Concert Review: Elton John's Powerhouse Show Brings Vegas To Dairyland
'70s Rock Legend Plays Select Dates Between Vegas Shows
Read more: http://www.lifewhile.com/music/30742034/detail.html#ixzz1pzesvF8b
MADISON, Wis. -- As casinos have spread outside the confines of Las Vegas in the last three decades, most have sought to lure in patrons by promising they can offer a Sin City experience while remaining closer to home.
On Thursday night in Madison, rock legend Elton John delivered on just such a boast by giving a Vegas-honed performance that paraded some of the greatest pop-rock songs of the '70s, '80s and '90s in front of America's Dairyland. And this without any assists from Cirque du Soleil
Throughout the powerhouse performance at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum in the Alliant Energy Center, John and his band scarcely took a breather during a three-hour, 29-song set that by most measures blew away the packed-in crowd. If this show was awash with classic-rock nostalgia -- and it certainly was -- John was going to give his fans exactly what they wanted and at an unrelenting pace. This was not a concert to promote any new album. This was an Elton greatest hits playlist brought to the stage and perfectly done, just like a Vegas show should be. But, at the same time, this was a performance that underlined John's persevering ability to connect with mainstream audiences and an unexpected egoless-ness that follows giving devoted fans exactly what they came to see.
That John would prove to be such a consummate performer shouldn't really be much of a surprise. While he co-wrote many rock-radio anthems and is an adaptable pianist, he was always more of a showman than artiste. (The outsized glasses and outlandish costumes were big giveaways.) More than that though, John was one of the leaders of a generation of performers who took rock music from nightclubs to the world's largest arenas and stadiums in the '70s and '80s. There was no angst about selling out. That's what he wanted to do! By the '90s, John proved a pioneer once again when he took the music to where every form of entertainment has a second life: Vegas showrooms.
Although John might still be able to fill any of America's concrete barns, the Vegas style seems to have permanently framed his performances. Of course, there were the outfits. Outside of a casino, there are so few opportunities to wear the kind of long, sequins-beaded and monogrammed black coat that John wore. (Likewise, all his backing musicians wore tuxedos). There was also the bow taking that followed after every single song. But beyond the appearances, there was a marked professionalism and tightness to the musical arrangements that indicated this group knew the set list backwards and forwards. There was no danger or real radical reimagining of fan favorites. This was just hit after hit delivered with almost brutal efficiency. Few could find any reason to gripe.
Why would any fan complain when John took the stage and delivered the one-two punch of "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting" and "Bennie and the Jets." Such a high-energy opening put the audience on its heels and kept them on their feet, particularly when given a sample of John's blustery vocals and lacing piano runs. Beneath blue-tinted glasses and occasionally gritting his teeth as he hunkered down in front of the grand piano, John added keyboard flourishes and trotting patterns to his hits as a chance to showboat a little before leading everyone into a little call and response. The higher end of John's voice has faded into a throaty yelp these days, but he and his band played to their strengths that compensated from any diversions from the original recordings.
John's voice might have lost some range, but none of its character or power to inject Bernie Taupin's lyrics with emotionality. During a funky, stirring performance of "Levon," John's baritone was impassioned and almost strutting as he guided the five-piece band, four backup singers and a two-man string section to the song's crescendo. The song embodied the combination of influences of R&B, soul and Beatles pop that John and Taupin turned into formula in the early '70s, and John had no problems recreating that feel or augmenting to it when he lead the group into a boogie-woogie piano workouts that showed his fast-finger pyrotechnics -- much to the amazement of his band.
Such was John's instrumental prowess and the level of telepathy that existed between the performers that instead of using his voice or hand signals as cues, John led the band musically by playing brief passages that extended a song, reined it in or sent it spiraling in a new direction for a few bars. While John kept the songs mostly true, he did play familiar motifs to bring a new accent to a song or other times, just to wow fans that he already had in the palm of his hand.
On "Tiny Dancer," which John dedicated "to the ladies," he brought all his capabilities to bear. He began the song in a solitary spotlight, likely recreating a familiar presentation from the "Almost Famous" days. Guitarist Davey Johnstone brought out a double-neck guitar and used a slide that subbed for the steel guitar licks from the LP version. The rest of the band remained poised to pounce, waiting for their boss to kick into the sing-along-ready refrain. John and company reeled fans in and as a result, lead a chorus of volunteers to howl in accompaniment.
Even quieter moments offered little relief as John pulled on every heartstring by packaging songs like "Candle in the Wind," "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" and "Rocket Man" one after the other. And whether it was the musical grandstanding or the volley of hits, there was one point of John's performance: to leave everyone breathless. This was especially true when it came to the swift pace his band maintained as it cherrypicked from John's '70s mega-sellers. Drummer Nigel Olsson could be seen taking pulls on an oxygen tank when the lights went down.
John did allow himself a few moments of personal privilege. The melancholic "I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues" graduated from a slow, sad ballad to a peppier, workman-like tempo. A rearrangement like this might have failed for an "American Idol" contestant, but in the hands of John and his singers, became more sweetly mournful than emotionally draining. This was also the first song that he performed that wasn't from the '70s, and signaled a brief interlude when John presented two tracks from "The Union," his 2010 collaborative album with fellow pianoman Leon Russell. He told the cheering crowd that the record's critical and commercial success helped "get me back in the public domain, which is something I really wanted to do." The new songs blended nicely with the generous mood. "Hey Ahab" was more deeply rhythmic than the classics and featured Johnstone's excellent ZZ Top riffing. "Gone To Shiloh" might have aspirations of becoming a historic epic about the American Civil War although John and band were content to work it into an elegant, marching setpiece.
Bringing festivities back to the present, he powered through latter-day power ballads like "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" and "Believe" with vocal gusto and generous string accompaniment before climbing still higher with bombastic takes of "Someone Saved My Life Tonight" and "Sad Songs (Say So Much)." To further punctuate the evening's core purpose, John finished strong with hits like "I'm Still Standing, "The B**** is Back" and "Crocodile Rock" to prove to any diehards who'd thought he had played all of his hits already.
After acknowledging the last in a long line of standing ovations, he walked off stage and returned to gratefully handle a horde of autograph seekers who surged the stage area. As he signed whatever was in front of him, he quietly nodded to thank fans who sang "Happy Birthday" to him three days ahead of time. He returned to the piano to close with "Your Song," a song that he noted was written 42 years ago and that without which, he wouldn't be on that stage. Perhaps that is the source of his willingness to people please. Regardless of his motives, it was the fans who turned out big winners -- as it should be in Vegas.
And in an odd twist, John's performance also renders false another too familiar advertising ploy many casinos use: What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. In this instance, it's a great thing that's not always true.
Remaining Elton John Tour Dates:
For More Info:
Read more: http://www.lifewhile.com/music/30742034/detail.html#ixzz1pzf1GEoY
John's voice might have lost some range, but none of its character or power to inject Bernie Taupin's lyrics with emotionality. During a funky, stirring performance of "Levon," John's baritone was impassioned and almost strutting as he guided the five-piece band, four backup singers and a two-man string section to the song's crescendo. The song embodied the combination of influences of R&B, soul and Beatles pop that John and Taupin turned into formula in the early '70s, and John had no problems recreating that feel or augmenting to it when he lead the group into a boogie-woogie piano workouts that showed his fast-finger pyrotechnics -- much to the amazement of his band.
John did allow himself a few moments of personal privilege. The melancholic "I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues" graduated from a slow, sad ballad to a peppier, workman-like tempo. A rearrangement like this might have failed for an "American Idol" contestant, but in the hands of John and his singers, became more sweetly mournful than emotionally draining. This was also the first song that he performed that wasn't from the '70s, and signaled a brief interlude when John presented two tracks from "The Union," his 2010 collaborative album with fellow pianoman Leon Russell. He told the cheering crowd that the record's critical and commercial success helped "get me back in the public domain, which is something I really wanted to do." The new songs blended nicely with the generous mood. "Hey Ahab" was more deeply rhythmic than the classics and featured Johnstone's excellent ZZ Top riffing. "Gone To Shiloh" might have aspirations of becoming a historic epic about the American Civil War although John and band were content to work it into an elegant, marching setpiece.
- Thursday, March 29, Grand Forks , N.D.
- Friday, April 13, through Thursday, April 19, Las Vegas
- Friday, April 21, Fort Wayne , Ind.
- Saturday, April 22, Mankato , Minn
- Tuesday, April 24, Lethbridge , Alberta , Canada
- Wednesday, April 25, Red Deer , Alberta , Canada
- Thursday, April 26, Grand Prairie , Alberta , Canada
- Friday, May 4, through Sunday, May 27, Las Vegas
- Soundbytes Review: Elton John Basks In Nostalgia On New Disc
- Elton John's' Official Web Site
- Elton John World (Unofficial Website)
- Eltonfan.net (Unofficial)
- Elton Fan Network (Unofficial)
- EltonJohnRocks.com (Unofficial)
Read more: http://www.lifewhile.com/music/30742034/detail.html#ixzz1pzf1GEoY
Neil Sedaka talks history and hits before Ruth Eckerd Hall gig
By Sean Daly, Times Pop Music Critic
In Print: Friday, March 23, 2012
In Print: Friday, March 23, 2012
“It’s difficult to stay in this fickle business for so long,†Sedaka says. “So 55 years has been incredible.â€
|  |
[Getty Images]
|
Billy Joel calls him "the Davy Crockett of rock 'n' roll," and if that rugged, coonskin-cap image doesn't exactly fit the man, the pioneering intent behind the statement sure does.
In his 55 years in the pop biz, Neil Sedaka, 73, has been a chameleonic force, from squeaky Justin Bieber-esque teenthrob (Breaking Up Is Hard to Do) to insta-hit songwriter (Where the Boys Are) to reinvented funky white guy (Bad Blood).
He's still at it. A theatrical tribute to Sedaka, Laughter in the Rain, opened to raves in London's West End. "The show went back to my roots, through 35 songs in my career," he said.
Sunday, the Brooklyn-born legend brings those roots and that epic songbook to Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater. Raised by Sedaka-loving parents, I dialed him up to talk about today's pop, the perils of teen idolhood and how Elton John saved his career.
Do you take any interest in today's pop? Would any of this stuff pass muster in the Brill Building, the infamous bastion of songwriting you inhabited in the mid 20th century?
I listen to Adele. I like Maroon 5 and Coldplay. I like Snow Patrol. Peter Gabriel's last album was fabulous; that should have won a Grammy. They brought back melodic music to pop music, and I'm happy about that.
You were a teen star in the '50s and '60s: Oh! Carol, Breaking Up Is Hard to Do. Did you Bieber it up some, tease the girls and such?
Besides having the gift, I was just around at the right time. I was the wholesome poster boy! Elvis was in the Army, Little Richard went and found God, and Jerry Lee Lewis married his 13-year-old cousin! Ha! That was just the right time for me.
In the late '70s, you had a career rebirth, lil' Neil Sedaka all grown up and smoldering.
Yes, I had to reinvent the sound of Neil Sedaka! Elton John signed me to his record company, and that meant everything to me. So thank you, Sir Elton! The song Bad Blood was total reinvention. Even James Brown called me up and said, "You're in my territory now!" It's difficult to stay in this fickle business for so long. So 55 years has been incredible.
You've written more than 500 songs. That's crazy. Can you ever shut that sucker off?
The blank page is the driving force of a creative person. I give myself time to go to the piano and write, but it does haunt me in the night. It's part of the brain that's different for scientists. When I sat down to write Love Will Keep Us Together in the early '70s, after just four bars of melody, I realized it was a hit. I just knew. I'm inspired by singers, and if you listen to Love Will Keep Us Together, you'll hear Al Green and Diana Ross and the Beatles. The slow version of Breaking Up Is Hard to Do was inspired by Dinah Washington, my favorite vocalist of all time.
With your Brill Building past, does it tick you off you're not in the Rock Hall of Fame? Heck, the way I see it, you built a wing of that place!
I don't want to go into that. That's political. There's only one person who matters and you know who that is. [Psst: He's talking about Rolling Stone publisher and HOF head Jann Wenner.] It'd be lovely to see it happen in my time. My comeback was bigger than Tina Turner's! They've called me a cerebral Buddy Holly and Roy Orbison!
Final question: One of your hits comes on the radio. Do you turn it off or turn it up?
I turn it louder! I love to listen to my work! They're my children!
Sean Daly can be reached at sdaly@tampabay.com. Follow @seandalypoplife on Twitter.
Elton John Hits 65 Less Retired Than Ever, And Talking Baby-Talk
By Chris Willman | Stop The Presses!
http://ca.music.yahoo.com/blogs/stop-the-presses/elton-john-hits-65-less-retired-ever-talking-191055309.html
For some folks, 65 is retirement age. For Elton John, who reaches that mark on Sunday, it's the age at which you book a summer tour of Europe in addition to your lucrative Las Vegas residency… release a T Bone Burnett-produced comeback CD… prepare a sequel to your last hit animated musical,Gnomeo & Juliet… watch the grosses come in for your touring stage musical, Billy Elliot… dress up as a monarch and shill for Pepsi in inescapable TV spots…
And, oh yeah, the age at which you stop and smell the nappies.
"I love the smell of nappies and diapers," John said at a press event last year, helpfully using both the British and American terms for the fragrant delights. Perhaps he'd taken leave of his olfactory senses, but most likely the long-recovered alcoholic has found his true late-in-life fix getting high on fatherhood.
Elton John, David Furnish, and Zacahary at a 2012 Oscars partyAs Elton turns 65, his son, Zachary Jackson Levon Furnish-John, has yet to pass the year-and-a-half-old mark. The baby was born on Christmas day of 2010, via a fertilized egg implanted in a still-anonymous surrogate mother, making John and his longtime partner David Furnish the most high-profile gay parents on the planet.
In the process of promoting the first Gnomeo & Juliet movie last year — which was produced by Rocket Films, John's and Furnish's company, and distributed by Disney — the pair had plenty of opportunities to espouse the virtues of becoming dads past the typical parenting age.
"Look, I'm not an idiot," John told London's Mirror newspaper. "I was prepared for criticism. I knew people would say that I was too old. I knew people would point out that I had said it myself. I did say it. But you know what? That was true for me when I said it, but I changed. I changed my mind.
"Something happened to change things and I went into this with my eyes open, knowing exactly what the reaction would be and prepared to take it on. I'm not afraid of sticking my head above the parapet because this is everything and it's worth it. It was a huge decision and it was not one we went into lightly… I have never been happier and never been more sure we've done the right thing."
A lot of couples adopt because they can't have a biological child. In an odd twist, John had a biological child because he couldn't adopt.
Specifically, John and Furnish had wanted to bring home a boy they'd met while visiting a Ukrainian orphanage on behalf of his AIDS foundation. "I saw this beautiful, innocent little boy with this incredible smile," John said last year. "He just unlocked this feeling in my heart. Actually, he broke it. This little boy just changed everything. We tried to adopt but the Ukraine don't accept same-sex couples." (John and Furnish aren't technically married, but the pair, who've been together for almost 20 years, were legally joined in a civil union in 2005.) "This is the boy who changed my heart, who planted the seed. I'll never give up on him."
The frustrating experience in the Ukraine "kind of lit the fuse," John explained to David Letterman. "We said, if we can't adopt, let's try the surrogacy route. And I've always turned that idea down before because I thought it was too old. But I thought, you know what, I'm not too old… The biggest challenge in life is to bring up a child, as you probably now or any parent knows. And I thought, I'm ready for this. So we decided to go ahead."
After the birth of Zachary, John couldn't wax ecstatic enough about "adventures in daddy-land," as he put it, even admitting to the "descent into gibberish" that affects any parent stricken with a case of baby-talk. "It's turned me into the gooiest person in the world."
Naturally, his parenthood hasn't been without its share of controversy — not just among the portion of the population that disapproves of gay parents, but among those who believe that Elton's lavish lifestyle and/or seemingly nonstop work schedule are bound to make him a less-than-present parent.
After the baby was born, one English paper, the Daily Mail, took particular delight in reporting every occasion on which John left his L.A. apartment without the infant -- be it to lunch, dinner, a New Year's Eve party, the studio, or the Troubadour — and also alleged that he and Furnish had multiple round-the-clock nannies to really smell all those nappies.
John denied much of what was in those dismissive accounts when he and Furnish sat down with Barbara Walters. "The Daily Mail in England said we [have] four round the clock nannies and chefs. Chefs are very important for babies!" he smiled. "The nonsense that was written—we have one nanny, and we're very hands-on… We change him, we bath him, we feed him and we read him a story every night," he added, describing their routine. "And we take him to lunch."
"The worst thing you can do to a child, and I've seen it happen so many times, is the silver spoon," John also told Walters. "Being the child of a famous person is very hard. So we're gonna have to work on that. It's not gonna be an easy ride for him. [That isn't] to say a child who's born into a wealthy environment can't be a good child. But there are pitfalls. And we know the pifalls."
Still, it was John's very effusiveness about the joys of being a father that made some cynics suspicious that he must not be doing enough of the hard work if he found it that delightful.
Asked what most surprised him, John told the BBC News: "How relaxed it's made me. I thought I was going to be so frantically worried about how he is and when he's coughing or when he's got wind… but that's what they have. I'm so contented and so relaxed, and it's put me in a great mood. I don't worry about him. He's in great hands and he's a very happy little soul."
That kind of talk only further infuriated the Daily Mail, whose columnist Andrew Pierce fumed: "I have no doubt of the couple's 'overwhelming' happiness and joy at the arrival of their son… Yet I can't help feeling that his decision to become a father is another grotesque act of selfishness from Sir Elton, and that the child is a little Christmas bauble he and his partner have awarded themselves… He is also an aging, pampered, self-indulgent millionaire — look at the absurd names he and Furnish have given the poor child, for heaven's sake! And it is the nagging suspicion that Elton — a man who is by nature an obsessive — has simply acquired a son to satisfy his latest fixation that I find repellent."
But with the child's name the only concrete proof anyone has yet come up with that Zachary will be spoiled or neglected, most fans have rejoiced along with Elton.
Certainly the superstar has a sense of humor about every accusation that could be lobbed his way. When he hosted Saturday Night Live last year, he incorporated just about every conceivable criticism into his opening monologue — including the "absurd" name game, as he waggishly explained the boy's name "of course is short for Zachary Jackson Levon Hakuna Matata Furnish-John."
"As you can see," John further told the SNL viewing audience, "I still haven't lost the baby weight… So far the baby really takes after me. He screams and cries when he doesn't get his way, and he's had his ups and downs with the bottle. The baby has had some feeding difficulties. He is rejecting the breast. And in that way, he takes after both of his fathers… David and I had our child through a surrogate. Neither of us can become pregnant, though I promise you, we tried our hardest." He recounted the sense of relief in the maternity ward when "the doctors told us we had a healthy boy with 10 fingers, 10 toes, and 400 million dollars."
What of the work schedule, though? John said he has made one concession to "being dragged into the 21st century" as a result of having the infant. He told the BBC that although he was a confirmed "Luddite" who did not even own a computer or mobile phone, he was buying an iPad to see Zachary via Skype while he's on tour.
There is little evidence of him slowing his schedule, all e-devices aside.
John has already recorded a new album, The Diving Board, his first solo studio album since 2006, for release this fall. Like his recent collaboration with Leon Russell, The Union, the upcoming release was produced by T Bone Burnett and includes lyrics by longtime writing partner Bernie Taupin. It's said to be the most stripped-down effort he's made since his very earliest, pre-glitter-rock days, with Rolling Stone even comparing it to his landmark 11-17-70 album.
His "Million Dollar Piano" show will be back at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace for 20 gigs in April and May. He's also booked three different kind of touring shows — solo, with his band, and as a duo with Ray Cooper — in the U.S. and Canada as well as such far-flung locations as Poland and Slovakia through the end of July.
As far how to celebrate his birthday Sunday, he's leaving that to fans as a DIY affair. On his website, devotees are being invited to host local birthday lunches and raise money for the Elton John AIDS Foundation, as many have already done for the last decade.
And how's he adjusting to being a "senior," parenthood aside? Just fine, he claims, especially since now he no longer suffers from blurry vision — and not just because he quit drinking in 1990.
"I had my eyes done about eight years ago; I had replacement lens surgery because I was so blind," he said at a press event last year. "Now I have 20/20 vision and I can see all the signs that the fans have, all the album sleeves. And it makes a difference. I really appreciate my performing so much better now as I get older than I did. I don't take it for granted anymore… I can remember the words to the songs. It's great! It's just sensational what's happened to me in the last few years. The older I get, I think I'm singing better live."
Q&A with Bernie Taupin
Mar 23rd 2012
Three weeks after Elton John played to a capacity crowd at the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, the Rocket Man’s legendary lyricist, Bernie Taupin, is expected create his own standing-room-only buzz inside Town Center at Boca Raton.
However, the author of such Elton staples as “Your Song,†“Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me,†“Bennie and the Jets,†“I’m Still Standing†and countless other rock classics isn’t coming to Boca to talk music. The “Brown Dirt Cowboy†will appear March 31 at Wentworth Gallery (6 to 9 p.m.) to discuss one of his other artistic passions—painting.
Boca Raton caught up with Taupin and asked him about the inspiration behind his artwork—and also what’s next with Elton. Check out the websites of Taupin and Wentworth Gallery for more information on the artist and the event.
Boca Raton: What initially led you to the canvas back in the 1990s—and at what point did it develop into something beyond a hobby?
Taupin: My desire to paint has always been there. It was just a matter of settling somewhere that could accommodate my needs. I’ve lived where I currently reside (on a ranch in Central California) for the last 20 years and have my studio in a converted racquetball court that is large enough to cater to sizable canvases—along with my need for swinging room! In retrospect, I’ve never considered it a hobby being that the time I devote to it outweighs anything else I do.
Could you talk us through one piece—New York, Winter—and tell us what the colors and contrasts represent to you?
I’m not in the habit of dissecting pieces with explanations of intent; I much prefer that observers do that for themselves. However, “New York Winter†seems a little self-explanatory in what it represents. It’s an old piece from the mid-1990s, and like so much of my work, is drawn from the teeming chaos of great cosmopolitan areas. I see that one canvas in particular as a blurred bird’s eye view of Manhattan.
You’ve said there is no correlation, for you personally, between songwriting and your artwork. Still, several musicians—from Tony Bennett to Ronnie Wood—end up exploring their artistic side (when it comes to painting). Why do you think that is?
I can’t speak for other musicians who paint. What I do simply comes from the same place creatively and just manifests itself in different mediums. But, essentially, they’re very similar both in their intent to stimulate sonically and visually.
Do you ever have the painting equivalent of writer’s block, and is that easier to work through when you’re painting?
I guess there are times when the muse is absent—but generally she’s close at hand. If she takes a vacation, I do too.
What can people expect to see at your Wentworth Gallery appearance in Boca Raton?
A cross-section of varying styles representing my work from the mid-90s up to the present day—including both originals and prints.
A few quick music questions: How was the experience of working with Elton and Leon Russell, along with producer T-Bone Burnett, on the critically-acclaimed “The Union?†Was it different from simply working with Elton on a record?
Every recording experience is different, new sets of ideas, new songs and new energy. “The Union†was another great experience with two new extraordinary talented components added to the mix.
Can we expect an album of new material from you and Elton anytime soon?
Elton and I just completed a new studio album with T-Bone. Maybe a fall release.
Nenhum comentário:
Postar um comentário
Estamos aqui aguardando seu comentário para essa postagem, fique à vontade: