Elton John: Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour 22/02/2022

Where:Madison Square Garden – New York, NY (USA)

Venue Rating: 10/10 (How can I fault somewhere so iconic?)

Who I went with: Myself

Where I stayed: Pod 51 Hotel (It was fine and within walking distance but the rooftop terrace was closed!)

How I travelled there: Walked from the hotel. I’d been in New York for a few days by this point

Beverage of choice: Coors beer! How very American

SETLIST:

Bennie And The Jets
Philadelphia Freedom
I Guess 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 / Love Lies Bleeding
Burn Down The Mission
Sad Songs (Say So Much)
Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me
The Bitch Is Back
I’m Still Standing
Crocodile Rock
Saturday Night’s Alright (For Fighting)
Cold Heart
Your Song (Encore)
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (Encore)

I had been dreaming of seeing Elton John for a long time. I knew around twenty of his songs (naturally) but I’d somehow missed ‘Goodbye Yellow Brick Road’ until a year or so before this. It came on the shop radio when I was working and I practically had an out of body experience because of it. It was bizarre. No other song had ever had such a big effect on me, hearing it for the first time. I also loved the movie 2019 ‘Rocketman’, starring Taron Egerton. I prefer him in other movies he’s done but he did a brilliant job and I know he put a lot of research and effort into the role. They are also good friends now, with Elton claiming they are “cut from the same cloth”. I read EJ’s book all about his life and did a thorough deep-dive into his music, in case there were other gorgeous songs I hadn’t come across. There are hundreds of them. He is a truly remarkable musician. I have ended up collecting his old records and singles, too. My boyfriend Paul is not a fan at all and doesn’t understand the hype!

I think I heard about the tour from the movie. I saw he was coming to Aberdeen and booked tickets for my dad and I but it was put off for several months when EJ tragically fell and injured his hip. My trip to New York was very last-minute. I’m sure I booked it in December, which didn’t give me a lot of time. I was extremely angry at work at the time, so I just went for it. It may have been a reckless decision but it definitely made me feel better. New York is the city I most wanted to visit out of everywhere in the world and I knew it would make sense for my trip to coincide with seeing Elton, since he has said in several interviews that Madison Square Garden is his favourite music venue.

I was the first person to arrive (at this entrance, anyway) and it was pouring rain for the first time that whole week. I wasn’t sure where else to go and I was anxious to get inside so I circled Times Square for about an hour before queuing again. Times Square wasn’t my favourite location in Manhattan as it is very touristy. It was quiet in February but still uncomfortably crowded there. The shops are fun but they are all big chains. One thing I noticed is shop staff make a huge deal of you when you walk through the doors, which felt very awkward to me. The time that stood out the most was when I went into Macy’s at opening time and all the staff all stood in a line either side of the main entrance and clapped/smiled/loudly welcomed you as you entered. It was so weird.

There was a girl from Texas who was chatting away to everyone, keeping their spirits high. I didn’t catch her name but she talked about how she had tickets to see Elton with her mum but he cancelled the show after catching COVID. He has had a rough time this past year. He only cancelled a couple of shows and was back on track after a week or so, which is impressive. She said she is more of a Dua Lipa fan, so that is probably how she got to know EJ – through ‘Cold Heart’, their new single which took the world by storm. She admitted she doesn’t know a lot of his songs but another woman in the queue assured her she’ll know more than she realises, since he has so many hits. When the conversation died a bit, a homeless man came up to us and asked for money. I’d managed to avoid this kind of thing throughout my trip so far, probably because I don’t stand still long enough. A man generously offered him his cookie but the man threw it back at him in disgust exclaiming, “I don’t want that!” How crazy. It was a bit daunting but I felt we had safety in numbers. I would have liked to have seen more security/staff around the venue, though. You just never know what is going to happen in big cities like this.

Everything else was well organised. There was a minor delay getting us through the doors but it wasn’t too bad. They promised to get us towels so we could dry ourselves off but I didn’t see any when I got inside. It wasn’t the worst rainstorm I’d ever seen but my passport got a bit wet when I was showing it to security as my form of ID. Not a lot of venues do this but New York seems to be quite strict for obvious reasons. It’s all crinkled now. And it was brand new, since my cockatiel ate my last one when I was trying to input my travel details. I managed to get home with it without anyone at the airport raising their eyebrows, so that’s good at least. I probably should have used a different form of identification but I don’t have a provisional license as driving strikes fear into my soul. The security gates always make me nervous, even though I never have anything to hide. It’s like when you see a police officer and get nervous for absolutely no reason, which probably just makes you look more suspicious if anything. I set off the metal detector with all of the pin badges I decided to wear, which was a little embarrassing. Some even fell off and I had to scoop them off the floor. Oops. My star-shaped sunglasses also broke in my bag before I even got the chance to wear them, so I wished I had taken better care of them.

I was so excited to get inside that my blood was pumping hard. The inside is very plain though and not as majestic-looking as I had imagined. The arena itself is massive and gorgeous, however. It impressed me how they covered up all that ice since it’s usually an ice-hockey arena. Home of the New York Rangers. I bought a lanyard and “E” key-ring at the merch stall. I was the fastest person in the queue to decide what I wanted to buy. Nobody seemed to be able to make a decision and stick to it. They came in a lovely MSG souvenir bag, which I will treasure. I got a beer but it was nearly $18 after the tip. That is the most expensive cup of beer I have bought anywhere. I thought £12 for a glass of wine at The O2 in London was bad. I should have dipped into a nearby pub beforehand, since I still had time to waste. I drank it slowly because I didn’t want to have to run to the toilet three thousand times. It was nice holding on to it and feeling the vibration of the music through the plastic.

I was off to the right-hand side but felt very close to the stage. I had changed my seat to a more expensive one and was feeling apprehensive about it in case it was a restricted view but it turned out to be incredible. The girl beside me asked if I had also been waiting two years to see him, since all of the concerts were postponed due to COVID. I kind of nodded, even though it wasn’t true. I didn’t want to get into conversation as I’m not from the US and didn’t feel like explaining all of that. I’m not the most social person to exist. Everyone suddenly cheered and I craned my neck to see whether they had caught a glimpse of Elton but it didn’t appear so. He came on stage more or less on time and didn’t need the walking stick he has been using after his accident in order to make it to his piano. He was amazing and made the effort to come over and wave to everyone on our side and read everyone’s signs. I thought of bringing one but I’m too insecure and I would struggle to come up with something original to write. One fan had written that she had been to over 170 of his shows. That is dedication for you. He seemed genuinely enthusiastic and grateful to be performing.

He reminisced about his early days and how shocked and Bernie Taupin were when Aretha Franklin decided to do a cover of one of their early songs, ‘Border Song’. It seems funny to hear him talk so highly of other musicians and be in awe of them since he also turned out to be a giant megastar himself. I know he still has a deep interest in music and collects thousands of records, new and old. He is very good at promoting up and coming talent and always keeps his eye out for new musicians, which is great of him. ‘Have Mercy On The Criminal’ is a welcome addition to the set list and I loved the moment where the music gets so loud it basically sends shock-waves through the arena. ‘All The Girls Love Alice’, ‘Indian Sunset’ and ‘Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word’ were recently omitted from the set list and ‘HMOTC’ and ‘Cold Heart’ were added in. It was sad not to hear the two he took out but they are not two of my favourites. ‘Cold Heart’ felt a tiny bit gimmicky but it didn’t fail to get the crowd excited and I understand why he is celebrating it so much, since it reached number 1 recently. It doesn’t really fit in with his older tracks though and felt a bit like a karaoke track, since he didn’t play the piano and had Dua Lipa’s vocals added in for her parts.

‘Believe’ and ‘I Want Love’ were also in earlier versions of the set list, long before I knew anything about the tour. I would prefer those two than the ones I mentioned in the previous paragraph, though they’re all so good. He dedicated ‘Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me’ to Gary Brooker, one of his idols who had recently passed away. He said he was the first musician he had ever seen play the electric piano and he felt so inspired by him. He said the album ‘A Whiter Shade Of Pale’ reminds him so much of the 60s and makes him feel nostalgic about that era. I should definitely give it a listen sometime. Elton is so knowledgeable and I always trust his taste. He never seems to forget a song/album. He also talked about how Madison Square Garden is his favourite venue in the world (which I already knew) and how knocking it down would have been a disaster. They were making plans to tear it down but he said, “You can’t re-build atmosphere!” which got a huge cheer. It was interesting because I went on a tour of Grand Central Station on my first full day in the city and the tour guide hates MSG and criticised it for replacing the old train station which once stood there. Now, MSG is connected to what’s left of Penn Station and it’s not exactly the architectural masterpiece it once was. So I can see both sides! The place definitely has the hearts of a lot of music and sports fans.

Elton was in top form and his voice sounded incredible, possibly because of all the rest it got during lockdown instead of doing hundreds of shows in a short space of time. I think he sounded even better than he did twenty or so years earlier and I am so lucky to have experienced this concert. I’ve watched clips of him from more recent shows and he is still sounding brilliant. I found out when I got back to my hotel that his plane malfunctioned on the way to New York from the UK and had to make an emergency landing. My mum told me! I don’t know if it is to do with all the bad storms we have been getting over in the UK or not but that must have been really scary for him. I read the article and it said he felt very shaken up afterwards. He didn’t mention it during the concert, even though it had only happened just hours earlier. He didn’t let it put him off, which makes me admire him even more.

GALLERY: