I have always been a casual fan of Sir Elton John. Fun fact, I used to occasionally impersonate him at Goldie's, when it was open in downtown Owensboro.  My go-to song was "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me."  I always loved that song, admired Elton's flamboyance and had a blast sitting down at the keyboard (which I couldn't play), pretending to be Sir Elton and adopting some of the defining characteristics of his voice for a few minutes.

After Saturday night in Louisville, I am pleased to report that I am no longer a casual fan. I now have to classify myself as an Elton stan. The man's a legend, an icon and I felt completely honored to sit within feet of him and watch him soar through the highlights of his 52-year career in music. I can't believe it took me so long to see Elton in concert. My goodness. He was certainly worth waiting for.

Here's the thing.  We weren't even supposed to be at the show.  Truly. On a total whim, within hours, Kevin and I ended up at the KFC Yum! Center to see Elton's Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour.

Chad Benefield
Chad Benefield
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And, we had ridiculously "FANTASTIC" seats, despite the fact that 8 hours before the show, we didn't even have tickets.

Chad Benefield
Chad Benefield
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Elton's concert was originally supposed to take place in April of 2020. However, as you know, COVID postponed that event, like it did so many concert tours, for two years. The majority of fans at the arena Saturday night have been sitting on their tickets for the last 24 months. I bought mine at Noon yesterday and I am so glad I did.  Elton was Earth-shattering.

Chad Benefield
Chad Benefield
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At 6am Saturday morning, I was doing my weekly grocery shopping.  I was standing at the deli counter talking to my friend Donna, who works at Kroger and gives me a hard time every time I tell her I need some meat and cheese sliced. Kevin sent me a text message about some Elton John tickets. He had been watching some of the Ticketmaster Verified Fan Resale tickets.  Those ticket prices, which can be completely insane, were getting cheaper as we were approaching show time.  I told him I would watch them throughout the morning and I did.

It paid off!  Suddenly, late Saturday morning, eight tickets popped up that hadn't been available before. We ended up in Section 1 FLOOR in Row G.  Yes!  We scored 7th row seats the day of the show and the seats were INSANE!

This will show you how close we were to the stage and, more importantly, Elton!

Chad Benefield
Chad Benefield
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Elton John is 75-years-old. There's no doubt that he moves around the stage more slowly than he used to. But, once he sits down and starts to play and sing, the man literally erases time.  He sounds as good today as he did in the 70s/80s. Kevin said, "He hasn't missed a note." I don't think he ever did.

He would play the holy crap out of the song, then stand up, point to the crowd, and take a bow.

Chad Benefield
Chad Benefield
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His fans, every. single. time., lost their minds.

Chad Benefield
Chad Benefield
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And what's really cool about this tour is the giant screen that literally and figuratively sets the stage for the show. The graphics are incredible and take you through Elton's career and the stories of his songs in completely imaginative and vivid ways.

Here are couple of shots from the song "Have Mercy on the Criminal."

Chad Benefield
Chad Benefield
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Chad Benefield
Chad Benefield
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And, here's a great shot from the graphics in "Rocketman".

Chad Benefield
Chad Benefield
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By the way, that particular song was one of my favorites in the show. It was an extended version of the song that ended up with an incredible, digital fireworks display scored to lush orchestrations from Elton and his band.

Chad Benefield
Chad Benefield
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Another highlight, of course, was Elton's performance of "Candle in the Wind". As he sang and played, his piano moved the length of the stage, with a Marilyn Monroe slide show playing on the screen above him.  It was mesmerizing.

Chad Benefield
Chad Benefield
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Some my favorite photos that I took were the ones where Elton was at the piano and a larger-than-life version of him was projected on the big screen.

Chad Benefield
Chad Benefield
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Chad Benefield
Chad Benefield
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Chad Benefield
Chad Benefield
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Chad Benefield
Chad Benefield
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My favorite "highlight reel" on the screen showed Elton, in virtually all the stages of his career. It was so cool seeing the legend playing at the piano below the screen and all of his earlier incarnations immortalized and projected onto it.

Chad Benefield
Chad Benefield
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The concert ended with a rousing rendition of "Saturday's Alright for Fighting" and confetti rained down from the rafters of the KFC Yum! Center as the song built to its finale.  It was friggin' awesome.

Chad Benefield
Chad Benefield
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Then, naturally, Elton returned to the stage for his encore, which included "Your Song" and after he explained to the crowd that 2023 would mark the official end of his farewell tour, he said, "Goodbye." He then sat down at the piano one more time and played the final song of the set list- the appropriately placed "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road."

Chad Benefield
Chad Benefield
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Elton took his official bows earlier in the show. He had a dramatic exit from the stage at the end of "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" that wouldn't allow him and his band to take their normal bows.  So, they did it earlier. And, naturally, Sir Elton did with flair.

Chad Benefield
Chad Benefield
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Elton has over 100 shows left on his farewell tour.  As he told the crowd in Louisville, "When it's over, I am going home and spending the rest of my life with my family."  Hey, they have shared him with us long enough.  And the truth is this.

I feel incredibly privileged to have gotten the chance to spend a single night with Elton John.  Funny thing is- I will carry memories from that night with me the rest of my life.

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