Last Wednesday night I went to see Elton John on his “Farewell Yellow Brick Road” tour. It was supposed to happen a couple of years ago but, well, you know. I had signed up for the VIP Experience for both the parking and the excellent seat. The VIP experience consisted of, for some reason, blue champagne, a few cookies, and a backstage “tour,” meaning we sat in the empty arena while an exhausted crew talked to us as we waited to have our photos taken with one of Elton’s pianos. The “experience” was over at 6pm and we were left with two hours to kill in the empty arena. But what I did learn during the VIP experience was about an entire subculture of fans. These people had seen Elton John perform hundreds of times, and more than thirty times on this tour alone. They had sparkly Elton attire. While I questioned their sanity, I also appreciated their passion and commitment to Sir John.
I met an Elton fan named Debbie from New Jersey. She was decked out in Elton wear from head to toe including a pink sparkly jacket with Tiny Dancer on it. We talked about how our husbands had no interest in this sort of thing and neither of us had any problem going to concerts alone. We couldn’t define how important the music of our youth was to us, but agreed that it was “everything.” These songs encompassed so much emotion for us. And we got high from them. “Burn Down the Mission,” “Love Lies Bleeding,” and “Levon,” were particularly transcendent on Wednesday.
Elton John was the first rock concert I went to. I believe it was 1974 and I was twelve. My entire family plus my friend Janet attended. I guess twelve was considered too young to go to Madison Square Garden alone, even for my extremely liberal parents. I am sure I have the ticket stub as I have saved the ticket stubs to most of the concerts I have gone to. Debbie told me that she had been at that same concert at Madison Square Garden and that John Lennon joined Elton on stage—I don’t remember that but definitely have to check my ticket stub!
Also, it seems to me that when we were growing up, there were no special effects during concerts (although I do remember an actual wall being built during Pink Floyd’s “The Wall” tour). In the last few years, (20? 30?), background visuals are commonplace. I always thought they were cheesy and detracted from the music. But the videos at this concert were so great, showing Elton at different stages of his career, as well as clips from the biopic.
But what really struck me, (and remember I had the “VIP Experience,” so I was fifth row center and had a very good view of Elton’s face), was how often he turned to the audience and smiled. And how he thanked us, and his fans whom he recognized from attending his shows and for dressing up night after night.
Is this really his last tour? He has said this before. He is now 75 and definitely has some orthopedic issues (no wonder after all the crazy stunts he pulled when he was young). I don’t know, but I am definitely glad I got to be part of this journey. He was my first rock & roll love, even before Neil Young. And I’ve seen him a few times in the intervening years between 1974 and 2022, but this felt truly and deeply meaningful. And even though I had gone to the concert alone, I could spot Debbie out of the corner of my eye dancing in her Tiny Dancer jacket and knew I was in good company.
