Elton John has resumed his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour after he had been forced to cancel it yet again. Just three dates after the Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour originally resumed on January 19, 2022, the star had tested positive for Covid-19. He thus postponed the two concerts that were scheduled for Dallas on Jan. 25-26. On Jan. 29, John returned to the stage in North Little Rock, Ark., and for a second show the next night in Oklahoma City.
His 22-song set list was identical for both performances, with a mixture of his biggest hits and LP cuts. “I wish you happiness, love, health, peace, and thank you for all the years of your incredible support,” he told the audience before the closing number at Simmons Bank Arena on Jan. 29.
At the time of the postponement of the Dallas concerts, officials at the American Airlines Center issued a statement to the chagrin of the ticketholders. “It is with great regret that the Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour dates in Dallas… must be postponed due to Elton recently testing positive for Covid-19. Fortunately, Elton is fully vaccinated and boosted, and is experiencing only mild symptoms.”
When John finally took to the stage on January 19 to resume his much-delayed final run, it had been nearly two years since the previous concert of his farewell tour. The set at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, La., marked the legendary performer’s first full concert since March 7, 2020, in Australia, when live performances began to shut down around the globe due to the pandemic.
The farewell tour was scheduled to finally resume last Sept. 28 in Copenhagen but two weeks earlier, he canceled all of his 2021 performances when he announced that he required hip surgery due to a nasty fall.
“This is a new experience for us,” said John, 74. “I’ve never had this amount of time off… since I was 17 years of age.” In noting that the New Orleans show had been long delayed, he said, “I can’t thank you enough for being so patient.”
The Jan. 19 re-opening concert began with “Bennie and the Jets” and included such crowd pleasers as “Philadelphia Freedom,” “Tiny Dancer,” “The Bitch is Back” and “Crocodile Rock.”
On the first of three encores, John introduced “Cold Heart,” from his 2021 album, The Lockdown Sessions.
On June 23, John announced his “final tour dates ever” of North America and Europe with the “most spectacular production I’ve ever had.” The legend will conclude his farewell tour at major stadiums which will kick off on May 27, 2022 in Frankfurt and include stops in Europe in major cities such as Milan, Liverpool, and Paris. He will then travel “take his final bow” in North America, with a stadium run that begins in Philadelphia on July 15, 2022 before concluding with back-to-back performances at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on November 19 and 20, 2022 — commemorating his iconic performance at the historic venue in October 1975. 2023 starts with two shows in Auckland, New Zealand, followed by dates in Australia before the epic four-year tour formally concludes there later that year.
Watch “Tiny Dancer” from the New Orleans concert
Watch John perform “Take Me to the Pilot” and a piano showpiece, “Levon,” two nights later, in Houston
Watch John perform “The Bitch is Back,” upon returning to the stage on Jan. 29 after testing positive for Covid-19
And here’s “Crocodile Rock,” from the Jan. 21 concert in Houston
Before the finale on the tour re-opener on Jan. 19, John told the audience, “I’ve been coming to New Orleans since 1971. I fell in love with the music from the city in 1957 when I first heard Fats Domino.” Of the city’s music, he said, “No matter of its Allen Toussaint, Mac Rebennack (Dr. John)… the Meters, the Neville Brothers… the music is amazing and it stands the test of time. This city has character. It has soul. You should be so proud of your city.”
#eltonfarewelltour pic.twitter.com/BZKcTdLruf
— Elton John (@eltonofficial) January 18, 2022
Watch John close the main set with the house lights on, on Jan. 29 in Arkansas, with “Saturday’s Alright For Fighting”
Elton John, Smoothie King Center, New Orleans, La., Jan. 19, 2022 Setlist
Bennie and the Jets
Philadelphia Freedom
I Guess That’s Why They Call It the Blues
Tiny Dancer
Have Mercy On The Criminal
Rocket Man
Take Me To The Pilot
Someone Saved My Life Tonight
Levon
Candle In The Wind (solo)
Funeral For A Friend/Love Lies Bleeding
Burn Down The Mission
Sad Songs (Say So Much)
Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me
The Bitch Is Back
I’m Still Standing
Crocodile Rock
Saturday’s Alright For Fighting
Encore
Cold Heart (solo)
Your Song
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
Tickets are available here and here.
Related: Links for 100s of classic rock tours
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