latitude
Big Man In A Little Suit
Posts: 133 
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Post by latitude on Mar 2, 2018 23:01:01 GMT
Elton John Walks Offstage, Goes Off on Unruly Fans
"Saturday night's all right for fighting -- and apparently Thursday night is OK for clashing, too.
Elton John's show in Las Vegas on Thursday got a little tense, as the "Your Song" singer walked offstage after fans apparently got a little too rambunctious for his taste.
As captured in a video published by TMZ, John was performing "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting" surrounded by fans on stage when he stood up and walked off mid-song.
A close up of Elton John© TheWrap According to one audience member captured in the video, one fan onstage ruined the performance by repeatedly trying to high-five John.
"I saw him say ---k off to somebody," another audience member noted.
John eventually came back onstage to continue the concert -- and to declare, "No more coming on stage on 'Saturday Night.' You ---ed it up."
John's stint in Vegas has not been without its hiccups.
Last month, the singer -- who recently announced his final tour -- was struck in the face by Mardi Gras beads. John was performing -- yup -- "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting" when beads flew over his piano and hit him right in the face.
The singer then checked his teeth while security fumbled around him, and the shocked John took some time to compose himself before launching back into the song.
Maybe he should consider cutting that tune from the set list. It seems to get people riled up".
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latitude
Big Man In A Little Suit
Posts: 133
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Post by latitude on Mar 2, 2018 23:02:45 GMT
Definitely don't blame Elton for walking off that stage. A fan trying to high five him while he's playing the piano and singing is pretty stupid!
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Post by dougs on Mar 2, 2018 23:22:17 GMT
re: Elton walking off the stage:
First of all, any fan who thinks they have the right to interfere with a performance just doesn't appreciate the situation. It is a very special courtesy to be offered the opportunity to go on stage during a song and with it comes certain expectations including: a) don't interfere with the performance and b) don't throw things at the performer! Come on people, really?!
Second, Elton doesn't always handle things like this very well. When things go "off" or wrong in a concert such as these recent Vegas occurrences or sound issues or security aggressiveness or record company issues (!) or other things...his temper usually gets the best of him and he doesn't respond in a way that shows any degree of humour or patience. It always undermines all the good things that he does and the effort and goodwill that he usually brings into his concerts.
Let's hope that he finds a way to control himself better. Can't imagine how ticked off fans would be if, during his FAREWELL concerts, he throws a tantrum and people who have paid a fortune for a last concert with him have to endure these things. I can't imagine all 300+ FAREWELL shows will go according to plan, especially with the big production apparently coming with the tour.
Quick observation; Elton doesn't seem as "at peace" to me recently as maybe he has been in recent years. Is it just me? He is so ridiculously busy - and, at 70 years of age!
Doug
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Post by kissybissy on Mar 2, 2018 23:29:13 GMT
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Post by kissybissy on Mar 2, 2018 23:35:42 GMT
When I went to Vegas once to attend the red piano, at one of the shows a guy was also very inconvenient. He was pushing everyone and putting his hands almost touching Elton's face pretending he was playing the piano. Elton was pissed off, but didn't leave the stage. A friend of mine recorded with her cell. When we went back to the hotel, we had a laugh.
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latitude
Big Man In A Little Suit
Posts: 133
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Post by latitude on Mar 3, 2018 2:04:47 GMT
Interesting video kissybissy. The guy was annoying for sure, but maybe Elton could have continued and just ignored it (or had the guy removed?). Elton must have been in a pissy mood. Problem is, he punishes the whole audience for one guy's stupidity. He was addressing the audience when he said 'No more coming on stage on Saturday Night. You f....ed it up'. Actually they didn't 'f' it up. One guy did.
I also can't imagine 300 concerts and him not losing his temper at one or more of them. Too bad for the people at that one, and never being able to see him again. |
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Post by Dr Johnny Fever on Mar 3, 2018 15:32:02 GMT
Elton throwing a hissy fit?....nothing new there, but what a (does this board allow naughty words, shall we see) wanker, that guy was, you can see someone from Eltons staff coming over and putting his hands across to stop him, should really have taken him off stage..
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Post by BiteUrLip on Mar 3, 2018 16:51:20 GMT
Interesting video kissybissy. The guy was annoying for sure, but maybe Elton could have continued and just ignored it (or had the guy removed?). Elton must have been in a pissy mood. Problem is, he punishes the whole audience for one guy's stupidity. He was addressing the audience when he said 'No more coming on stage on Saturday Night. You f....ed it up'. Actually they didn't 'f' it up. One guy did.
I also can't imagine 300 concerts and him not losing his temper at one or more of them. Too bad for the people at that one, and never being able to see him again. I've got similar thoughts. I didn't see anything serious going on in there, so I think Elton's reaction was overblown. Why not just simply ignore and continue? Like you said, for many attendees these shows cost a fortune so it's not right to spoil the event. Letting the audience to come to the stage is a different thing. If Elton feels that it's too risky to let the fans come to the stage, then he has of course full right to disallow that. IMO, even without any problems, it's quite risky to let fans come that close. I wouldn't allow that if I was Elton. But punishing the whole audience because of one guy's stupidity is not right. |
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Post by BiteUrLip on Mar 3, 2018 23:15:47 GMT
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latitude
Big Man In A Little Suit
Posts: 133
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Post by latitude on Mar 5, 2018 2:20:55 GMT
I read the following from someone on the Crazy Water site. I wonder if this was the case:
"..... often times it is these front row/section seats that are not occupied by die hard fans, but rather high rollers who get these tickets comp'd (or free) by the hotel because they gamble so much. Trust me, this is the truth. These people have no respect for the artists. They behave like bratty children. They feel that they can do almost anything. And they are nothing but annoying and disrespectful - to everyone!"
I wonder if that weirdo was even a fan and possibly one of these types of people mentioned above.
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Post by dougs on Mar 5, 2018 3:25:27 GMT
latitude:
I would not be surprised at all to know that those prime front row seats are mostly filled by folks with an abundance of money especially at Vegas. We know from concerts that we have attended that so many of the true fans don't ever get access to the front seats - many can't afford them. Certainly a certain number of the front area fans are true fans but many are those folks who just see the concert as another of countless shows that they have seen over the years. I'd hate to think that this person at Vegas was provoking EJ a bit or just an inconsiderate (spoiled brat, as you said) bloke with no appreciation for the artist and his performance.
A quick related aside; concert audiences, in general, have become more and more inconsiderate over the 39 years (wow!) that I have been going to concerts. Maybe we should create a thread where we state specific audience behaviours that we have personally witnessed over the years.
Doug
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Post by kissybissy on Mar 5, 2018 22:57:59 GMT
The reserved front row seats are rarely occupied by high rollers and celebrities. Usually they are sold to regular fans a few minutes before the start of the show. I got one of these.
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Post by rocketman on Mar 12, 2018 21:34:55 GMT
While Elton has at times not handled things perhaps as well as he could have, in this case I think he was within bounds and salvaged the whole thing by coming out and finishing the set.
I just read of an instance this weekend where a hip-hop artist named Fabulous was asked to stop his show 20 minutes in because of unruly fans who left their seats to get up front and crowd the stage. A melee then erupted in the lobby and outside and arrests were made. Of course, it's a different type crowd than you'll see at an Elton concert, but the point is, people get all lathered up and lose restraint and all common sense.
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