Elton John

Number one benefit of leaving Wales early: getting to go to the Elton John concert!!! I hadn’t done anything about selling or giving the tickets away, because I was going to wait until I was absolutely positive that I couldn’t go. To be completely honest, the back of my mind was plotting a flight home just to see the concert. I doubt I would ever have spent that money, but I wouldn’t…couldn’t let go until there was no hope. YAY!

We went early-ish, so I could get a T-shirt. We waited quite a while – the vendors were terrific at their jobs and kept the lines going really well, but there were a lot of people. The one shirt I wanted was only available in a medium, and a medium is never going to cut it for me. Undaunted, I kept going around the Excel Center until I found another vendor booth. We scoped it out from the side and it looked like there were lots of my shirt. A short wait later and the large shirt and I were united. YAY!

We used the restroom proactively. I waited in a short line and when I was next and the stall door opened, the lady came out with a giant toilet paper roll – about a foot in diameter and handed it to me. I broke out laughing and so did she. The dispenser was broken, but there was a pull down tray inside that accommodated it nicely (the door couldn’t open when it was pulled down, so it was a temporary solution). When I came out and presented it to the next woman, there was a lot of laughing again. Laughing is great!! YAY!

We took our seats just as the stage lights lit up. People started cheering. Within two minutes, the house lights went down and EXACTLY at 8:00, Elton John started playing Bennie and the Jets. YAY!

The playlist:

• Bennie and the Jets
• Philadelphia Freedom
• That’s Why They Call It the Blues
• Border Song
• Tiny Dancer
• Have Mercy on the Criminal
• Rocket Man
• Take Me to the Pilot
• Someone Saved My Life Tonight
• Levon
• Candle in the Wind
• Funeral for a Friend
• Burn Down the Mission
• Sad Songs
• Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me
• The Bitch is Back
• I’m Still Standing
• Crocodile Rock
• Saturday Night’s All Right for Fighting
• Cold Heart
• Your Song
• Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

YAY!

There was a great big screen behind him that showed us very entertaining videos during most songs. They were almost as fun as the music. We both really enjoyed videos and pictures of Elton through the years, and there was one video of hilarious snippets from the Rocket Man movie. YAY!

His miscellaneous percussionist (what I think of as toys), Ray Cooper, was fantastic to watch. He was with Elton at the Troubadour in 1973 and was with Elton in St. Paul in 2022. YAY!

There wasn’t much singing along or dancing. As a veteran of quite a few Bruce Springsteen concerts, that seemed very unusual. The crowd didn’t really start singing until Crocodile Rock and Saturday Night’s All Right, but people were definitely having a good time. The woman sitting in front of me said to her husband early in the evening, “When he looks over this way, I know he is looking right at me.” How great is that? YAY!

YAY!YAY!YAY!YAY!YAY!