Elton John kicks off his final victory at Dodger Stadium: A review

Since most of Elton John’s career hasn’t been about ephemeral things, couture has somewhat made the man. It was evident Thursday night at Dodger Stadium in a near-finale montage of TV clips through the years featuring Sir Elton in flamboyant and silly outfits, from an 18th-century wig to a duck costume. But no defining look stands out quite as iconic as the bejeweled Dodgers outfit he wore onstage at team stadium in 1975 (a moment memorable enough to be recreated with plenty of digital help in the “Rocketman” biopic). The closest you can get to culture when you’re super excited about a rocker in uniform is Linda Ronstadt in a Cub Scout outfit, but… no, there’s no comparison, really.

So when John said on Friday that he wanted to end his last North American tour in Los Angeles because his real path in the States began with running at the Troubadour Club in West Hollywood in 1970, you might wonder if it had too much to do with him. Fulfilling a deferred dream for his fans: the chance to see him again in Dodgers gear after all these years. He delivered on that imperative promise on Thursdays—the first of three nights on the field—though he skipped actual field wear in favor of something more suited to a Knight (or at least MLB upper management) than someone who takes the field: It’s a pretty fancy Dodgers robe.

But if the robe inevitably made him look like someone who might be ready to retire for the night, there was nothing about the nearly two-and-a-half-hour performance that suggested his colleague should actually retire, except for the “Farewell Yellow Brick Road” lettering atop the massive stage. That was it. A really long goodbye — which was even fun, given that the international trip started in 2018 and won’t end until next summer (with more European dates to follow in early 2023 after this weekend’s American swan song). Leaving the road, though, Thursday’s show really made him feel like he was really running to the finish.This was John at his best, looking ready for the next 50 – and letting the touring scene still be at the top of his performance game, he went out because he wanted to, not Because he has to.

John’s show on Thursday had none of the guests lined up for Sunday night’s final round, which will air live on Disney+. The mystery remains unsolved as to what Brandi Carlile will be joining him for that night, though the world can assume that Kiki D’s billing for “Don’t Break My Heart” will finally be added to the set, and that Dua Lipa’s presence won’t have Jon alone singing along. A pre-existing track from “Cold Heart,” as he did on Thursday. While the opening night crowd might have had a tinge of FOMO without any of those promised flings spilling over all three nights, even the tour’s most visible show didn’t suffer from star power — at least not for any of the fans considering the band’s mainstays. Longtime guitarist/MD Davey Johnston, percussionist Ray Cooper and drummer Nigel Olson are stars in their own right. This is a slightly hazy, mostly cheery wave of farewell to one of the greatest bands of the 20th century, along with one of its greatest solo artists.

Some of us can admit to a slight sense of disappointment when first glancing at the setlist on this tour, after seeing that it only contained one deep track — “Have Mercy on a Criminal,” the unsuccessful “Don’t Shoot Me” that performed over 300. Only once in his career? John likes to engage fans in some of the darker depths of his musical work (see the “Jewel Box” set released two years ago), but on disc, not at the expense of denying much more casual fans anything they’d come for. (Anniversary tours for the full “Honky Chateau” album and other fantasies we might have enjoyed were never Captain Fantastic’s bag.)

But once the 115 minutes roll in, any regrets about the unplayed Side 2 opener immediately go to the wayside. You’d think, given fifty years of progressively increasing overexposure, that you didn’t need to hear “Tiny Dancer” again. Actually, you do – that, and pretty much all 23 very familiar songs on this show, each ripe for a renewed sense of discovery when you hear them play This bandwith a very good setup of stadium hardware, with almost every selection sounding impressively tight on the one hand, and even more impressive on the other, in an almost equal aural scale.

Part of it has to do with expanding the arrangements: The ballad “Rocket Man,” seven songs into the show, sounds on paper like one of his less exciting live songs, but it doesn’t turn out to be a Dodger dog fit, with an out-of-minute section that kind of Making some baroque rock out of an earthy/cosmic mix. Other songs, such as “Take Me to the Pilot,” get a short introduction bonus on the piano before solid applause begins. But it’s the more common parts of these venerable standards that sometimes feel strangely modern. Any possibility of anyone on stage telephoning him was locked somewhere in Yondr’s bag. John and Johnston (now there’s a law firm waiting to happen) get their bright solo moments, but sometimes the two are soloing simultaneously, as in “Levon” or Elton and bassist Matt Bissonette (relative newbie joined in 2013) They do the same duet solo on “Sad Songs (Say Much).”

Even then John’s percussion is most powerful and flows freely over the faster songs, you strain to remember if all those great beats were on the record or he improvised between the cracks, so you let it all go analysis and settle into grooves that are funnier than you remember . That’s a catchphrase here, and one we don’t associate much with classic rock stadium shows: funky funky funky funky. (It’s hard to overstate.) Throughout his master class playing, John sounds like the classically trained pianist he wasn’t, who was somehow assigned to perform at a friend’s funeral in New Orleans.

At some point amidst this constant entertainment, you might pause to think—but you probably won’t—about how outlandish all of this is, among the catalog of AM/FM rock music based on the ’70s. Jerry Lee Lewis’ face appears in a visual montage of musical or cultural heroes during “Border Song,” and raises the question: How could the magic of Lewis and John, separately or collectively, not inspire hundreds of millions of children to take up the piano for rock and roll, the way it did Guitar contemporaries? It’s a mystery, but Elton’s unique legend is best preserved on consoles for half a century, perhaps. Likewise: Were there any other rock songwriting bands that had as strict a lyric/music separation as John and Bernie Taupin – and where the no-lyric-writing partner was up front and made you think every weird songwriter was coming straight from his own heart? With occasional outright exceptions, many of these songs don’t get enough credit for being as weird as they come, so long as we accept them as commercial films.

Even the “Sugar Bear” part of “Someone Saved My Life Tonight” — which John gave as his favorite song from his favorite album — is a little weird or geeky, if you stop to think about it. But no one thinks about the wonderful songwriting characteristics of this huge venue, only about how soulful the song is as a sort of shared exhale, brought more life with a touch of Beach Boys in the stacked group harmonies, Cooper rocking tubular bells and a drum, and Elton adding licks right before The song begins in the coda which manages to make the grand piano sound a bit grander.

How foolish is the midst of greatness? Perhaps not as much as it used to be – the Ducks’ costume certainly hasn’t changed in this show, and even the cape replacing the classic Dodgers uniform was a small indication that this isn’t really an occasion Sir Elton wants to play for cuteness or a laugh, necessarily. But that doesn’t mean these shows aren’t meant to be big parties. John remembered another biographer, Paul McCartney, a bit by the way he rose from his seat to pose between songs, jokingly gesturing to parts of the crowd or spreading his arms wide for photos. The only time he seemed truly manic was during a segment of “Take Me to the Pilot” where he let his synth riffs take over while making bold, exaggerated gestures – it wasn’t clear if he was mimicking a weird conductor or doing his impression of Frankenstein’s monster, but it was A nice sign that he’s willing to keep playing the comedian, regardless.

We’ll never experience the likes of anything like this again after he’s gone… Which isn’t exactly a pressing concern, as John has indicated he’s open to residencies or one-off shows, as well as composing and recording; It’s just a run in life that he gives up. There’s no doubt that he means a serious goodbye to all that — right, at the age of 75? — but it’s still a case where you can hope the retiree pulls a Sinatra, Cher, or Motley Crue on us and back in a couple of years. Maybe you graduate to the Dodgers brand Crownnext time.

The Disney+ live-stream of the North American tour finale goes live Sunday night at 11 p.m. ET / 8 p.m. PT.