To understand the adage “what’s old is new again” is to have been one of the 17,500 in attendance at Thursday night’s sold out Elton John show at the Air Canada Centre.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer dazzled for nearly three hours with a stunning, 28-song set full of classic hits, with one new offering thrown in for good measure. In spite of the lengthy, intermission-free performance, John’s energy level never dipped and, in fact, increased as the show reached a late crescendo.
A crowd that was slow to warm up through an early blend of up tempo, familiar tunes (“Benny and the Jets”, “Tiny Dancer”) and slower tracks (“Candle in the Wind”, “Grey Seal”) was on their feet, dancing, as John launched into a hits-heavy final hour that included “I’m Still Standing,” “The Bitch is Back” and “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting.” Although John didn’t spend much time addressing the crowd, those on hand were game to lend their own vocals to participatory tracks such as “Benny and the Jets,” “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me” and the show-closing “Crocodile Rock.”
The stage setup behind John was surprisingly muted, although elegant in its simplicity. Underneath an ornate chandelier that constantly changed colours, he performed atop a fairly small stage with a backing set at an approximately 120-degree angle that doubled as a video screen. John, of course, was decidedly un-muted, clad in a shimmering, bejeweled sport coat.
While the tunes were old (most of them, anyway, with the exception of “Ocean’s Away” off of his recently released album The Diving Board), the energy felt fresh and new. John’s frantic piano-playing gave his songs a spark that felt as though he was playing them for the first time. His liberal use of tracks off of the iconic Goodbye Yellow Brick Road album (nine of his 28 songs came from ‘GYBR’) was no coincidence, as he acknowledged that the seminal pop album would be re-released this year with vocal contributions from contemporary talents such as Miguel, Ed Sheeran and Emilie Sande.
The only lull in the lengthy solo performance came when John re-emerged for his encore, only to spend 10 minutes hugging, signing autographs and posing for fans on the floor. Though a precious, memorable treat for some, the fan interaction proved to be an awkward interruption for the vast majority of the crowd, who simply wanted to keep the momentum rolling.
Not that it mattered much, though, in the grand scheme of an action-packed glam rock performance that lasted nearly three hours an transformed the ACC into one heck of a party.