After Not Even Bothering To Review Elton John at MSG In 2018, Why Bother Going Back?

The last time I saw Elton John, the first time round on the “Farewell Yellow Brick Road” in October 2018 at Madison Square Garden, I disliked it enough to not bother with a review (here) I wrote: “somewhere between the endless rock and roll jam codas and the oversinging, the magic becomes too overwrought. Some of the best songs ever and they drag and drag and drag.” rockyc.live scribe Robert Ross disagreed with me after seeing him, on the same tour, in March 2019 at Barclay Center (here) with a “proof positive that you can still have fun, churning out (and listening to) the hits.”

I loved Elton the pop single, one man jukebox of Honky Chateau, Don’t Shoot Me, I’m Only the Piano Player” and “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” or, even more specific, Greatest Hits Volumes I and II. I loved his three minute “Benny And The Jets,” “Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting” early seventies superstar. stuff. What I didn’t love was his overwrought MOR pop ballad overplayed, oversung, dross, the “Rocket Man” of the world. In 2019, everything he sang he oversang, everything he died he did to a crisp.

I don’t even think his show, the one I purchased was for April 7th, 2020, at MSG, is making its last trip to the New York area: if it was truly the end the ads would have mentioned it (and mentioned it and mentioned it). So why go? Because of the event vibe and because I can be moody when it comes to Elton -let’s see what we will see.