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Live Review: Elton John Debuts “The Captain and The Kid” at Lincoln Center

9/7/06, 12:52 pm EST

Elton JohnOn June 21, 1975 Elton John played his soon to be released album Captain Fantastic and The Brown Dirt Cowboy in front of 120,000 fans at London’s Wembley Stadium. The crowd, who came expecting the hits (which opening acts The Eagles and The Beach Boys gladly delivered) walked out by the thousands when presented with the unfamiliar material. Last night, in front of a thoroughly ritzy crowd, John debuted his Captain Fantastic sequel The Captain and The Kid at Lincoln Center’s 1,233 seat Frederick P. Rose Hall. The tuxedo-and-evening-gown clad audience may have not been the most boisterous crowd in rock history, but nobody walked out this time – even if some of them spent more time looking at their Blackberries than the stage.
John put on a typically amazing high-energy show. Kicking off with his 1973 magnum opus “Funeral For A Friend/Love Lies Bleeding,” he dragged out the his warhorses (”Bennie & The Jets,” “Rocket Man,” “Philadelphia Freedom”) early before playing most of The Captain and The Kid for the first time in front of an audience. The eight autobiographical songs he played trace John’s career from 1970 through the present; next to his 2001 comeback album Songs From The West Coast it’s Elton’s only post 1970’s album that’s strong from start to finish.

Looking around the crowd it occurred to me that the more people pay for tickets (the best seats were $1,000 – though it’s all for charity) the less they seem to enjoy the show. I can’t remember the amount of times I’ve seen people in the so-called “golden circle” at arena shows sitting down indifferently, sending text messages while the fans behind the stage are dancing in the aisles. One exception: Sugar Ray singer Mark McGrath who was seated directly in front of me, and seemed to be having a blast. He burst onto his feet when the band went into “The Bitch Is Back” and did a little shimmy while grinning from ear to ear. So take a cue from the Sugar Ray dude, all you suits!

Andy Greene

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Comments

toby | 9/7/2006, 4:04 pm EST

The rich people get all the perks and they don’t even enjoy them….. At least their money went to charity!

Brendan Martin | 9/18/2006, 7:23 pm EST

Your reviewer is incorrect when he says people walked of Wembley in their thousands on 21 June 1976. I was there and while some people found the new material lacked the instant indentification, they stayed. A small handful left…but then he didn’t appear on stage until the end of a long day that featured the Beach Boys, the Eagles, Joe Walsh (solo) and others.

Billy Bones | 9/22/2006, 11:55 pm EST

FANTASTIC……The BITCH is back…stone cold sober as a matter of fact ! YOU GO GIRL !

MA | 9/24/2006, 10:40 pm EST

Well, I agree with the fact that those who can afford the perks tend to be the ones who least appreciate them. But folks might have been preoccupied because Elton’s new music can’t keep one’s attention anymore. As an Elton fan since the early ‘70’s, I find the music on “Captain and the Kid” hard to listen to, myself.

To say that “Captain and the Kid” is a sequel to “Captain Fantastic” is a bit of a stretch. Their autobiographical nature notwithstanding, “Captain Fantastic” was an album full of melodic rock songs and ballads that stuck in your head and heart. With the exception of “Just Like Noah’s Ark” (which shows Elton and Bernie can still rock if they want to) and “I Must Have Lost It On the Wind” (which harkens us back to the “Tumbleweed Connection” days), the rest of “Captain and the Kid” sounds like the “Lion King-esque” music that Elton has been writing in recent years.

Elton fans remember his greatest hits like “Your Song, Tiny Dancer, Honky Cat, Saturday Night, and Don’t Let the Sun.” But, in his prime, Elton also wrote albums full of great songs like: “Sixty Years On, Amoreena, Holiday Inn, Mona Lisas & Mad Hatters, Blues for Baby and Me, I’ve Seen That Movie Too, Ticking, and Meal Ticket.” Sadly, “Captain and the Kid” offers us no greatest hit or great songs.

I will always salute Elton as one of the greatest musicians and prolific songwriters to have lived in my generation. But Elton’s recent work, including this album,” is not worthy of the stripes that the Captain once wore.

Brett | 9/27/2006, 10:19 pm EST

I was just at the concert in portland and bought the new CD. The concert was Fantastic and the CD was some of his best work in years

David Crockett | 11/15/2006, 12:11 am EST

I have seen many a concert in my time and approached this one, this time, with some trepidation – Las Vegas and Lions and all – walked away from it with a stunning appreciation of the man’s talent and ability. nobody was leaving. in fact we were ready to stay for however long he may have wanted to play for us. Wow.

jonny282 | 12/18/2006, 2:28 pm EST

jonny310

jonny3 | 1/16/2007, 10:39 pm EST

jonny9

Dr. Paul Harrison | 1/22/2007, 9:47 am EST

Elton needs to put out some up beat music instead of that boring queer dribble he sings now-a-days. How in the hell did he sell $500 million records?No wonder his mom left for France!

jonny9 | 2/15/2007, 7:25 pm EST

jonny2

Lloyd Hunt | 8/5/2007, 11:09 pm EST

I love the new ablum. listin to the words and enjoy the true story they tell.

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