Saturday night was more than adequate at the KFC YUM Center. Being part of the audience at Elton John’s last concert – ever – in Louisville was as electrifying as it was historic.
A few years and a pandemic late, Elton John’s ‘Farewell Yellow Brick Road’ tour stopped in Louisville on Saturday for what the music icon told the packed arena would be his last show in the city. .
“After the tour is over, I will spend the rest of my life with my family,” the 75-year-old said. “The first time I played in Louisville was in 1971 and I have been back there many times. Everywhere I have been in the United States during my career, people have been extremely nice to me and I’m grateful for that.”
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Sitting at his grand piano, wearing his signature dazzling glasses, John kicked off the show with the rousing “Bennie and the Jets” then seamlessly moved on to “I Guess That’s Why They Call It the Blues.”
An energetic multi-generational crowd, many of whom wore sequined jackets, trousers, jumpsuits and large square glasses illuminated by colored LED lights, cheered, danced and sang along to each of the 23 songs the British rock star performed at his last concert in Louisville.
“Thank you for putting in the effort to dress up, it’s so cute,” he told his cheering fans. “That’s so sweet of you and I feel like a million bucks. And you look like a million bucks too.”
Ever the showman, John donned three different outfits during the two-and-a-half-hour show. And yes, every wardrobe change included a new pair of rhinestone glasses. The set was filled with his greatest hits from the 70s and 80s, including “Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting”, “Tiny Dancer”, “Crocodile Rock”, “Candle in The Wind” and “Border Song”.
The music legend’s “Farewell Yellow Brick Road” includes over 300 performances in the United States, Europe, Asia, South America and Australia. His first time in Louisville during the tour was on October 23, 2018. Saturday’s concert was originally scheduled for April 26, 2020 had been postponed due to the pandemic.
The tireless performer will be 76 at the end of his epic tour. At a time in the music legend’s career when many of his peers lost some of their lineup, John and his impressive band were bursting with energy and looking like the rockstars they had been for five decades.
Longtime veterans guitarist Davey Johnstone, drummer Nigel Olsson and percussionists Ray Cooper and John Mahon along with bassist Matt Bissonette and keyboardist Kim Bullard entertained the exuberant KFC YUM Center crowd from the first note to the last. .
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After golden confetti floated from the ceiling and the band returned for an encore, which included the night’s only new song, “Cold Heart” – John’s recent duet with Dua Lipa from his album “Lockdown Sessions”, it was time to say “goodbye” to Louisville forever.
The finale, “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road”, ended with John dressed in a black tracksuit stepping off a platform and onto the stage where he said goodbye to Louisville one last time.
“Be nice to each other,” he said. “Goodbye.”
Contact Kirby Adams at [email protected] or Twitter @kirbylouisville.