Elton John
the pop up gig on the Sunset Strip
by Live Music Head
Elton John played a pop-up gig on Saturday
for free
on the Sunset Strip.
It was a thank you to West Hollywood,
that city in California
who’s played host to all his AIDS benefits
and Oscar parties over the years.
And I like that he chose the old Tower Records parking lot
as the concert location.
The ol’ record store sign still hangs there
on the side of the abandoned, and legendary building.
Did you know that Elton John shopped for his records at Tower
back in the 1970s?
That’s the fact that got me excited the most
when he was seen doing just that
in the new documentary film
All Things Must Pass:
The Rise and Fall of Tower Records.
The film shows Elton roaming the Tower aisles
just around the time
Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy came out.
And that was the first album I ever bought with my own money.
Had I been living in L.A. back in ’75,
Tower surely woulda been my local record shop too.
And I got excited thinking about how excited I woulda been
at the age of 12
running into him there.
Ahhhhh!
Elton John: "I'm particularly proud to be playing in the parking lot
of one of my favourite buildings of all time,
the old Tower Records store.
I could probably have bought Los Angeles with
the money I spent in Tower Records."
I wasn’t available to watch this pop-up concert
when it was streaming live on AOL,
but thanks to Youtube,
I watched the entire thing today.
Yay!
He opened with The Bitch is Back,
the same song that plays every time I walk into a room.
Double-yay!!
And oh, how instantly emotional I got
seeing original band members like Nigel Olsson
rockin' the drums in a suit,
and hammin’ it up for the cameras.
And Davey Johnstone.
Oh, how I love, love, looooooove his Captain Fantastic guitar!
I’d like to say Levon was my favourite from the set list.
After all, that balloon seller called his child Jesus
‘cuz he liked the name.
But the one that got me the most was Your Song.
How could it not?
Speaking of Jesus,
Jesus!
It's such an incredibly moving song,
even after all these years.
Or,
no,
it’s because it’s after all these years
Bennie and the Jets
Lookin' Up
Blue Wonderful
Levon
Rocket Man
Your Song
Tiny Dancer
A Good Heart
Wonderful Crazy Night
Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me (with Lady Gaga)
Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting
the pop up gig on the Sunset Strip
by Live Music Head
Elton John played a pop-up gig on Saturday
for free
on the Sunset Strip.
It was a thank you to West Hollywood,
that city in California
who’s played host to all his AIDS benefits
and Oscar parties over the years.
And I like that he chose the old Tower Records parking lot
as the concert location.
The ol’ record store sign still hangs there
on the side of the abandoned, and legendary building.
Did you know that Elton John shopped for his records at Tower
back in the 1970s?
That’s the fact that got me excited the most
when he was seen doing just that
in the new documentary film
All Things Must Pass:
The Rise and Fall of Tower Records.
The film shows Elton roaming the Tower aisles
just around the time
Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy came out.
And that was the first album I ever bought with my own money.
Had I been living in L.A. back in ’75,
Tower surely woulda been my local record shop too.
And I got excited thinking about how excited I woulda been
at the age of 12
running into him there.
Ahhhhh!
Elton John: "I'm particularly proud to be playing in the parking lot
of one of my favourite buildings of all time,
the old Tower Records store.
I could probably have bought Los Angeles with
the money I spent in Tower Records."
I wasn’t available to watch this pop-up concert
when it was streaming live on AOL,
but thanks to Youtube,
I watched the entire thing today.
Yay!
He opened with The Bitch is Back,
the same song that plays every time I walk into a room.
Double-yay!!
And oh, how instantly emotional I got
seeing original band members like Nigel Olsson
rockin' the drums in a suit,
and hammin’ it up for the cameras.
And Davey Johnstone.
Oh, how I love, love, looooooove his Captain Fantastic guitar!
I’d like to say Levon was my favourite from the set list.
After all, that balloon seller called his child Jesus
‘cuz he liked the name.
But the one that got me the most was Your Song.
How could it not?
Speaking of Jesus,
Jesus!
It's such an incredibly moving song,
even after all these years.
Or,
no,
it’s because it’s after all these years
that makes it so moving.
That,
and because it’s an incredibly moving song!
EJ introduced Your Song with a reminder
that he played it at the Troubadour Club on Santa Monica Blvd,
his first ever gig in the United States of America,
back in 1970.
Unlike Tower Records,
the Troubadour is still operating in the same West Hollywood spot.
And Elton dedicated the song to Howard Rose
who was his agent back in the 70s,
and still is today.
Elton John has a new album out,
That,
and because it’s an incredibly moving song!
EJ introduced Your Song with a reminder
that he played it at the Troubadour Club on Santa Monica Blvd,
his first ever gig in the United States of America,
back in 1970.
Unlike Tower Records,
the Troubadour is still operating in the same West Hollywood spot.
And Elton dedicated the song to Howard Rose
who was his agent back in the 70s,
and still is today.
Elton John has a new album out,
Wonderful Crazy Night,
which, doing a pop-up gig like this
which, doing a pop-up gig like this
gave a great opportunity to promote.
The stand-out song from the new one I thought
was A Good Heart.
Is there a star any bigger than Elton John?
I think not.
He’s a Superstar!
Not even the star that is Lady Gaga,
who joined him on the pop-up stage
to make a duet out of
Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me,
(that incredibly moving song from Caribou)
could outshine him.
How wonderful life is while Elton John’s in the world.
The stand-out song from the new one I thought
was A Good Heart.
Is there a star any bigger than Elton John?
I think not.
He’s a Superstar!
Not even the star that is Lady Gaga,
who joined him on the pop-up stage
to make a duet out of
Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me,
(that incredibly moving song from Caribou)
could outshine him.
How wonderful life is while Elton John’s in the world.
The video of Elton John: Live on The Sunset Strip...
The Set List
The Bitch is BackBennie and the Jets
Lookin' Up
Blue Wonderful
Levon
Rocket Man
Your Song
Tiny Dancer
A Good Heart
Wonderful Crazy Night
Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me (with Lady Gaga)
Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting
The official Elton John website...
The website for All Things Must Pass:
The Rise and Fall of Tower Records...
The Rise and Fall of Tower Records...
