I've been unsuccessful thus far at obtaining a video copy or transcript of Elton John's appearance on CNN on Monday night, so when we do finally get our hands on it I'll be interested to see how far off the mark my memory is. (CNN.com posted only about 10 minutes of the show and it didn't include this.)Larry King was asking Elton about his energy level at his age and Elton went on to note that for his 60th birthday concert at Madison Square Garden, he played 3.5 hours and in other concert venues he plays 2.5 hours and loves it. Then he said something like: "Then I'll be at Caesars Palace in Vegas where I do a 90-minute show and half way through I'll be like, 'When is this over?' "
Again, that is a ROUGH paraphrase. It may even have been my imagination. But with his Vegas contract over in 2009, with ticket sales soft for his next three-week swing from mid-March to early April, and with the artist not under direct contract with Colosseum operator AEG Live but with the resort itself, I suspect that there will be no re-up beyond 2009.
One thought as to why Elton would find the Vegas work tedious: There is absolutely no room for spontaneity and innovation. The show is so carefully managed, so technologically regulated and so tied to the Dave LaChappelle stage theatrics that Sir Elton can't decide to, say, swap out "The Bitch Is Back" with "Club At The End Of The Street." (Sorry, I haven't seen "The Red Piano" since its opening and have no idea what's in the show now.) I imagine having to do the exact same thing each and every time down to the half-minute could be a drag for someone as creative as Elton.
Anyone seen the show recently? Did he seem to be sleepwalking through it?
4 comments:
I saw the show last year and he was absolutely entertaining. He didn't SEEM bored, but maybe he's too good a showman to show it?
As is often said in baseball stadiums: You misremembered what Elton said.
The conversation started with a discussion of his 60th Birthday concert and the fact that he didn't pee during the whole 3 1/2 hours. He then mentioned that during his Vegas show, he usually needs to go to the bathroom half way through. So, not about being bored, but more about the call of nature.
That being said, when I saw his show, I thought he lacked energy. Much preferred Celine to Elton...and I was a big Elton fan and not so much Celine.
So it was about going to the bathroom? Hmm. I did acknowledge I could be off a bit on this. I still want to see the transcript or a video of the moment.
Troy and I are planning on seeing it sometime in this upcoming run. We'll take notes.
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