
Tiny Dancer
Philadelphia Freedom
Indian Sunset
Rocket Man (I Think It's Going to Be a Long, Long Time)
Take Me to the Pilot
Someone Saved My Life Tonight
Levon
Candle in the Wind
Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding
Burn Down the Mission
Daniel
Believe
Sad Songs (Say So Much)
Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me
The Bitch Is Back
I'm Still Standing
Crocodile Rock
Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting
Encore:
Your Song
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
