By Ralf Kuhling
Sir Elton John says goodbye to his fans, is on “Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour”. On Monday (May 8th) he made a guest appearance in the Mercedes-Benz Arena, singing and playing the first of three sold-out Berlin concerts. The superstar relied mainly on his big hits of the seventies. Berlin celebrated him frenetically.
Even in old age, Elton John loves a slightly quirky outfit, so he appeared on stage in a pink glitter tailcoat and pink glasses and sat down at his grand piano. The optics did not surprise. The volume with which John and the band started was a bit more irritating. You had to get used to that first. It worked relatively quickly, after all the pop pianist and his colleagues are professionals who know exactly what works and what doesn’t.
A first highlight was the “Border Song”, composed by Elton John in 1970 and written by partner Bernie Taupin, and at the time an important career boost. Soul queen Aretha Franklin covered him, and “that was the best thing that could have happened to Bernie and me,” revealed Elton John.
When looking back at his work, Elton John used his huge seventies treasure chest. It contains great albums like “Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy” and “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.” And immortal songs like “Someone Saved My Life Tonight”, “Crocodile Rock”, “Your Song” or Saturday Night’s Alright For fighting.”
The goosebumps songs the fans craved, Elton John gave them. But he’s not a jukebox that plays the songs like they do on the radio. John and band are musicians who need freedom and are looking for something new. The ultra-long version of “Rocket Man” was a dream, the hellish version of the instrumental “Funeral For A Friend” a stroke of genius. And some songs are simply definitive live smash hits. Like “I’m Still Standing”, where everyone just got up and danced.
There was always something going on on the big video screen, every song got visual support, but it wasn’t always necessary or artistically valuable. On “Candle In The Wind” though, everything was perfect, Elton John singing heart-rendingly, and we saw quite emotional close-ups of Marilyn Monroe. With “Don’t Let The Sun Go Down Me” excerpts from the “Rocket Man” movie ran the optical accompanying music, which also fit.
With songs like “Benny And The Jets” or “Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Words” John couldn’t catch the very high notes anymore. Regardless, his vocals are still powerful enough and the voice remains unique. When he sneaked across the stage, it didn’t exactly look like lightness and fitness. But much more important: He hit the keys like a young god, did it with dedication and obviously had a lot of fun.
Will he really retire after his Farewell tour? Or do you still give concerts? The fan can hope: David Bowie and many other artists did not stick to such announcements, quickly and happily forgot their chatter from yesterday.
The evening in the Mercedes-Benz Arena ended emotionally. With warm words from the superstar to Berlin: “I’ve been coming here since 1972, playing in the Deutschland Hall back then, and I’ve always experienced nothing but kindness, loyalty and love.”
“Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” should be his last song on Monday. In addition, pictures from Elton John’s exciting life ran on the video screen. And with one or the other fan the tears.
On Wednesday, May 10th and Thursday, May 11th, Elton John will perform again at the Mercedes-Benz Arena. Both concerts are sold out. No wonder: His “Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour” is already the most successful tour in pop history.