Elton John - this was the concert I was most excited about, just for the show. I knew it would definitely be good, it would probably be great, and it might even be legendary.
Alex and I drove to Saint John on the afternoon of the show. Adam and Christa had once again, spontaneously and irrationally decided to come for the drive. It takes normal people roughly an hour to drive to Saint John. We left at 4:10, and arrived at my mother's house at 6:20. It's an all-around testament to our organizational skills, but not a particularly interesting story to elaborate upon, I don't suppose.
We picked up my mother. We picked up my grandmother. We drove to the show and I was hoping, despite the unusual combination of concert companions, that it would be legendary because, after all, it is Elton John.
It was just him and a piano on stage. No backing band or singers. Just him and his piano. He started with Your Song, and it sounded just as perfect as it does on records. He got a standing ovation for that song.
And the song after that.
And the song after that.
In fact, Sir Elton got a standing ovation after every single song he played. I didn't stand every time, just because everyone else did. I only stood for the songs where he knocked my socks off; I stood 21 times.
It's hard to put into perspective just how captivating he is until you're in his presence. He is a legend and his concerts are, indeed, legendary.
When he left the stage, the cheers and stomps were thunderous. A few minutes later, he walked back on the stage and those cheers swelled even more. He signed autographs for those clustered at the front for about 10 minutes before playing his encore song.
Most of the crowd kept up their cheering for the whole 10 minutes, but I sat down. I couldn't help but think, "Can't he sign autographs after the show, you know, so I don't have to wait around for this." I was also thinking "He better play Goodbye Yellow Brick Road."
He didn't. But he did play Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me . So that was a good ending.
Making the ending better was that I saw Michael after the show! (Michael, if you still read this, holla!)
So that's the end of my month long concert binge. To summarize, I'll give each an award based on my personal experience:
Ryan Adams and the Cardinals - best show to look forward to
Oasis - best show to experience (internally)
Trews #1 - new personal best for the boys
Trews #2 - best after party
Bloc Party (note: I never found time to chronicle this concert) - made two hours seem like two minutes
Jakob Dylan - most like Bob Dylan
Jerry Lee Lewis - most pleasantly surprising
The Pretenders - most umm... incorporation of Chrissie Hynde...? aka - most forgettable
Dave Matthews - BEST PERFORMANCE
Neil Young - most bad ass
Elton John - best show to experience (externally)
2 comments:
why was oasis internal?
and why was elton john external?
i thought this post was written especially well
oasis was internal because every song was a little trip down adolescent memory lane.
elton john was external because every middle aged woman around me was flipping her shit, and that was funny to be a part of.
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