Under cheers, he sings “Rocket Man” for his final launch into orbit: After more than half a century on the streets, Elton John, in good shape for his 75th birthday, is on a full farewell world tour, Saturday. went to Paris.
“Rocket Man”, a classic, appears half an hour into the show and is one of the first fireworks. Three giant screens project a starry galaxy while Sir Elton lengthens the piece on piano in a boogie style.
Greeting 32,000 people (to sit but to stand in front of their seats) at the Paris Defense Arena. The British megastar then rises from his piano to speed up the stage and greet his audience.
It’s a great way to quell the nasty rumors about his health status and show that his hip operation in the fall of 2021 is just a bad memory.
The tabloids were made alarmist by photographing him in a wheelchair at the German airport in Leipzig on 1 June. Published images – pre-recorded on video – just before her performance for the birth anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II.
“The truth is that I am in excellent health, that I love my shows and I play and sing at my best”, he immediately posted on Instagram. He gave living proof of this in Paris, even though he appeared a little tired after 2h30 of the concert.
From “Benny and the Jets”, the introductory track, the vocals are in place and the right hand (the one with the big diamond in the ear) works on the keyboard for the variations. In Paris, the singer appears in a tail coat embroidered with glitter. The sneakers are as red as the lenses of his glasses, surrounded by tiny diamonds.
– kitsch dressing gown –
In the middle of the show, while six of his musicians – dressed as the “Blues Brothers” – provide a musical hiatus, he returns, dressed in a red and black harlequin jacket. To reiterate, he ends up in a kitsch dressing gown.
View tables are neat. The song “I Guess That’s Why They Call It the Blues” is accompanied on screen by a slideshow by famed British photographer Martin Parr, featuring couples who are no longer on the same wavelength.
“Have Mercy on the Criminal” is served up by an animated film about a criminal trying to escape. There is a bang in the rhythm section made up of one drummer and two percussionists. To detect the bullets fired at the fugitive, they make a big “bang”, cutting the piece to pieces, which startle the onlookers.
This interaction between the animated film and the musicians playing on stage recalls the visibility of the Gorillaz, a group of Damon Albarn with whom Elton John has recently collaborated.
– “I love France” –
This device shows that Elton John is always listening. Farewell from the stage is not what happens with music. For the release of “The Lockdown Sessions” in late 2021, the author of “Your Song” admitted to the press in videoconference: “Saying that everything would be over if I revolved around this question. I am the music.” more excited than ever.”
To please his audience (believably, 300 million albums sold in his career), his farewell tour is one of the best. “I stand still” is thus illustrated with a compilation of videos marking its trajectory.
The original clip for “I’m Still Standing” (1983) was shot at Cannes. It was during this period that Elton John fell in love with France in general and the Cte d’Azur in particular (he has a home in Nice). “I love France”, she also left at the end of the show.
He will return to Paris in June 2023: his XXL farewell tour will take him across Europe, New Zealand, the US, Canada and the United Kingdom. Opportunity, for another year, gave them “time to dance!” on stage. (“It’s time to dance”!) and perform, as Paris did.