On Friday, April 8, Elton John played at the Thompson-Boling Arena for over 21,000 fans. The concert was originally supposed to be back in 2020, but it was postponed due to the pandemic. Elton John’s first album came out in June of 1969- more than 52 years ago. His songs are timeless, however, and that’s why people of all ages attended to watch him in the full spectacle.
Over the span of his music career, Elton John has performed over three thousand times, oftentimes beginning each show with the hit “Bennie and the Jets”. The show on Friday was no exception, and fans flew to their feet as they heard the beginnings of the iconic chord pattern.
As he performed, an array of visual effects and even storytelling aspects occurred on the screen behind him. During the climax of “Rocket Man” the smoke and fireworks transported the crowd into the reaches of space.
Elton John talked to the crowd between songs, and he particularly mentioned how the pandemic made him reevaluate the reason he performs. Over his 52-year career, with numerous smash hits and platinum records, the most recent being last year in his song with Dua Lipa, Elton John admitted that he initially felt as if the world would always need him.
When the pandemic hit, however, his perspective changed. He doesn’t perform because the audience loves him, he performs because he loves to perform for an audience. He loves to entertain people, and he has found that his music has done a lot of healing for people.
Elton John closed off the night with his iconic song “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road,” and as the chorus soared around us, we all were washed in a wave of nirvanic bliss. This was his sixth and final time performing in Knoxville, the first time occurring on October 13, 1973. He has truly left his mark on the area, and surely on the rest of the world.
