Elton John could have shown up at the Dome with just a piano and a sprinkle of glitter, and 38,000 people would still have bought tickets.
But it’s not Elton John.
The British pop giant brought a full band and massive video production to the packed JMA Wireless Dome on Saturday night, complete with confetti cannons, a floating piano and lots and lots of glitter.
Sir Elton took the stage to greet the roar of an ecstatic crowd, sat down at the grand piano with a flip of his tailcoats and struck a G major 7 chord on the keys.
The crowd instantly knew – “Bennie And The Jets”.
The musician sang the hit to the delighted audience a little lower and less powerfully than when he was younger, but with the same magnetic, drawling saloon attitude. He followed with “Philadelphia Freedom” from his 1975 record, which rocked thousands of hips.
“Good evening, Syracuse,” he said.
“We’re going to have a good time tonight, okay?” »
It was obvious.
The singer stopped hitting his falsetto notes a few years ago and at 75 and recovering from a recent hip injury, he was in no shape to perform piano strokes.
But that was Elton John on his last tour – one of the last, huge bursts of a five-decade fireworks display. The audience was exuberant.
Elton launched into “I guess that’s why they call it the blues” as old photos of his family flashed across the 50ft screens flanking the stage. He talked a bit about his late friend, Aretha Franklin, before singing “Border Song,” which they performed together in 1993.
This song, with lyrics by Bernie Taupin, was featured on Elton’s debut album. Franklin picked it up a few months after its first release in 1970.
“You can imagine how thrilled we were to have the Queen of Soul take over something by two British kids,” Elton said.
He teased the crowd with a mysterious piano riff before launching into the instantly recognizable “Tiny Dancer,” complete with famous staccato chords that still strike the heart. Davey Johnstone played the slide notes on a double neck guitar.
After the spooky and beautiful “Have Mercy On The Criminal”, the lights went out.
Sparks of light lit up the darkness as a rocket blasted off the four-story video screens to showcase Elton’s “Rocket Man.”
“And I think it’s gonna be long, long / Till the touch brings me back again,” he sang, pulling his face in characteristic open-mouthed concentration after the high notes.
Screens melted into a shimmering galactic sky and lights flashed off into the audience across the stadium. The whole arena was floating in space with Elton John.
The singer brought audiences down to earth with the swinging “Take Me To The Pilot,” one of his favorite songs, he said. He went through “Someone Saved My Life Tonight”, “Levon” and “Candle in the Wind”, all with impressive screen productions, and all followed by a sweeping arc from the musician.
He did it flawlessly at the end of each song, his hand pressed against his heart.
Then, finally, a change of outfit.
The singer walked out and back in a sequin-embellished pink silk blazer – flashy but understated compared to some in the audience.
Fully warmed up now, Elton went through seven more danceable songs, plus “Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word”, a song “for all the lovers out there”. He performed “The Bitch Is Back”, “I’m Still Standing”, “Crocodile Rock” and “Saturday Night’s Alright (For Fighting)”, which got the crowd excited enough for some to try their luck with the bouncers near from the scene. , in vain.
With a big salute from Elton and the band – Johnstone on guitar, Nigel Olsson on drums and vocals, Ray Cooper on percussion, Matt Bissonette on bass and vocals, Kim Bullard on piano and John Mahon on percussion and vocals singing – he left the stage. wait for the reminder.
At the urging of 38,000 screaming fans, Elton was back in a minute, this time in a bedazzled dress. He sat on the keys to Dua Lipa’s collaboration track “Cold Heart” – an EDM bop that included a 50-foot video screen – Lipa blowing a kiss to real-life Elton. The song was greeted graciously by the crowd, though it probably wasn’t what most fans had come for.
The singer turned the dial down for his penultimate track, a crowd favorite. Thousands of people quietly sang “Your Song”, which sounded a lot like a goodbye.
“My gift is my song and this one is for you,” he sang.
But not one to leave on a melancholy note, the star exploded into “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” and ended on a high.
“Thank you for coming,” he said, “and dressing up so well.”
But for now, and probably for the last time, it’s goodbye.
“It’s time to spend time with my family now, and that’s the most important thing,” Elton said.
He tossed the dress to a tracksuit underneath, climbed onto a moving platform and enthusiastically waved to the screaming crowd before fading into a sliding panel above the stage.
“Don’t let the sun go down on me,” he sang earlier in the show.
On Rocket Man? Impossible.
Jules Struck writes about life and culture in and around Syracuse. Contact her anytime at [email protected] or on Instagram at julesstruck.journo.
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