Farewell Saturday night: Elton John plays Canadian final concert | CBC News

Elton John fans in Vancouver dressed up for the occasion and sang along on Saturday as the singer and musician known as the “Rocket Man” performed one last time in Canada as part of a farewell tour slated to wrap up around the world in mid-2023.

John, 75, played two shows at BC Place in Vancouver on Friday and Saturday, the final Canadian concerts on his Farewell Yellow Brick Road: The Final Tour.

“Good evening Vancouver!” he said on Saturday after the opening with his hits bennie and the jets and Philly Freedom.

“Tonight is a very special night because it’s our last show in Vancouver and our last show in Canada, so we better make it a night to remember.”

John took the stage in a black tuxedo with glittery tails. He wore rose-colored glasses with matching rhinestones.

Many of the thousands of fans at BC Place wore sparkling outfits, feather boas and large sunglasses – signature looks worn by the artist throughout his fifty-year career.

He has released 31 albums since 1969, with many of his songs co-written with lyricist Bernie Taupin. One of the duo’s biggest hits was rocket Man 1972

Here’s what fans in Vancouver had to say about what his music was and how it shaped their lives:

“He’s an icon”

John’s opening song on Saturday night delighted Tucson Pearl, 39, who drove from Oliver to see the show. He said bennie and the jets is his favorite tune from John.

“He’s an icon,” he said.

He said the concert, billed as John’s last in Canada, was a once in a lifetime opportunity. His wife Kerry Pearl, 40, said they don’t often splurge on concert tickets or travel to concerts, but this one is a must.

“It’s Elton John. I love Elton John. He’s my favourite, I love his music, he has great style,” she said. “He has a song for everything and he just helps you through your weary moments in life.”

Kerry Pearl said he listened to so many John songs when she and her husband were raising their children that her eldest son named one of their cats Elton John.

Generational love for “Rocket Man”

John Kubus, 81, came with 15 members of his family, all from across BC and Alberta, to see Elton John perform in Vancouver.

Kubus, who lives in Penticton, wore a brightly colored shirt, a glow stick around his neck and large pink sunglasses. He said he’s a lifelong fan of John’s but has never seen him live.

“It means quite a lot,” he said of his performance at John’s very last concert in Canada.

When asked about his favorite song, he said, “I love them all,” and described John’s music, performing style, and outfits as “a little bit different.”

Advocacy for LGBTQ+ people

Lexi Binder, 18, came from Abbotsford to see Elton John in Vancouver and before the concert told CBC News why it was important for her to be there.

“He is unbelievable. I like that he’s very authentic and himself, and that’s why I’m kind of crazy dressed,” she said. “I think that I can dress up in some interesting way and look around and there are other people around [doing the same].”

Binder said she was impressed by John’s commitment to LGBTQ+ people and the victims of the AIDS epidemic.

“I think it’s great that he’s supportive of it and has always been very open about it at a time when it wasn’t that accepted,” she said. “And his music is amazing, always has been.”

She said her favorite song was John’s crocodile rock.

“It’s funky, it’s a jam,” she said.

“Great job staying relevant”

Sisters Sarah, Helen and Alison Ballantyne fell in love with the music of Elton John through their father.

“We grew up with dad listening to tons of music, and Elton John was right on that list, so it’s just part of our upbringing,” Alison Ballantyne, 44, said Saturday outside BC Place with her sisters, who were all carrying John-inspired outfits.

The sisters came from Vernon and Kelowna to see the concert and listened to John songs while driving.

“candle in the wind, Little Dancerthere’s just so many,” said Sarah Ballantyne, 46. She said that throughout his long career as a hit-maker, John’s music has remained at the center of popular culture around the world.

“I think he did a great job of staying relevant and not just lost in the ’60s and ’70s,” she said.

The three sisters said it made them emotional to think that this will be John’s last performing tour, according to the artist.

“Oh, we could cry,” they said together.