Elton John: Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour 04/07/2022

I was excited when I heard the announcement that Elton John was adding two homecoming shows to his long (and forever expanding) list of farewell tour dates. I was extremely ready to get pre-sale tickets for this one, after being so late for buying tickets to his other shows. Watford season pass holders got first dibs on tickets over Rocket Club members but I decided to get a VIP package for this one anyway. That was all that was available to me during the pre-sale. I wanted a super close-up view for at least one of the shows. It is so worth it if you can afford it. I really shouldn’t have been able to on my low wages. If you want to get as close as you can get then you may as well get the VIP package, as some of the seats in the row behind me were even more expensive without it. EJ’s VIP packages are very high quality and the items included in it feel truly special. I had to post the lithograph home from Watford because the tube is massive and I didn’t think I’d get off with lugging it through the airport. It made it home practically in one piece. I bubble-wrapped it in a hurry and didn’t seal the ends, so one of the plastic lids came off. I don’t know if it was an accident or not but I was disappointed as I obviously would have liked to receive it in the condition I got it in. I had to use the lid from another poster tube I had, which is nearly identical, as I want to keep the VIP package how it is. I suspect a thief might have peered inside to see if there was anything valuable but I guess they didn’t fancy an Elton John poster.

I woke up in the morning hyper refreshed after my tiring Hyde Park experience the night before nearly being the death of me and loved exploring Watford and seeing all the EJ murals and quirky signs/sculptures. I met a couple of women at the new library mural who asked me if I can take a photo of them in front of it and offered to do the same for me! It was lovely seeing people visit the mural and take selfies with it. One of the best things about concerts is meeting like-minded people and seeing them geek out over your favourite musicians. I was sad when I had to leave and would like to go back one day, maybe to a football match since I now have a few pieces of Watford football memorabilia. I stumbled across the Watford FC shop in the middle of the shopping centre and went a bit mad, though I resisted adding another EJ t-shirt to my collection. I really liked the top which was designed to fit Elton’s style with the hornet motif on it but wasn’t sure I could pull off quite so daring a look. I settled on a themed scarf and pair of socks to wear to the event. There were other people in the shop looking at the merch and asking directions to the stadium for the concert. I didn’t understand the shop owner’s directions when he advised them to take the route via M&S. I decided to rely on Google Maps as it hasn’t let me down yet. How did people go anywhere without it? A woman complained she doesn’t look good in yellow, so refrained from buying any of the football tops. Someone said to their friend, “How would you like a pair of socks like that?” as I walked by in my new yellow and black stripy ones and her friend clearly didn’t approve. I wore them with my personalised “Farewell Yellow Brick Road” tour t-shirt with one of the NYC dates on it, which also fitted the colour scheme.

The stadium is gorgeous. I went the wrong way to find the turnstiles but it meant I got a good look at the EJ mural by his stand before it got too busy. I picked up my VIP package after locating the stall and was a bit self-conscious carrying it around because of the price of the ticket but I wasn’t the only one. The list of names they had for people coming to collect packages was extremely long. I couldn’t believe how close I was to the stage/piano when I sat down and it took a moment to take it all in. Because I was wearing a Watford scarf, the security guard joked I was a bit early for a football match. I knew EJ would come on at 7pm or just after then, the same as Swansea, so I wandered around a bit and grabbed wine and a chocolate donut before returning to my seat. When I came back a member of security said “It’s okay, I remember you!” before letting me back into my section. That was funny as people rarely remember me. I bet it was because of my socks.

Elton sounded more incredible than ever, maybe since I was so close to the speakers. He sounds like he did years ago and everyone was sending a lot of love and support his way. He said hello to The Rookery Stand first of all and gushed about all of the wonderful memories he has of this stadium and the people he’s met along the way between songs. He made a speech near the end about his love for his club and got emotional and shed a few tears. He said he was awake until four thirty in the morning after last night’s show (night one of the two homecoming shows), thinking about how much he loves the club. He talked about how it really hit him after that show how much the place truly means to him. He explained how he first came to the stadium with his dad when he was six years old and he never imagined back then that his name would be up on one of the stands in the future. He talked about how far the stadium has come since he first saw it and how it is so wonderful now.

He promised to come back when he retires and “get his hands dirty” working with the club again, which is a huge announcement! He talked about how the club had a bad last season but how that should be left in the past and how the new manager looks promising. He showed off the new black and white strip with his name on it and said “I got one! Yay!” He had very nice words to say about Graham Taylor the ex manager/chairman and said it’s not really a goodbye as he will be back soon. This was a truly special concert and the atmosphere was absolutely amazing. It felt very different from the other ones of his I’ve been to as he isn’t really saying goodbye this time around. He said it’s not just because he supports the club that this is an important show to him but that he also grew up in Pinner. I would’ve liked to have seen the restaurant/pub he used to play in before he became famous but I ran out of time. Maybe next time. I read there is a plaque outside, noting he used to play there. The article said the owner didn’t think he was anything special when he used to come and play during his youth but his wife believed in him.

So many people were discussing how amazing he is as he continued to play and were raving about him when the concert ended and I was heading back to the hotel. It was a perfect night. All the clouds had cleared by the end of the show and the moon was beautiful. I was in a daze for a long time afterwards because I had such a great time. I contemplated engaging in some of the night life but I was travelling solo and I didn’t want anything to happen which could taint my positive impression of Watford. I think I might have enjoyed this show even more than the ones at Madison Square Garden in New York but it’s very difficult to pick a favourite as I loved them for different reasons and they are both incredibly special venues.

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GALLERY:

The library mural

The stadium. It’s so pretty

The other new mural

On the wall inside

Excellent view

The piano is huge

Davey Johnstone and Matt Bissonette

Before the encore

Nigel Olsson

Encore

The new strip

The Elton John stand in the background

Watford scarf

VIP package minus the lithograph