Friday 25 October 2019

Elton John's Farewell to Toronto

i went to see elton on wednesday night
the world’s greatest solo artist
a case could be made for michael jackson or prince
but elton survived
and he shines brighter than ever before

the show was joyous
hit after hit
the cannon fully loaded 
with the band firing perfectly alongside of him

this was my 6th time seeing elton
previously i wore a pink shirt and sat about 7 rows back
after every song he looked down at me and waved and was me sending love signals
later i learned that i was sitting right behind his husband and family!
i thought my pink shirt was a calling card for elton and i to be best friends forever
not so!

but we are friends
i think that kind of success is telling
the audience - the mass of millions - become an entity
and that entity is loved by elton
sincerely
a couple times throughout the evening
elton addressed the audience
and in a casual way - radiated love
it was deep, profound and warm

for the record 
he has said goodbye before
all the greats do it
it allows them to close a chapter 
grow
and move on
we allow for it
because like family
we are understanding and forgiving
and happy to have them back in our lives
but old elton - he’s a sly one
he’ll pop up here and there in the years to come
the light just finds him
he can’t help it

elton is a player
a serious musician
his career is garnished with garish
but his heart is that of a musician
that night he made the piano his bitch
and he made the piano his baby
he’s rock’s greatest piano player 
we use the word ‘awesome’ without thinking
elton is an awesome musician

vocally he was strong and emotional
connecting to lyrics that were written for him decades ago
he didn’t phone anything in
he worked hard 
professional
his falsetto is gone - vaporized on 100,000 microphones
but he’s more committed to what he sings now - than ever before

he was somewhat all alone up there amidst the circus
he drew us in 
during levon i thought of my son
during daniel i thought of my father
during rocketman i thought of bandmates
i went back to a time long ago 
when his songs were currents running through my life
guiding streams of beauty
educating me 
challenging me
flickering notes on a road
that i wished would run on forever

craig
oct 24 2019

orange juice and a power bar

No comments:

Post a Comment