Elton John

It’s Oscar weekend in Los Angeles, which brings all the celebrities to the yard, not just actors. Elton John, an Oscar winner himself for the Lion King theme, is known to host one of Hollywood’s biggest Oscar after-parties.  But give it up for Sir Elton who decided to play a last minute free show in the historic Tower Records parking lot on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood to give a little something to the common folk of Tinseltown.   
    
I found out about this concert at 10am and the performance was at noon.  By the time I processed the consequences of canceling my plans and got myself over to Tower Records it was 11:15 and the small fenced in area was already full.  Of course the area was small, and I knew the sound would carry and my ears would be in no danger of missing out on the legends performance.  Yes, it’s music, but there is a part of a performance that is visual and its nice to have photos accompany these reviews, right? I did find a spot to the side of the stage where I would have a view of the Rocket Man. 
    
Elton’s got a new album out called “Wonderful Crazy Night.” I figured he was going to play for about an hour, mostly from the new album with a few hits to close the show.  I was wrong.  He opened with Benny and the Jets. The show was on.  And what a show! He sounded great the supporting band was great.  He also played “Rocket Man,” “Tiny Dancer,” “Levon,” “Your Song,” “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting,” and a couple tracks from his new album which fit right into his archive.  
    
For an extra bonus, he brought Lady Gaga on stage with him to perform “Don’t Let the Sun go Down on Me.” The West Hollywood crowd went gaga for Gaga and ate it up; you would have thought a Knight Bachelor in Her Majesty’s service would be enough. It was rumored she would be there.  But the entire concert was just a rumor hours earlier.
    
Overall it was a fantastic show. The set list and quality of performance were spectacular and in a slightly unorthodox location with a little bit of history that combined for a perfect Saturday afternoon.