Sir Elton John - Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour, final tour before he retires from touring *

It was not too expensive actually. Not like $300 or anything, IIRC like $140 plus fees.

 

that's not too bad , thanks for the info

 

Yes. He also said he won't STOP performing. Just TOURING.

 

Re: the comments about the stagnant set list, my guess is that the music is SO integrated into the video that it would be difficult to swap out 3-4 songs a night. Probably not as difficult as I think, but it’s another thing that has to go right every night.

 

I just saw him in Philly on Saturday. Since I last saw him at a show earlier in the year, he's changed the order of a few songs - but yes, the videos are very integrated. Song-order changing is not as big a deal, but major additions/changes would need alternate content. He did add two new songs, I Want Love and Sorry Seems to Be The Hardest Word. The former had a video, the latter didn't. Believe was dropped.

 

Elton's energy and tour schedule is just amazing:

• 33 shows all over North America from September to mid-November 2019
• 2-week break
• 13 shows in Australia in Nov-Dec
• Back to L.A. for Christmas
• Attends the Golden Globes on January 5th
• Plays in Australia on January 7th (!!!)
• 27 more shows in Australia through February
• And 100+ more shows throughout 2020

 

Wow 40 shows in Australia, that must be very unusual for a mega act like Elton to do so many shows.
Good for him, I think someone posted a while back that he has always toured lots in Australia, and not just in the major cities but all over the place.

 

Elton will play anywhere! As I think we've noted on this thread, he's played smaller US cities that no other A-list artist would do.

That's partly why I still find it tough to believe he's really leaving the road. The guy clearly loves it - you don't tour almost constantly over 50 years if you don't.

I looked at setlist.fm's accounting of "total shows played".

Billy Joel - who tours a ton as well - is at 1487 performances total.

Jimmy Buffett, a total road warrior? 2129.

James Taylor seems to tour a lot: 1745.

Elton?

3921!

Now setlist.fm includes appearances that aren't full concerts - guest spots, TV, short promo shows, etc.

But still...!

 

Madman Across the Waters....

 

I think he loves playing live, but not the traveling that comes with touring. He doesn't like 'the road' anymore. And his recent health issues were a wake-up call I think that he needs to stop the jetsetting so much.

I could see another series of shows in, say, London with Ray Cooper for a week. Several times now he's expressed he's kind of over playing things like 'Crocodile Rock' and wants to focus on the lesser known stuff in his catalog. I think the reminiscent of the Rocketman movie and the autobiography have inspired looking back.

 

I see your point, but still find it hard to believe that after nearly 50 years of the road, he can go "cold turkey" and just do residencies.

We'll see!

 

He explains in the book that his decision has a lot to do with having two kids. So I believe him when he says he's going to work his life in terms of staying close to home when this tour wraps up.

 

"I need to retire to spend more time with my kids. So I'll play 3 years of concerts!"

 

I think the kids are with Elton on the tour. All private plane/5 star rooms(presidential suites?) travel.

 

So why retire from the road to spend time with your kids... if you already spend time with your kids?

 

He's been flying too much and should spend time doing "mini residencies" in a small number of cities per year. When he was doing single nighters a few years ago, he'd fly back to his home bed between shows at his 3-4 homes. That's a crazy amount of time in the air, as JamesRR mentioned.

His kids are 7 & 9 and probably have only been tutored, rather than any kind of school.

300+ shows making USD$2mil+ each, I think he's chasing the Sheeran/U2 biggest world tour record. $735+mil range depending how you calculate inflation.

 

He's stuffing the coffers as touring is his most lucrative income. So his husband and kids can continue the lavish lifestyle in years to come.
Ultimately he wants to raise the kids in England, so a few more years and then done. There is an irony in not wanting to tour and committing to a 3 year tour. But I think it's honestly to get as much $$ as he can. He's admitted he's sick of playing stuff like "Crocodile Rock."

 

Saw this People magazine cover from 1978 today.

To quote Luke Skywalker: "Amazing. Every word of what you just said was wrong."

 

US dates being rescheduled for January 2022!

Elton John Announces 'Farewell Yellow Brick Road' Tour Makeup Dates

 

Except for the Cocaine in Hollywood

 

Who's in his band? He fired band & staff them a couple months ago.

He'll be 75 years old when those known dates finish. Kids will be 9 and 11.

Farewell Tour announced January 2018 and dates thru April 2022 for those that were curious.

 

Ha - 5 years of Farewell! His kids will be in college by the time he's done.

 

It's not his fault that his long farewell world tour was interrupted by a pandemic.

 

Of course not. Still you’d think he would take it as a sign to wrap it up rather than reschedule...