Monday, August 24, 1998
Still rocking after 30 years, Elton John dazzles crowd
MUSIC: Something about the way legend performs sets him apart
from aging stars
By Mike Prevatt
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
He may be in his fifties, but there’s no way the sun’s going
down on Elton John just yet.
Showing no sign of exhaust after over a year of touring, the
knighted pop star thrilled fans at the Anaheim Pond Friday night
with a near three-hour concert jammed with the hits that have made
him one of the biggest names in music.
Playing a "greatest hits" show is the ultimate safety net for
more popular pop and rock artists. The audience is so caught up in
the excitement of hearing their favorites that the skill in the
musical and vocal presentation usually goes ignored or lacks the
quality of the studio recordings (i.e. the Rolling Stones and the
Eagles). John is in the position where satisfying more than 15,000
fans (paying over $50 a head) means playing his biggest hits, the
usual scenario for adult contemporary and classic rock acts which
tour regularly.
But it takes a truly talented artist to transcend the "going
through the motions" phenomenon and perform the songs the way they
were meant to be played. Elton John is one such performer who,
after almost thirty years, still can give his songs a freshness and
vitality that others his age cannot.
And a performer like John doesn’t need to perform for almost
three hours. Accomplished artists like Stevie Nicks will charge $65
a ticket and only play for 90 minutes. Yet, either as a testament
to the demand to play his numerous hits or to fill the void that
fellow piano star Billy Joel was supposed to fill as co-headliner
(he canceled tour involvement earlier in the year), Sir Elton
plowed through twenty-seven songs with the exuberance he has become
famous for. And even if he passed the falsetto parts of his songs
on to backup singers, John proved his voice can go on for
hours.
With snippets from Disney’s "The Lion King" gracing the screens
above the stage, John walked out to an extremely enthusiastic
capacity crowd and opened with "Circle of Life." The rhythmic
back-up band filled the huge Pond with a arena-shaking sound, but
it never overshadowed John’s virtuoso piano playing or soaring
vocals, no matter how hard the shameless, ’80s-reject session
musicians moved about or sought attention.
John dove early into the favorites, from the upbeat "Grey Seal"
and "Honky Cat," to the soulful "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" and "I
Guess That’s Why They Call It the Blues." And after every single
song, the humbled John bowed to the crowd, even walking around to
shake hands and acknowledge the fans.
His ’80s songs, like "I Don’t Want to Go On With You Like That"
and "Sad Songs," were certainly pleasing and juiced up more so than
their recorded versions, but his ’70s hits seemed to prove
themselves more memorable and striking in the live performance
setting. His renditions of "Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me,"
Daniel," "Rocket Man" and especially "Your Song" not only drew
eardrum-shattering shrieks, but possessed an unexpected poignancy
in such a big arena spectacle.
His ’90s, middle-of-the-road hits glowed as well, even if the
songwriting isn’t as mastered as the aforementioned chart-toppers.
This included the moving comeback single "The One" and "Something
About the Way You Look Tonight," the A-side to "Candle in the Wind
’97, "the biggest selling single of all time (which John vowed
he’ll never perform again).
After an electric, back-to-back performance of "The Bitch is
Back" and "Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting," John encored
with covers of the Beatles’ "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds" and
Jerry Lee Lewis’ "Great Balls of Fire."
The climax, however, was saved for the second encore. A now
shorts-adorned John slammed the first note of "Bennie and the Jets"
onto the piano, and caused complete pandemonium among the fans.
During the pleasantly extended version, John kicked away his bench
and played from under the piano without missing a note, proving
that "Bennie" is all about Elton and his piano. It’s further
evidence that John is both a consummate showman and a near-genius
songwriter. Even though he no longer needs to prove himself, it’s
always exciting to see him at his best. DERRICK KUDO /Daily
Bruin
Legendary singer and songwriter Elton John performs to a packed
crowd at the Anaheim Pond.