http://www.twincities.com/music/ci_2458499...keeps-it-simpleReview: Elton John keeps it simple at the X
By Ross Raihala
[email protected]In addition to his indelible, memorable hits, Elton John also built his legacy on the back of his live performances. At the height of his powers in the '70s, he transformed piano playing into something spectacular, dressing as everything from Donald Duck to the Statue of Liberty and pounding the keys like a man possessed.
Now 66, no one expects him to pull out the outrageously glittery, feathered outfits anymore. That's CeeLo Green's job now. But during John's Friday-night gig at St. Paul's Xcel Energy Center, the most outrageous thing he had on was a toupee, proof that money can't buy love, happiness or a realistic wig. OK, maybe his bedazzled blue jacket -- complete with the cover art of his 1971 album "Madman Across the Water" embroidered across the back -- was pretty fancy, too. The point is, John lets his music do most of the heavy lifting these days.
Luckily for John, he's got a whole lot of hits. Of the 27 numbers he aired for the sold-out crowd of more than 16,000, most did major damage to the charts the first time around and remain popular today, from "Someone Saved My Life Tonight" to "Crocodile Rock" to "Levon."
John's last local solo show was back in 2005, when he opened by playing more than half of his then-current album, "Peachtree Road." All of that new material all at once killed the momentum of the show, while John kind of phoned in his 2009 stop at the X with Billy Joel. But with Friday night's 160-minute performance, he mostly ignored the new stuff and (thankfully) skipped his sappy Disney tunes entirely. Instead, he focused on his biggest hits, and threw in a few deeper album cuts for the old-timers in the crowd.
His "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" album turned 40 this year, and John played eight of its songs -- nearly half the record -- including the monster hits "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting," "Candle in the Wind," "Bennie and the Jets" and the title track. In contrast, he only aired a pair of tracks from his latest disc, "The Diving Board," and "Hey Ahab" from "The Union," the 2010 collaborative album he made with Leon Russell.
John can't hit the high notes anymore, and doesn't even bother trying. But he's savvy enough to hire some heavy-hitters who can, as his backing vocalists included Tata Vega (as seen in the recent documentary "20 Feet from Stardom") and Rose Stone of Sly and the Family Stone.
The days of John jumping up and down on his piano bench are long gone, too, and the somewhat odd setup of the stage meant a section of the crowd spent the evening staring at his back. Perhaps aware of that, John did make a point of waving and pointing to those folks between songs. And, to be honest, they weren't missing that much.
For all the energy from the music and the crowd, John sometimes looked distant, as if he had shifted into autopilot and his mind was elsewhere. Forbes recently reported he averages $1 million per show, so maybe he was silently counting bills in his head. Whatever the case, John proved why he can still command such dough with such a crowd-pleasing evening.
