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Music review: A stellar night with the Rocket Man




Ray Bradbury's short story "The Rocket Man" tells of an astronaut's longing for space when he's at home, and for home when he's in space. It's a classic of the genre that inspired one of the most popular pop singles ever released: Elton John's "Rocket Man (I Think It's Going to Be a Long, Long Time).”

Elton John's current tour of Oceania and Asia celebrates the 40th anniversary of the song, which John co-wrote with lyricist and long-time collaborator Bernie Taupin.

After a remarkable opening by Croatian duo 2Cellos (who also played with the Elton John Band in most of the songs), it was Elton's turn. Dressed in his usual flamboyant attire—this night, a sequined suit with “Madman Across the Water” written on the back, matching blue shirt and glasses—he walked toward his piano and started doing his thing.

The concert had a good balance of the different Elton genres, with the performer warming up the crowd with the heavier rock ‘n’ roll tracks—opening with “The Bitch is Back,” a song from his 1974 album Caribou, followed by John and Taupin's satirical composition “Bennie and the Jets”—then gradually shifting to slower tunes such as “Levon” and “Believe.”
    
We didn’t have to wait long for some of the biggest hits. Elton performed “Candle in the Wind,” which was originally written for Marilyn Monroe but rewritten after Princess Diana’s death in 1997,in the first half of the stellar show at Araneta Coliseum.

The last time I saw a crowd like this was during the Don McLean concert two years ago, where I was possibly one of the youngest attendee. This one, however, had a wider audience. I actually saw teenagers belting out “Honky Cat” and knowing all the words to “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.” It only took a few songs before people started dancing, a couple of tracks before everyone at the Patron area left their seats and gathered in the main aisle to sing along.

With the help of a seven-piece band—including two original members, drummer Nigel Olsson on drums and Davey Johnstone on guitars; Mother and daughter Rose and Lisa Stone of the rock/funk band Sly and the Family Stone; and 2 Cellos—Elton John entertained a packed venue, standing and walking around the stage to bow and say thanks after every song. His voice remained soulful and bluesy, leaving some of the high notes to the back-up singers, but overall he was still able to take full control of the stage.

I can’t remember how old I was when I started listening to Elton songs, but I do recall the very first song I had memorized. It was “Daniel,” which my father later described as a song written about a soldier coming home from the Vietnam War ("Do you still feel the pain of the scars that won't heal / Your eyes have died, but you see more than I").

The songs he performed at the concert triggered memories, such as Cameron Crowe’s brilliant placing of two Elton songs in Almost Famous: “Tiny Dancer” sung by the cast convalescing from a night of debauchery, and “Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters” playing as young music journalist William runs along New York streets and finding a drug-addled Penny Lane in a hotel room.

I grew up in a home crammed with records and a still-growing number of rock ‘n roll memorabilia and fan art—A "Beatles Live in Manila" poster, a framed James Taylor album cover, a Don McLean painting, Elvis and Freddie Mercury action figures—and concert-watching has always been a family hobby. Pre-concert, my father requested that I safeguard CD sleeves of Honky Chateau (1972) and Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (1973), put them in between a book or anywhere flat, because maybe we’d find a way to have them signed later. I said okay, but knew we’d have more luck seeing a John Lennon cameo than being face-to-face with Elton John.



Towards the end of the concert, however, Elton John came out of the stage holding a marker, and started signing records and memorabilia for fans who were also probably content with just raising their old records from their seats. I took out the two albums from my bag, squeezed myself in the crowd, and hoped the man would see them. I raised the two CD sleeves in the midst of dozens of concert tickets, pieces of papers, photos, T-shirts—then, slowly reaching out to my shaking hand, was the piano man himself. He signed both, and I went back to my seat finding my father literally dancing with joy.

“Your Song” and “Circle of Life” concluded the evening. Twenty-five songs, and two signed CD sleeves later, it was time for the Rocket Man to take a bow. There will be three more countries after the Manila leg, and with the vibrancy we all saw in this concert—the man’s 65 and still tours like a rock star half his age—it seems as if it’s going to be a long, long time before he stops playing. — BM, GMA News
Tags: eltonjohn
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