Goodbye Yellow Brick Road: Farewell Elton John

On the very birthday of the greatest singer in the world, Céline Dion, Melissa and I got the privilege of seeing live in concert another one of the greatest singers in the world, Sir Elton John, on the St. Louis stop of his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour. Seeing Sir Elton live was a dream come true for me and an evening that I will never, ever forget.

I’ve loved Elton John my entire life. In fact, the second CD I ever owned was the soundtrack to The Lion King (my first was the soundtrack to Aladdin) and I can still vividly remember at eight years old lying on the floor at my grandparents house and listening to the album with headphones on while looking up and watching whatever it was my grandpa and grandma had on television. The Circle of Life and Can You Feel The Love Tonight? are certified jams and while Elton didn’t perform either the other night, I can’t even pretend to be upset. With a catalogue as rich and vast as his, creating a setlist for your final tour is surely next to impossible, so suffice it to say, the songs he did select most definitely did not disappoint.

Appropriately enough for me, Elton opened with Bennie and the Jets. A song title that many, many people have called me all throughout my life and while I’m not necessarily a fan of being called “Bennie,” I’m most definitely a fan of this song, so the moniker is totally fine. Zero complaints, it’s obviously a compliment. Following the song he rose from the piano and walked a half moon around the stage to receive applause from each area he faced. He literally did this after every single song for the entire rest of the night, but I’m not complaining, I found it absolutely wonderful and adorable. Here was a living legend giving a sold out crowd at the Enterprise Center exactly what they wanted, so it was only right we gave him what he wanted back after each number. He’s been performing since 1969, he’s damn well earned his adorations and admirations.

Next up we got rocking version of Philadelphia Freedom before he propelled into one of my all-time favorite songs, I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues. More on this song later, but let me just say that this was the first of the six times I cried. Hearing this anthem live just made me so damn happy, so the waterworks most definitely started working.

For Border Song, Elton shared a beautiful story about how Aretha Franklin covered this song and how that’s when he knew he’d truly made it. It was about this time in the show that I took notice of the dad down front who had this lil’ baby bopping in front of him in this reverse backpack thing he was wearing. It was really cute and from that moment on I kept looking for the dad and baby each time when the house lights came on and Elton took in his applause.

Elton then went on to perform Tiny Dancer, Have Mercy on the Criminal, Rocket Man (I Think It’s Going to Be a Long, Long Time) [which was a real crowd favorite – everyone was singing along!], Take Me to the Pilot, Someone Saved My Life Tonight, Levon, and then another one of my absolute favorites, Candle In The Wind.

I’m always torn between which version of this iconic jam I love more, the original or the 1997 Princess Diana tribute. I cry equally as much in both and hearing him perform the original ode to Marilyn Monroe was certainly no exception and became the second of my six cries. I definitely saw other people crying including the lady in front of us wearing Elton’s iconic bedazzled Los Angeles Dodgers uniform. She was a real treasure the entire night. Melissa and I named her Sherry, but who knows what her real name is, but to us, she’ll always be Sherry.

We then got Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding, Burn Down the Mission, Sad Songs (Say So Much), before another favorite of mine, Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me. The single version, which hit #1 in 1992, featured George Michael and this boy Brewer at work kept talking about me seeing George Michael in concert during the days leading up to the show. I assumed he was joking, but after a while I realized he didn’t realize George was dead, so I had to break the news to him and needless to say, he was shook. How he didn’t know George Michael was no longer with us is beyond me, but he definitely knows now. People really do learn something new everyday.

We then got a rambunctious rendition of The Bitch is Back before the one, two punch of I’m Still Standing and Crocodile Rock he served us prior to closing out his set with Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting. I love all four of those songs, BUT the middle two are my jams!

Anyone who watched my Snapchat story knows I was singing my heart out all night long, but during I’m Still Standing and Crocodile Rock I was living my best life! I was singing at the top of my lungs and dancing my lil’ heart out and I was in good company too! It was electric in the atmosphere and for those last twenty minutes or so EVERYONE in the place was on their feet! Especially Sherry! I cried a little during both songs, so there was cries three and four. I did stop crying long enough between the two that it wasn’t one long cry, but most definitely two unique moments.

Elton then left the stage for a bit before coming back out and giving us a three song encore. He started with his most recent smash hit, the Dua Lipa assisted Cold Heart before diving into his very first hit, Your Song. I cried pretty damn hard during the latter, it’s just such a beautiful ballad and having looked at the setlist prior to the show, I knew the night was nearly over, so my heart was pretty heavy at this point.

Before beginning the final song of the night, which of course was Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, Elton shared a wonderful story about the first show he ever performed in St. Louis back in 1982 at the VP Fair and how he dressed as a St. Louis City Police Officer and walked through the crowd with all the police in order to make it to the stage. He said it was a moment that he’s never forgotten and one of his favorites from his entire 53 year career. He then mentioned lil’ baby Dakota, who was still hanging out in his dad’s reverse backpack, and remarked how while Dakota will never remember this night, Elton would never forget it. He shared that this was his final show in the state of Missouri and how he’s 75 now and is looking forward to finishing his life with his husband and children. It was such a moving moment that there was literally not a dry eye in the house, of course I couldn’t really tell because through my eyes, everyone looked to be crying as I was a straight up mess. This marked the sixth and hardest time I’d cried all night. Honestly, you’d have thought I was at a Céline Dion concert with how many times I cried and yes, I was dehydrated as fuck when the show ended.

I’ve been to a LOT of concerts in my life, but this will forever rank near the top. Each moment was more iconic and incredible than the last. Like I said, I’ve always loved Elton John, but I’ve never loved him as much as I do now. Hey now, hey now, THIS is what dreams are made of.

My Elton John playlist consists of 38 songs and Elton performed 22 of them for us that night, but of course I wanted to take a moment and share with you my Favorite Five:

5. Your Song – Few other songs tug at my heartstrings the way this one does. The simple piano arrangement and Elton’s silky smooth vocals make this fairly stripped down hymn pack a whopping punch. Easily one of the best love songs ever made. Plus, it honestly sounds every bit as fresh today as it did upon its release back in 1970.

4. The Bridge – I always have a song tied to each big trip I take and when I went to London and Paris over New Year’s Eve 2006 entering 2007 this one was on repeat. The lyrics are absolutely beautiful and applicable to everyone at some point in life. Elton sings about building a bridge and moving on from the past in a piano driven melody that’s just gorgeous in every sense of the word. This is often a go-to for me when I’m in need of a pick-me-up.

3. I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues – Good luck listening to KEZK 102.5, KLOU 103.3, or 106.5 The Arch in St. Louis without hearing this song on each of those stations AT LEAST once per day and I’m most certainly NOT complaining! I’ve had this gem on repeat for the past week since the show and I still cannot get enough of it! This is the perfect sing-a-long song and I never fail to belt out every lyric with the same bravado as Elton. Such a jam!

2. The One – If there’s one thing I love, it’s soft rock power ballads and this is peak that! Elton’s voice glides across the mystical melody in such an effortless fashion that I find myself never wanting the song to end, so thank goodness for the repeat button! Also, the beach sounds in the beginning (seagulls and waves) really set the tone for what you instantly know will be a real banger. I always dream of slow walking along the beach while this song plays all around me.

1. Crocodile Rock – The amount of memories I have tied to this song is just about unrivaled! Melissa and I used to drive around aimlessly all the time in our youth and this jam was on constant rotation in Club Aurora! I can close my eyes and envision several key moments where we were driving past someplace specific and this song was on. Also, it’s featured in one of my Top Ten favorite movies ever, Dick, (about Richard Nixon and the Watergate scandal) and I often think of that scene too – if you haven’t seen this movie – YOU MUST! Impossible to listen to this song and not want to rock out because just like Elton declares in the lyrics, “…your feet just can’t keep still!” Truer words never sung.

Well, as always, THANK YOU for viewing! I appreciate you greatly! Please feel free to leave me a comment below as I LOVE reading and responding to them! I’d especially love to hear if you’ve ever seen Sir Elton live before or what your favorite songs of his might be! He has so many jams that I firmly believe everyone has at least one favorite! This bitch will be back next week, but until then, I wish you all, all the best!