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Post by dougs on Jan 18, 2022 3:31:01 GMT
Elton's FAREWELL YELLOW BRICK ROAD tour is back on the road January 19th, 2022:
Elton's FAREWELL tour came to an unexpected interruption in March of 2020 towards the end of his large tour of Australia and New Zealand. After lots of COVID-19 related re-scheduling, the tour is set to start in New Orleans on January 19th and continue for another 20+ shows through eastern USA as well as Canada. The tour then heads to various USA markets until the end of April.
2022 Itinerary:
May-July: Scandinavia, Europe, and the UK - ending in Watford for 2 nights
July-Nov: USA and Canadian stadium tour - ending at Dodger Stadium for 2 nights
2023 is scheduled to take Elton & Band back to Scandinavia, Europe, and the UK for a huge number of shows.
Davey Johnstone recently stated that he has been, as musical director, rehearsing the band to get ready for these upcoming 2022 concerts and, as usual, without EJ's presence. Davey stated again how much Elton hates to rehearse. Let's hope everyone is on the same page starting tomorrow in New Orleans. We'll see if there are any changes to the setlist which was fairly steady/static for almost all of the previous FAREWELL YELLOW BRICK ROAD concerts.
During the pandemic, Elton had procedures done to his hip and appears to have trimmed down and to be in good physical shape for the tour. We'll see if COVID-19 gets in the way of these concerts...
Doug
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Post by dougs on Jan 20, 2022 10:57:41 GMT
FAREWELL YELLOW BRICK ROAD - re-opening night: (Note: spoilers in this post)
Elton & Band opened up the FAREWELL tour in New Orleans last night (January 19) with several (unconfirmed) changes to the setlist.
* "Philadelphia Freedom" has been moved up to the #2 spot in the show replacing "All The Girls Love Alice" which has been dropped (too bad - an excellent album track)
* "Have Mercy on the Criminal" has been added
* "Cold Heart" has been added
* "Indian Sunset" has been dropped
* "Border Song" has been dropped NOTE: This song has subsequently been added to the setlist for opening night.
* "Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word" has been dropped
* "Daniel" has been dropped
Elton thanked the fans for holding onto their tickets for over 700 days!
For opening night, we saw 4 songs dropped and 2 songs added. When I did see these concerts in 2018 and 2019 I felt that "Indian Sunset" was simply brilliant - hopefully it is not gone permanently. "Take Me To The Pilot" is a song now worthy of being considered a drop from the setlist. I am delighted to see "Have Mercy on the Criminal" added as I thought that it was an artistic highlight on the WONDERFUL CRAZY NIGHT tour in 2016-17. Not surprised to see that they managed to get the massive hit single "Cold Heart" into the setlist.
I would take the emotional epic Elton & Ray Cooper live version of "Indian Sunset" over a primarily pre-recorded "Cold Heart" any day of the year. I prefer live music to be live.
The site nola.com (New Orleans news) has added a nice review of the concert.
Doug
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Post by dougs on Jan 22, 2022 14:59:09 GMT
FAREWELL YELLOW BRICK ROAD - Update January 22, 2022:
* Kim Bullard, the band's keyboardist, is currently absent from these early concerts with COVID-19.
* order of songs saw some interesting changes (eg. "Your Song") by Houston - 2nd concert of the return to the road.
* the performance of "Levon" has been notably changed.
Doug
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Post by newloneranger on Jan 23, 2022 7:08:21 GMT
Heard Cold Heart live, should stay away from the Pnau songs. Rather have Indian Sunset too. no comparison.
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Post by dougs on Jan 23, 2022 15:23:18 GMT
newloneranger:
It sounds like you and I are from an era of music when live music was actually played...live. I, too, would much rather see musicianship on display live. Having pre-recorded music playing as a backtrack gets boring - fast.
Don't get me wrong, though, about Elton & Pnau; I quite like that 2012 album GOOD MORNING TO THE NIGHT. It is just that music like that (mashed-up songs remixed) doesn't lend itself so well to the live setting.
I'd love to see "Madman Across the Water" or "Tonight" or "Song For Guy" or "One Horse Town" live rather than "Cold Heart." Being a major hit single, it is understandable that an effort was made to include "Cold Heart" in the current setlist of the FAREWELL concerts...
Doug
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Post by dougs on Jan 23, 2022 18:16:26 GMT
"Rocket Man" at Houston - January 22, 2022:
Very nice piano & guitar interplay between EJ and Davey during the extended instrumental jam. Davey is now playing electric guitar (double-neck) rather than acoustic which was the norm in "Rocket Man" during previous legs of the FAREWELL tour. Quite beautiful. Great response from the crowd.
Doug
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Post by dougs on Jan 28, 2022 22:05:32 GMT
Recovered from COVID?
It looks like Elton has recovered from COVID-19 (minimal symptoms) and has completed his isolation. If confirmed, then he and the band will be in Little Rock on January 29 and then Oklahoma City on January 30 (followed by Kansas City, Chicago, Detroit, and other locations). A recent photo (January 27) on Davey Johnstone's Instagram page shows keyboardist Kim Bullard with the band in front of the plane. Kim had missed all of the opening shows due to his contracting of COVID-19.
It is so easy to contract Omicron so this tour may go in fits and stops...but looks ready to go once more.
Doug
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Post by starlight on Feb 1, 2022 6:04:07 GMT
I am in Kansas. Was planning on going to KC tonight for the show. Does anybody on Team Elton aware that most of Missouri and Kansas is highly likely to be obliterated by a wicked blizzard beginning ironically at 8 P.M. sharp. I cannot risk the drive and I am quite sure many others feel the same. We waited two years for Elton and he HAS to play tonight. Team Elton please open your eyes for us. Someone say Postponed.
The Utter irony of it all
FUNERAL FOR A FRIEND
SAD SONGS SAY SO MUCH!
SOMEONE SAVE MY LIFE TONIGHT (If I dare to dry and drive on ice covered roads)
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Post by dougs on Feb 2, 2022 3:08:40 GMT
FAREWELL YELLOW BRICK ROAD - Update February 1, 2022:
Elton has had to reschedule his two upcoming Montreal (March 9 & 10) and two Toronto (March 12 & 13) concerts because crowd sizes in Canadian venues are being heavily restricted due to Omicron right now. These concerts will be rescheduled and announced fairly shortly.
SPOLIER: The setlist has remained consistent so far since returning to the stage in January at New Orleans. "All The Girls Love Alice" and "Indian Sunset" have not returned. "Levon" has seen the instrumental jam greatly curbed but "Rocket Man" has seen its instrumental outro continue to evolve - sounds fresh and interesting. The monster hit "Cold Heart" remains as an encore and is primarily pre-recorded except for Elton. The real new highlight has been the addition of "Have Mercy on the Criminal" which sounds superb.
Kim Bullard and Elton have both recovered from their bouts with COVID-19.
Hope that fellow poster "Starlight" gets to the Kansas City show - weather permitting.
Doug
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Post by dougs on Feb 12, 2022 9:30:59 GMT
FAREWELL YELLOW BRICK ROAD Tour Update - February 12, 2022:
Elton and the band are taking a 2-week break before their onslaught of concerts at Madison Square Garden and other NYC area venues beginning February 22. Here is a summary of the concerts so far since EJ and the band returned from the pandemic shutdown:
* 4 songs dropped: "All the Girls Love Alice" and "Daniel" and "Sorry Seems To Be the Hardest Word" and "Indian Sunset"
* 2 songs added: "Have Mercy on the Criminal" and "Cold Heart" which has the music pre-recorded
* 0 songs from the 1990s (THE ONE and MADE IN ENGLAND and THE BIG PICTURE and THE LION KING)
* 0 songs from this Millennium except the pre-recorded "Cold Heart"
* "Rocket Man" is getting an injection of energy and freshness in the instrumental 4-minute outro (it needed it)
* "Levon" has its long 6-minute instrumental outro removed
* The tour continues to get very good reviews
* Kim Bullard missed a few gigs at the start because of COVID-19 but has returned nicely
* Elton had to reschedule the Dallas concerts because he contracted COVID-19 but has also returned nicely
* The Toronto & Montreal shows in March have had to be rescheduled because of COVID-19 enforced crowd size limitations in those Canadian markets (provinces)
* I have to say that "Have Mercy on the Criminal" sounds tremendous so far. Nice addition and performances. Good to hear Davey play that guitar on that song. Too bad that "Indian Sunset" and the "Levon" jam are no longer happening; those were artistic/musicianship highlights when I attended earlier FAREWELL shows. I'd much rather hear talented musicians PLAY their instruments and extend songs creatively than hear pre-recorded things. I understand why "Cold Heart" is in the setlist but it is far from a musical or artistic high. Still, an impressive 2 hour 25 minute gig.
Doug
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Post by rocketman on Feb 16, 2022 14:24:29 GMT
Have Mercy On The Criminal was a highlight of the WCN Tour setlist, along with Levon, it was my favorite that night in September 2017.
Dropping Alice, well, I wouldn't be in favor of that. Alice is a great song and translates perfectly into a live performance.
Good to see Elton has recovered from Covid, though even mild cases can produce "Long Covid" with eventual issues lasting for months and perhaps longer.
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Post by dougs on Feb 23, 2022 14:43:53 GMT
Elton at Madison Square Garden - February 22 & 23, 2022: Elton' last two Madison Square Garden concerts are under way. Apparently, this means that the tally is 70 concerts at this famed New York venue over his career. Lots a famous ones including John Lennon's last live performance (Thanksgiving 1974) and that record breaking 7-night stand (139 000 people) in 1976 on the "Louder Than Concorde" tour. In 1982, Yoko Ono and Sean Lennon came onstage after he performed "Empty Garden" - Elton & Bernie's tribute to John Lennon. Elton also celebrated his 60th birthday at the venue with an incredible setlist - it was also his 60th concert at the venue. Elton's percussionist John Mahon kindly uploaded yesterday onto YouTube a quick 2-3 minute video view of the backstage at Madison Square Garden for people to see: www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeyIHbhRWYoElton & Band are playing 8 concerts in the New York area over the next two weeks and tonight (February 23) is slated as his last at Madison Square Garden. Lots of memories... Enjoy John's video! Doug |
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Post by dougs on Feb 23, 2022 23:18:48 GMT
Tonight - Elton's last Madison Square Garden concert (February 23, 2022):
I wonder if EJ will play an extra song or have a special moment tonight. In the past EJ would often add something special for concerts at what he has always called his favourite venue. It would be nice to see Bernie stride out to acknowledge the crowd or have EJ and the band play "Empty Garden." The band knows the song - they played it in Las Vegas in recent years. Just thinking...
Doug
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Post by newloneranger on Mar 6, 2022 6:47:28 GMT
I am in Kansas. Was planning on going to KC tonight for the show. Does anybody on Team Elton aware that most of Missouri and Kansas is highly likely to be obliterated by a wicked blizzard beginning ironically at 8 P.M. sharp. I cannot risk the drive and I am quite sure many others feel the same. We waited two years for Elton and he HAS to play tonight. Team Elton please open your eyes for us. Someone say Postponed. The Utter irony of it all FUNERAL FOR A FRIEND SAD SONGS SAY SO MUCH! SOMEONE SAVE MY LIFE TONIGHT (If I dare to dry and drive on ice covered roads) Did he play or postpone? Too bad about the weather. |
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Post by dougs on Mar 6, 2022 13:04:25 GMT
newloneranger:
The Kansas City concert went on as planned despite the inclement weather.
I hope that Starlight went after all but travelling in bad weather is often not worth the risks involved...
Doug
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