Elton John Live: Adieu du Dodger Stadium

Excellent vitality and good old Elton! I've seen him live a few times but this last performance kills it! His voice is great and his fingers fly across the keyboards like feathers - and the band is spot on fabulous.

I liked how he would stop and talk to the audience about some of the songs - something he didn't do very often in live shows.

And my god for 75 he played like in his youth - ok so he can't be as outrageous as he used to be but in fact he's more outrageous because of his energy and the fun he was clearly having!

I can't imagine a world without Elton John and I'm glad I could see this on Disney as I wasn't able to go to his live farewell tour. Great job Disney! And thank you Elton, I'm glad I could share this generation with you!

I had high hopes for this but what's happened to his singing style?

He sings like he's got hiccups or something, like an old Irish jig. I can't put it into words but it's very strange, like the words are not joined together.

His band are older than Noah, not that there's anything wrong with this but the production lacked energy.

Elton's add libbing and extra Irish jig shouts got really annoying so I could take no more and switched it off 10 minutes before the end.

If I had tickets for this at the ridiculous amounts he's been charging I'd try to get a refund or sell them on now!

He's a music genius but just leave it at that now!

...I kind of got annoyed watching his orchestra members trying to upstage him.

I know they have been with him a long time, and with Elton pretty much stuck at the piano singing, some of his back line was going crazy, especially that 'lead tambourine-player'/percussionist at the center-top of the stage; they were all well dressed, in jacket and ties (most of the time) The music was terrific, and the mixing top notch !Interesting that it was a Disney production, but did not include Circle of Life, The "O" in Sir Elton's EGOT !

Great guest performances, and just a few essential VIP intro's !

While I did not see it live, the images and colors were very good. The stream was, IMHO better than dealing with being there, and stuck in one place, with probably a limited view, though nothing could beat the experience of this legend live in concert !!

As "Elton John Live: Farewell from Dodger Stadium" (2022 release; 174 min.) opens, it is November 20, 2022 and Elton John is about to start what is billed as his very last show, ever, in the US and North America. Then the familiar opening piano riff of "Benny and the Jets" comes on, and Sir Elton and his veteran backing band get things underway...

Couple of comments: there are some good, even very good things about this farewell show, and some not so good. Let's start with the good: first and foremost, Sir Elton's piano playing remains as nimble as ever. His backing band, including longtime stalwarts Davey Johnson (guitar), Nigel Olsson (drums) and Ray Cooper (percussion), is tight and top-notch. The not-quite-as-good includes Sir Elton's shrinking vocal range (he can't hit those high notes anymore), and the oh-so-predictable set-in-stone setlist, which has barely changed during the entire farewell tour. That said, in particular in the first half of the show, there are a few nuggets: the non-hit/deep album cut "Have Mercy On the Criminal" (from the underrated album "Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player"); the long instrumental outro at then end of "Rocket Man"; and "Someone Save My Life Tonight" (which Sir Elton introduces as "from my favorite album comes this, one of our best and on of my favorite songs ever"). The second half of the concert features a number of guest appearances, including Kiki Dee on "Don't Go Breaking My Heart". Considering that Sir Elton will be 76 by the time the seemingly endless farewell tour (which started in 2018) supposedly wraps up this coming summer, the guy looks and performs at an amazing level still. (I've seen Sir Elton in concert a number of times over the years. I agonized whether to see the farewell tour when it came here in Cincinnati, where I live, in early 2019. In the end, I couldn't justify the insanely expensive tickets available in the aftermarket, and frankly I was disappointed with the super predictable, never-changing setlist.) Please note that the listed running time of 2 hrs. 54 min. Is a bit misleading, in that the initial 20 min. Is a montage of some memorable moments from Sir Elton's life and career. In essence it serves as the warming-up opening act. You are given the choice to "skip forward" if you so desire, and dive straight into the concert.

"Elton John Live: Farewell From Dodger Stadium" was simulcast live on Disney+ and is now available on demand there. I just now caught it. The show is solid, but contains zero surprises, hence my rating of 6 stars. If it turns out that this was indeed Sir Elton's last show ever in the US, my rating will go up to 7 stars for historical purposes. Am I truly 100% convinced that this was indeed his last US show ever? I am not. If a major music festival like Coachella or Lollapalooza reached out to Sir Elton in say 5 years for a one-off, I imagine it will be hard for Sir Elton to resist that. Meanwhile, if you are a fan, be it a casual or a die-hard, of Elton John, I'd readily recommend you check this out, and draw your own conclusion.

... or you'll fall asleep. As timeless as Elton's music is, and as iconic a performer he once was, sitting at a piano playing decades worth of songs isn't entertaining and can get quite laboursome to sit through especially if nothing else is happening. Sure, there are happy jump cuts to the audience pleasantly singing along, and the band, but you'd be better off watching his music videos or listening to his songs at home instead. The show was boring and he didn't bring much personality. I certainly wouldn't have paid to see this show... maybe 30 years ago when he had more energy. Very underwhelming.