Elton John Brisbane concert: End of Yellow Brick Road for Australia
Elton John has played his last Australian concert, pumping out 23 songs in a more-than-two-hour set before a huge crowd at Suncorp Stadium.
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Elton John last night proved he is the consummate showman, wowing the Brisbane crowd with his marathon two-and-a-half hour show.
In front of a packed Suncorp Stadium, the 75-year-old belted out 23 songs — mostly his greatest hits with just a couple of lesser-known tunes.
It was a thrill to see adoring fans from ten-year-olds to those in their 90s rocking out to Crocodile Rock, The Bitch Is Back and my personal favourite Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me.
What struck me was his genuine pleasure in performing, he was having an absolute ball, his vocals were gobsmackingly good and the crowd — many who were dressed in costumes paying homage to their idol — was just swooning with joy.
He never sounded out of breath and he kept us amused with his commentary and the joyful, youthful expressions like randomly sticking his tongue out like a naughty child.
Only when he got up to walk around the stage, did he show his age with his stiff legs.
“It has been an amazing experience coming here since 1971, every time I come here I love it more and more,” he told the crowd to uproarious applause.
“I love you more and more, you have been an amazing, incredible, loyal crowd, and I cant thank you enough for dressing up in all the amazing costumes,” he said.
“There must be about six Dodger stadium outfits tonight, along with the one in the front row here with the wonderful hat and wonderful hair and glasses. Thank you so much, it makes me feel so good to see you all do that,”
Elton didn’t need the pyrotechnics or gadgetry that other musicians rely on, the stage set-up was so simple. The grand piano moved once across the stage, then circled back again, and there was a burst of confetti.
The large screens behind Elton and either side of the stage, which were filled at times with images from the 2019 Rocketman movie, and also with personal footage of his children, mum and personal moments, were plenty to keep us entertained.
Suncorp Stadium was the perfect venue. Some have complained online about delays getting into the stadium or queues getting to the venue, but I caught the bus and it was smooth and efficient.
It is true, people were getting up from their seat to buy drinks or snacks thought the night, and the tight seating in the stands meant you needed to stand up to let them pass, but all of this is the part of a live concert.
I had a drink spilt on me, that’s all part of it, and minor obnoxious behaviour is what we missed out on during covid lockdowns.
Elton’s outfits with plenty of sequins embroidered with his name, or initials perhaps, were fun. He started out in a sparkly black morning suit with tails with glittering silver sparkles on the lapels and cuffs, with Pink sparkly glasses, then changed into a red and navy chequer-style jacket with navy blue sparkly eyewear. Finally for the encore he wore a pale dressing gown, again with sequins embroidered on the back.
His band were impressive, percussionist Ray Cooper nearly stole the show with his energetic playing, it was hard to take your eyes off him, and Davey Johnstone who had Elton and the yellow brick road painted on his guitar.
Drummer Nigel Olsson, who has played in Elton’s band for decades, dressed in a blue suit with pocket square as if he was on his way to a board meeting.
At the end of the concert Elton said it was his 237th concert in Australia, to a loud cheer from the appreciative crowd.
“I want to thank you all for the love, loyalty and kindness and support throughout the years, for buying the records and the CDs and the cassettes and more importantly the tickets to the shows because I love to play live more than anything.
“But after July 8, next year this is it for me, I want to spend the rest of my life with my family making records and doing whatever.
“So thank you for everything, you are the most amazing people, the most incredible country, so be nice to each other, be kind to each other, I wish you health and happiness and prosperity and farewell.”
Then he played the final song of the encore, Farewell Yellow Brick Road, and left the stage.
The legendary English showman was a hit with fans, many of them taking to social media to praise the show.
“Wow! What a concert! Thank you @eltonofficial! Tonight I danced, laughed and sang so loud that I’ve now got a croakey voice. Honestly, what a performance! Thank you Elton John and band,” Bronwyn Fredericks said on Twitter.
Another fan praised his work ethic during a show that started at 7.30 and didn’t finish until 10pm.
“How many other musicians can do that? Wow,” said Maree Beare.
Before signing off last night with a rendition of Yellow Brick Road, Sir Elton told fans he was serious about retirement in 2024.
“After July the eighth next year, this is it for me – I want to spend the rest of my life with my family,” he said.
The veteran performed a string of shows in Australia throughout January, including in Sydney, Newcastle and Melbourne as part of his farewell extravaganza.
His AAMI Park concert in Melbourne earlier this month made headlines after Molly Meldrum dropped his pants and bared his bum on stage. Meldrum later apologised for his antics, blaming a broken belt buckle.
Sir Elton next jets to New Zealand, where he will perform in Christchurch and Auckland.
The veteran showman has performed a string of shows in Australia throughout January, including in Sydney, Newcastle and Melbourne as part of his farewell extravaganza.
His AAMI Park concert in Melbourne earlier this month made headlines after Molly Meldrum dropped his pants and bared his bum on stage during Sir Elton’s performance of The Bitch Is Back.
Meldrum later apologised for his antics, blaming a broken belt buckle.
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