With His Final Dodger Stadium Show, Elton John Wrote His Own Happy Ending: Review

The post With His Final Dodger Stadium Show, Elton John Wrote His Own Happy Ending: Review appeared first on Consequence.

Something I never expected to see in Dodger Stadium during Elton John’s last live concert in North America — a peek at his belly. But due to the poor fit of the icon’s first wardrobe choice (a sequined tuxedo jacket with tails, and pants that needed adjusting every time he stood up to acknowledge the crowd), at a certain point a bit of pink skin became visible through a gap in his button-down shirt.

This tiny wardrobe malfunction was the only notable misstep during an intense marathon of music seeped in legacy, and it proved to be charming, in a way — a moment of human fallibility that felt all too relatable. Especially because this semi-final stop on the “Farewell Yellow Brick Road: The Final Tour” was otherwise transcendent, an invitation into the passion Elton John has for his work and a celebration of his decades making some of our most beloved songs.

Things kicked off a little later than anticipated (attendees had been warned that the show would start promptly at 8:00 p.m. PT, though the show didn’t actually begin until closer to 8:15). But when the moment came, the crowd was summoned to its feet by the pounding opening notes of “Bennie and the Jets” thundering from the piano at center stage, in center field.

While the concert was broadcast around the world on Disney+, John played primarily to the live crowd, a packed stadium more than ready for the greatest hits along with a surprising number of deeper cuts. The odds were pretty good that you heard your favorite Elton John song over the course of the evening — but there were also a few surprises mixed into the setlist.

The first several songs stayed pretty close to the versions we remember from decades of radio play; John dedicated “Border Song” to the late Aretha Franklin, reflecting on her last live performance at his 2017 AIDS Foundation gala. “It’s a surreal experience to be in the company of genius,” the genius musician said without a trace of irony.

“Tiny Dancer” remained transcendent as ever, though the concert really began to feel special with the treatment of “Rocket Man,” which John and the band extended for several minutes into a truly otherworldly soundscape. And as the show continued, deeper cuts were introduced, creating a richer journey into his vast catalog.

With a few noted exceptions, John wasn’t much for banter, instead largely moving from song to song like the night was one long wave he was determined to keep surfing; the closest thing to an intermission was a brief interlude to accommodate a costume change (into a much better-fitting blue suit). But the songs so often spoke for themselves, and he was supported by a band of longtime collaborators so veteran that they all seemed to communicate wordlessly, including the scorching Davey Johnstone on guitar and percussionist Ray Cooper (whose hands were literally covered in bits of tape, due to the way he was wailing on the drums and tambourine).

While John is of course star enough to pack a stadium, the show’s marketing had promised the appearance of “special guests,” who didn’t actually appear until pretty late into the evening. Brandi Carlile arrived wearing a sequined suit worthy of John’s stage to bring some country-flavored soul to “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down On Me,” while Dua Lipa appeared for the first encore, “Cold Heart,” a gem of a disco mash-up, though hearing it in the same close proximity to “Rocket Man” (the song upon which it largely riffs) was a bit disconcerting.

In between those appearances came singer Kiki Dee, who originally performed “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” as a duet with John in 1976 and reprised the song here, though inside the stadium it felt like her wireless mic might have been mixed a little too low. But it was still another stirring moment of nostalgia that hovered over the night; John never let the importance of the event distract from banging out some damn great rock songs, but there were plenty of touches that paid tribute to it nonetheless.

Elton John, photo by Ben Gibson for Rocket Entertainment

The production team made full use of the scope of Dodger Stadium to make the stage feel both expansive and intimate. Thanks to the light-up wristbands handed out upon entrance, the interior of the stadium often twinkled according to a variety of color schemes (though an outdoor concert in November, even in Los Angeles, meant that I was constantly pulling up the sleeve of my heavy coat to get my own wristband into the action). And the big-screen visuals either showcased the incredible talents of the musicians on stage, largely with tight close-ups on their hands dancing across their instruments, or offered wry commentary on the song itself.

“I’m Still Standing,” which John belted out with fierce fervor, was accompanied by a montage of his wild legacy as a pop culture icon, including a clip of his Oscars acceptance speech for “Can You Feel the Love Tonight?” and glimpses at his cameos in The Muppet Show and The Simpsons. As he played “Candle in the Wind,” meanwhile, candid footage of the real Marilyn Monroe came on screen — and that short montage did a better job of capturing the essence of Monroe than all 166 minutes of Andrew Dominik’s Blonde.

The main set ended with a raucous rendition of “Saturday’s Alright for Fighting,” punctuated by golden confetti cannons as well as a full-scale fireworks show — the sense of tens of thousands of people in one space, all on their feet, all having the time of their lives at the biggest party of the year, was intoxicating in the moment.

This is only the end of the road for John in North America; the final leg of the “Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour” picks up in 2023, with his final final show scheduled for next summer, at the conclusion of the tour’s European leg. But even with another half-year of touring ahead of him, he still got sentimental about this particular moment in his career.

“It’s a special night for me, an emotional night for me — it’s been a long journey,” was as much as he opened up early in the show, only taking things to a more intimate place during the encores, including an emotional introduction of the one and only Bernie Taupin, his longtime collaborator. Taupin embraced his friend and took the mic to quickly praise John’s band, before slipping off-stage.

It was a well-deserved moment in the spotlight for Taupin, and another grounding, vulnerable moment for the performer. Elton John might have had the kind of career we associate with the phrase “rock god,” but he’s never felt ethereal as a performer, his trademark love of sartorial razzle-dazzle feeling more like an expression of his natural exuberance. For so much of the show, that love was right there on the stage, so palpable that it was hard to understand, or even imagine, why he would ever want to give this up.

But then, right before one last round of “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road,” he brought out his husband David Furnish and their two sons for the cheering crowd — the reason for his retirement, he explained. The sincerity and humanity of the moment, a happy family hugging, packed a bit more of a punch than the show’s actual ending: Having finished the last song, John climbed aboard a platform on stage which lifted up and into the stage set itself, the on-screen imagination showing him walking towards the Land of Oz-esque horizon, down a glistening animated yellow brick road.

How John’s journey actually ends remains to be seen; plenty of artists have utterly failed to stay retired in the past. But one must respect how he uses “Farewell Yellow Brick Road” as a way to write his own ending, and it’s a happy one. After decades of banging those keys and healing our hearts, he deserves it.

You can watch Elton John: Farewell From Dodger Stadium on Disney+ now.

Elton John Setlist:
Bennie and the Jets
Philadelphia Freedom
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 (solo)
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 (with Brandi Carlisle)
The Bitch Is Back
I’m Still Standing
Don’t Go Breaking My Heart (with Kiki Dee)
Crocodile Rock
Saturday’s Alright for Fighting

Encore:
Cold Heart (with Dua Lipa)
Your Song
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

With His Final Dodger Stadium Show, Elton John Wrote His Own Happy Ending: Review
Liz Shannon Miller

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