Sir Elton says goodbye with a two-hour show full of hits

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Where: BC place

“I’ve had more hits than you’ve had hot meals,” says Sir Elton John of a recent collaboration with young British rock band Yard Act. The 75-year-old pop star is proving his point nightly on his Farewell Yellow Brick Road: The Tour.

Friday night’s more than two-hour show at BC Place was the first of two nights and likely one of the last opportunities to see the veteran performer live. In 2018, he announced his intention to retire from touring to spend more time with his 11- and 9-year-old sons, whom he had as a surrogate to Canadian husband David Furnish. COVID-19 and a hip injury in 2021 interrupted the planned three-year goodbye, but it’s back on track. He is due to make his final bow in Stockholm next July, plague and aging joints permitting.

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1. The hits. It’s amazing how powerful the songs played to death sounded even in a cavernous stadium. Tiny Dancer was a master class in classic rock songwriting. The only thing missing from a deliciously deconstructed Rocket Man was a cameo from Chris Hadfield – yes, we know the former astronaut is known for covering David Bowie’s Space Oddity, not Rocket Man. But still. Bennie and the Jets, Crocodile Rock and Alright for Fighting on Saturday night kept the crowd going and dancing in the aisles when possible. Candle in the Wind aired, but Love Lies Bleeding let the band go.

2. The deep cuts. There were a few, like Have Mercy on the Criminal from 1975’s Don’t Shoot Me I’m Only the Piano Player, complete with animated video, and Burn Down the Mission from 1970’s Tumbleweed Connection. “Take Me to the Pilot” 1970 was originally the A-side of a single with “Your Song,” but the latter eventually overtook it on the charts and in the hearts of AM radio listeners.

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3. Sad songs say so much. John is an accomplished ballad singer, and the setlist was filled with melancholy, from ’70s pleas Someone Saved My Life Tonight and Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me to slightly more upbeat MTV-era tearjerkers I Guess That’s Why They Call It’s blues and sad songs (Say So Much).

4. Always cooking. Nigel Olson (drums), Dave Johnstone (bandleader and guitarist) and Ray Cooper (percussion) supported the star with their own panache and charisma. As the jeweled pop star said of his six-piece band, “I know they’re always going to cook.” One thing is missing: backup singers. Sir Elton can still hit most of the notes, but some vocal support wouldn’t have hurt.

5. Still standing. A video montage during “Still Standing,” his 1980s reimagining of “I Will Survive,” reminded us of John’s impact on pop culture with clips from “The Simpsons” to “The Muppet Show” and showed that he can pick jokes . As a testament to its enduring relevance, even to the TikTok generation — audiences ranged from tots to skimpies and everything in between — John recorded Cold Heart, his 2021 duet with British dance-pop sensation Dua Lipa, which spanned a video screen appeared. Five decades into his career, John is a consummate performer who can fill 40,000-seat stadiums and send everyone home happy, nostalgic and a little wistful.

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