Elton John in Madison

I was fortunate enough to catch Sir Elton John this evening at the Alliant Energy Center (thanks Steely). It is always thrilling to scratch a star off the list of “must see”. I was caught off guard when Sir Elton announced that Croatians Luka Sulic and Stjepan Hauser, known together as 2 Cellos would open up the night’s music and then sit in on a number of tunes throughout the evening. I am a big fan of the interpretations to rock classics that these two put forth on their cellos, and just how must rock is in them. This tour has been billed as featuring number one chart hits and classic album tracks from throughout Elton’s incredible five-decade career….and did he ever. The band includes Davey Johnstone on guitar, Bob Birch on bass, John Mahon on percussion, ( from Elton’s original band) Mr. Nigel Olsson on drums, and Kim Bullard on keyboards…but also featured an original Family Stone member Rose Stone…and this band was spot on all night. The songs which we have all hEARd many times still managed to sound alive and fresh in a live setting, due to just that, Sir Elton live in a show is as professional as it gets. The energy in the venue semmed to recharge him with each key he pressed. He was a workhorse who only took short breaks to skip around the stage and introduce the tunes. Almost three hours of hits and man, he could have just kept going and going. His wave to the audience was meant for everyone, just like these songs.