Anyone who knew me as a young teenager knew that one of the artists whose music I was obsessed with was Elton John (not yet a Sir). (Aerosmith and Queen were among the others, in case anyone was interested.)
I first saw Elton John live in Orchard Park (just outside of Buffalo) in 1976 (or maybe it was 1975? Doesn’t matter. I think EJ likely didn’t know what year it was either 😉 ). I took a bus down to the US, with a high school friend. Elton was headlining, and Boz Scaggs and J.J. Cale opened for him. I don’t remember much more from that show except I got rained on, and Elton John DID NOT play Crocodile Rock, much to my absolute fury crushing disappointment dismay. Even though the whole stadium was screaming for it. Instead he told us he was gonna play “Your Song” – apparently a real fucking treat for us poor slobs as he hadn’t played it live in a long time. I was not impressed. I LOVED Crocodile Rock and had no idea at the time that he did not actually like this song, thinking of it as “disposable pop”. Really, Queen Elton? I still shudder at some of the crap you put out when you were a drug-addled mess, in years to come. Makes Crocodile Rock sound kinda alright now, don’t it? But you know me – I do don’t hold a grudge.
Anywho! Ahem. Back to the NOW, sorta.
Two years ago I heard Sir Elton was doing a farewell tour. So I joined his RocketClub fan club in order to have a better chance at decent tickets. Well, my name wasn’t drawn for the those shows so I thought it wasn’t to be. BUT then he announced he was coming back to Toronto the following year and whaddayaknow this time I got an email saying I was being offered the chance to purchase tickets more than a year in advance. Yup – October 9, 2018 I purchased 4 tickets (maximum allowed) to the October 23rd, 2019 show. My sister was staying with me at the time and immediately she snatched up one of the extra tickets (and my good friends Kenn and Jonathan seized the other two). In order to get these decent seats, I had to buy something called a VIP package, which came with a bunch of stuff that I promptly forgot about until I came home from Vancouver Island to find a big box of goodies delivered in my absence.
Finally the long-awaited day arrived and we made it to Toronto, to the ScotiaBank Arena, for THE SHOW!
The show was incredible, and Elton’s voice was still strong. I had low expectations because I knew he had had throat surgery and couldn’t reach the high notes anymore. I was blown away by how good his voice still was. He really belted out those lyrics.
And…HE PLAYED CROCODILE ROCK! I also had no very low expectations of that happening and just about passed out with joy when the song started. No matter that he could no longer sing the falsetto “lah lalalalalahs” – WE sang them for him. “For the fans” flashed across the screen during the number – his not-so-subtle way of letting everyone know he still hates this song, I guess.
It only took 43 years, but I finally got my wish and heard Elton John play Crocodile Rock live. So,
Sir Elton Hercules John, if you’re reading:
All is forgiven.
Love,
The Widow Badass
As if all the wonderful music wasn’t enough (none of the his “coked-out MOR crap” dreck made it to the set list, thankfully), it was also heart-warming to hear him speak of his life and his struggles, and to see his emotional response to us – wiping away tears caused by the love the crowd was showing him.
I probably won’t ever see Sir Elton John in concert again, if he makes good on his promise of no more world tours. But I saw him on Wednesday October 23rd, and once before when I was very young (probably not a Wednesday though), and that will have to do.
Rock on,
The WB
P.S.
