Back in March, one of my favorite musicians, Sir Elton John, celebrated his 60th birthday - by doing his 60th show at New York's Madison Square Garden, the most shows by a single artist.Recently, Sir Elton became a victim of my pent-up frustrations toward the British, as their government continues to play W's poodle. But I put that away today, to watch a 2-DVD set containing this 60th birthday performance, which dragged on for 3 1/2 hours. The DVD set is titled Elton 60 for obvious reasons.
Despite the length, I found it to be a great, energetic show. I compared this performance to my own in-person experiences with Sir Elton - the Red Piano show in Las Vegas in 2004, followed by a conventional concert at Anaheim's Honda Center in 2005 - and this show reminded me why I had enjoyed both of those past performances. Between an excellent playlist, great facial expressions by Elton, a great band and an excellent choir, and other fans enjoying themselves, there was hardly anything to fault.
Even though Elton no longer sounds as good as he did in his younger days, he's still a top-notch performer capable of giving the crowd a very good time. And the diverse mix of the crowd - men and women in roughly equal numbers, and all sorts of age groups represented - cemented that fact; Elton is one entertainer who truly transcends generations.
I also enjoyed spotting other celebrities in the crowd - Ozzy Osbourne, Bill Clinton, Whoopi Goldberg, Robin Williams, David Furnish (Elton's spouse), and more.
I look forward to my next Elton concert. It won't be as grand as this Madison Square Garden show, but it surely won't disappoint.
