Earlier this year, renowned musician Elton John announced a final farewell tour called “Farewell Yellow Brick Road.” John has been on the scene for over 50 years and decided that now is the time to retire from doing tours and spend more time with his family. This tour will expand over 3 years and approximately 150 shows. Buffalo, NY were lucky as it was the 4th stop on the tour so we had a fresh new look at his over the top production for his last ever Western New York appearance.
John took the stage at 8pm sharp to a roaring applause. He made a quick acknowledgment to his fans before taking seat behind his Yamaha piano and started right into “Bennie and the Jets.” John is still accompanied by longtime bandmates (in parentheses the year they joined): Nigel Olsson on drums (1970), Davey Johnstone on guitars (1971), Ray Cooper on percussion (1971), John Mahon on percussion (1997), Kim Bullard on keyboards (2012) and Matt Bissonette on bass (2012). This band is as tight as they come. They all played flawlessly and really supported John and letting him focus on the piano. John immediately made a connection by stating that it was good to be back in Buffalo before the band went into the deeper cut “All the Girls Love Alice.” This was off the “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” album. Even though the set consisted of a chuck full of hits, John did sprinkle in some lesser known tracks like ‘Indian Sunset’ and” Border Song” (in which he gave props to Aretha Franklin for doing the song at the start of her career).
The backdrop was a massive video screen that showed various videos to accompany the songs. The frame of the screen had various references throughout John’s career. Whether it be a Lions head for the “Lion King” or the logo of Soul Train in which John made an electrifying appearance performing “Philadelphia Freedom” back in 1975. It was a nice tribute there for all to see.
John’s voice was in fine form. He sang each song and didn’t change the structure of any of the songs. He could reach every tempo when needed. They were all performed the way they should have been. His piano playing was also spot on. “Candle in the Wind” was one of those songs that he showed his piano prowess. In addition to being one of the most dynamic performers ever, John is also known for wearing outlandish costumes including noticeable eyewear. Even though he has toned down his garb in recent years, he still made a few wardrobe changes. At the end he changed into his track suit for the encores including “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road,” in which a lift carried him into the screen and then the video showed him walking into the sunset. It was a perfect way that to end his career in Buffalo.
John has been known to most as “Rocketman.” On this particular Saturday night in Buffalo, he was known as the man who wrote the songbook to thousands of people’s lives. The packed house went away with many more great memories from this performance.
Set 1:
Bennie and the Jets
All the Girls Love Alice
I Guess It’s Why They Call it the Blues
Border Song
Tiny Dancer
Philadelphia Freedom
Indian Sunset
Rocket Man (I Think its Going to be a Long, Long Time)
Take me to the Pilot
Someone Saved my Life Tonight
Levon
Candle in the WEind
Set 2:
Funeral for a Friend
Burn Down the Mission
Belive
Daniel
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
Encore:
Your Song
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
We would like to thank Imani Troy and Fran Curtis for the credentials to review the show.
