Not one mention, any of ya’ about Dee Murray????

My initial impression of this show was, “Amazing, Elton’s going to do another tribute similiar to the Captain Fantastic shows in 2005″! But, then I read the ‘with friends’and figured it would be the same format as the Madison Square concert in 2000 with many other musicians. Then I thought, “boring”. Upon reading all these posts I must admit that you are all correct about being misled. Although I did not attend because my perception said something is funny about this show… I nontheless was surprised to read that Elton played only one song! I don’t count ‘Social Disease’ or ‘Harmony’. I saw Elton several days earlier in Wilkes-Barre, PA and it was great as usual. This ‘Goodby Yellow Brick Road’ show was bordering on false advertisment and could have merit for lawsuits. Although I do not think Elton is responsable, he is in fact the big cheese and should be held accountable in a public relation sense. A hearty apology is the least he can do. And I mean on national tv!!
Sorry for all you out there who felt cheated. Please realize that Elton would NEVER deliberately cheat his fans. Some sort of explanation is needed though.

David - Connecticut

I don’t blame Elton. I, too, was at the concert and figured at the very least Elton would be accompanying the various performers at his piano while they did covers of his songs. The evening was enjoyable enough and it was for a good cause, but I agree that the promotion was very misleading. It’s true that the ads never said it would be Elton all night long, but the ads didn’t say it wouldn’t either.

I think that the person at the helm of the event, Producer Jeffrey Sellers got his just dessert. I haven’t read all the posts, so maybe this has already been covered,
but when Elton was onstage thanking all of the performers and band members for their hard work, he also expressed his thanks to “Jerry Seller”, the producer… not Jeffrey Sellers as his name really is.

I think if that isn’t swift karma for misleading the public, I don’t know what is. Having Elton himself completely screw up your name in front of the entire audience is so fantastic! From what I understand, “Jerry” was furious and very embarrassed over that! I think it was hilarious!!

I think that also goes to prove that Elton had little or nothing to do with putting the evening together. Had that been the case, he would have been working with and known “Jerry” and probably not have screwed up his name.

I feel bad for those who travelled so far to be here for that and feel duped. But don’t blame Elton or the charities involved. Blame “JERRY SELLERS” for his underhanded ways.

He has a history of dirty dealings as he was a producer on RENT and Avenue Q, and there were some nefarious things that went down behind the scenes of those shows!

Does anyone think Elton is being made aware of these feelings and posts? I sure hope so. I was there, trying to stop my wife from crying all night.

I was at the show. I respect the time and effort people put in to the performance. But it was a TOTAL misrepresentation. I spent $1000 for 2 tickets. I decided not to ask for refund because it was for a good cause but the night was BEYOND a huge disspointment.

Liza, out of all the shows and concerts I’ve attended over the years, never did a ticket or flyer go out of its way to express the fact that the actual performer would perform his or her own songs. An earlier poster noted that had the ads read “A tribute to the music of…” or “Broadway celebrates the music of…”, then so many people would not have felt mislead. I saw two young girls who flew in from Mexico sobbing so hard it broke my heart…a couple from E. 83rd street crying, yes crying, that it was their anniversary, and now it was ruined. When I saw “Ringo and Friends”, Ringo was on the stage all night…no need to explain that ahead of time. Same thing with The Who during the Quadrophenia tour…the ads all read “The Who…and friends” When the main songwriter is listed first, followed by “and friends”, it’s understandable that many would assume the artists themselves would perform the whole evening. The fact that such a large amount of people felt mislead does lead me to believe the ads were misleading. I actually do not blame Elton…I honestly do not think he is capable of misleading his fans…he has such a big heart. But I do fault the charity, who, I believe, cynically misrepresented the event to fill seats.

Bob,

I do undertand and I am sorry that I came across as being callous. That was not my intention. I can’t imagine being so terribly disspointed in someone that you love and respect. I am truly saddened that this has hurt people and I would be upset also if I thought that it was going to be Elton for the entire show. It really is a shame that this happened. My concern is with people blaming Elton. Once again the show was never billed as him playing the whole album. It would of been fantastic if that were the case.

Bob,
I do understand and am sorry that I came across as being callous. It was not my intention. I am truly sorry that so many of you were dissapointed. I can’t imagine feeling that way toward someone you respect and love. I would of been upset too if I were under the same impression that others were.
My only concern is that people feel that Elton mislead them. That is what bothers me the most about this whole debacle. I’m sure he had his fans interest in mind but the show was never billed as Elton performing the whole album. Man, I would of loved that more than life itself and hopefully that will happen some time in the future.

Please understand, Liza, that if so many people felt mislead, there must have been SOMETHING wrong in the advertising of this event. I really don’t think it has anything to do with where people live. Many New Yorkers who demanded their money back felt mislead as well. Had you been outside, and witnessed the crying of some of the women, the sullen stares of some of the couples, perhaps your heart wouldn’t be so hard towards “you people”.

Kristen,
I understand your feelings and I feel bad for all of the fans that that are dissapointed. The main thing that concerns me is that a lot of you feel that Elton mislead you and that is upsetting to me as a fan of his for so many years. I do not think for one minute that Elton would ever intentionally mislead his fans. The man has integrity and he should be given some slack here when it comes to some of the post(s) people have made.

I had a chance to go to the event but as a long time fan of Elton i knew this would be the show.Elton possibly doing ‘’Bennie'’ and Candle'’.
Been there,done that,too often.
Plus,Elton’s in a ‘’safety zone'’,greatest hits only.The man has so many very good songs in his back catalogue,but prefers performing the greatest hits,which guarantees sellouts.

Well I’m glad you enjoyed the show, and got what you paid for but for the others and myself who did not enjoy it- and felt we were duped, we just wanted to voice our opinions. I feel that so many people viewed the concert information as misleading something had to be wrong. But good for you you had a good time. Wish I could say the same.

I am sick to my stomach after reading all of your comments.
This was never billed as Elton singing every song or playing every song from GBYBR! It clearly was billed as Elton John and Friends. It’s too bad that all of you feel that you were duped. But you weren’t!!! I am a fan of Elton’s for over 35 years. This was, afterall a charity event to raise money to help those in need. Broadway Cares will benefit from this event as well as EJAF and Friends in Deed. All of the information posted about this show clearly stated that there would be numerous performers during the evening. It never ever said that Elton would be on stage for the whole night. I thought the show was done really well and enjoyed the various renditions of Elton and Bernie’s work. The hecklers were extremely rude. THIS SHOW WAS BROADWAY AT ITS BEST!!! I guess you people from different parts of the country and world are too ignorant to understand the concept of singers and musicians being able to intepret another performers work. That’s sad. I say Bravo to the evening and Bravo to Sir Elton John.

I am sick to my stomach after reading all of your comments.
This was never billed as Elton singing every song or playing every song from GBYBR! It clearly was billed as Elton John and Friends. It’s too bad that all of you feel that you were duped. But you weren’t!!! I am a fan of Elton’s for over 35 years. This was, afterall a charity event to raise money to help those in need. Broadway Cares will benefit from this event as well as EJAF and Friends in Deed. All of the information posted about this show clearly stated that there would be numerous performers during the evening. It never ever said that Elton would be on stage for the whole night. I thought the show was done really well and enjoyed the various renditions of Elton and Bernie’s work. The hecklers were extremely rude. THIS SHOW WAS BROADWAY AT ITS BEST!!! I guess you people from different parts of the country and world are too ignorant to understand the concept of singers and musicians being able to intepret another performers work. That’s sad. I say Bravo to the evening and Bravo to Sir Elton John.

I am sick to my stomach after reading all of your comments.
This was never billed as Elton singing every song or playing every song from GBYBR! It clearly was billed as Elton John and Friends. It’s too bad that all of you feel that you were duped. But you weren’t!!! I am a fan of Elton’s for over 35 years. This was, afterall a charity event to raise money to help those in need. Broadway Cares will benefit from this event as well as EJAF and Friends in Deed. All of the information posted about this show clearly stated that there would be numerous performers during the evening. Once again, it never ever said that Elton would be on stage for the whole night. I thought the show was done really well and enjoyed the various renditions of Elton and Bernie’s work. The hecklers were extremely rude. THIS SHOW WAS BROADWAY AT ITS BEST!!! I guess you people from different parts of the country and world are too ignorant to understand the concept of singers and musicians being able to intepret another performers work. That’s sad. I say Bravo to the evening and Bravo to Sir Elton John.

I THINK ELTON JOHN SHOULD CHOKE ON A DICK……….

I also attended the benefit concert Monday night and was incredibly disappointed. My friend, who flew in from San Diego and myself from Dallas,knew that it was a charity event however like most everyone else thought it was very misleading. I don’t mind giving to a worthy cause but if I had known that EJ would not be performing most of his songs, I would have written a check for a donation and not spent money on travel, hotel, etc. Don’t get me wrong, we have been EJ fans for over 30 years and will go see him again BUT we are disappointed in him and feel that he owes his fans an apology (and refund!). Also, it was in very poor taste to include in the fund raising event, Sarah Palin bashing. That is not what the night was suppose to be about. Does he not realize that it was a diverse audience who were willing to spend their hard earned money on his charity? I love you Elton but I am so very disappointed. And yes, my friend and I were one of the many who voiced our opinions out loud and yelled for a refund.The highlight of the evening was seeing Bernie Taupin even if it was just for a VERY quick hello.

Just on the performances, i thought Ben Folds was fabulous, particularly on This song Has No Title - complex song, and great piano playing.
I liked Kelly O’Hara’s voice on Candle in the Wind, and thought Tom Kitts piano playing throughout was excellent.
Dirty Little Girl was a tasteless interpretation.
But, while they all tried hard, Elton showed his class on Roy Rogers - strong voice, solid piano playing.
Elton should have started the concert by performing Funeral and Love Lies Bleeding and then introduced the acts that followed - this may have been more palatable. Bennie and The Jets was the turning point, as it was a poor interpretation which agitated people further.

I attended the event - I too was disappointed that Elton didn’t appear until the end of the show -
my wife prepared me prior to the event that the songs would be performed by the Broadway performers -

I thought Ben Folds did an amazing job with Grey Seal and this song has no title - The Sarah Palin bit was great - Jane Krakowsky - Mary McBride & Kelli Ohara made nice contributions -

But hearing Elton do Harmony was worth the price of admission -
I have had the pleasure of seeing him live 3 times prior - so for those 1st timers I can understand their frustration -

At the after party - meeting and chatting with Jane Krakowsky, Ben Folds and most importantly Bernie Taupin was great - Bernie was open to a nice long chat - about a lifetime of writing music over the last 40 years was something I will always remember - He was very gracious with his time and really enjoyed the event.

Let’s face it…Broadway Cares KNEW the ads were misleading, but, like most large charities today, they’ve become just like the creepy corporations. So a bunch of fans were hurt?…we got our dough. So almost everyone felt ripped off?…we got our moolah. So people were so hurt they cried?…we got our cash.

I hope that Elton, enjoying the show himself, do not delude himself into not thinking that a large portion of the fans there were extremely disappointed. He has such a distinct voice that many of his songs, mainly the more popular ones like Candle in the Wind, cannot be authentically re-created even by people who have technically better singing voices than Elton, and are embarrassing when attempted by other singers. Add to that fact that several of the male singers had so so range and had trouble staying on key, and it lead to an overall bust of this affair in the eyes of many people in the audience, including myself, though I did think the Sarah Palin bit was one of the better numbers of the show.

Wow - inaccurate reading again. Who said I went searching the web for the information? I saw the concert on Ticket Master - you know where buy tickets for shows and read their info on the show. Regardless, I feel sorry for the people who spent their hard earned money and were so dissapointed. I would cry too.

Plus the advertising was misleading- don’t get me wrong I still love the guy and his music, but I just feel his fans deserve more than what I witnessed last night.

In response to Jill..We all knew they would be guests.. but I’m pretty sure we all figured he would sing with them, or play the piano or EVEN be on the stage at the same time. And like Brian said.. we all consider Elton to be legit and not have to go searching the web to see if he was going to be participating (more than 3 times) in his own event.

I’ve never read such an inaccurate review in my life! Practically the entire audience shouted their opinions throughout the whole show. By the ticket window, where many of us were getting refunds, it was very high tension. People were cursing and shouting, the security guards called the cops, and many were told they’d have to call Broadway Cares in the morning. People were crying…for real. One couple just sat on the sidewalk and sobbed, hugging each other. BTW, does “jill” work at BC? …sorry, honey!!!

I’ve never read such an inaccurate review in my life! Practically the entire audience shouted their opinions throughout the whole show. By the ticket window, where many of us were getting refunds, it was very high tension. People were cursing and shouting, the security guards called the cops, and many were told they’d have to call Broadway Cares in the morning. People were crying…for real. One couple just sat on the sidewalk and sobbed, hugging each other. BTW, does “jill” work at BC? …sorry, honey!!!

I just saw Elton John in Wilkes-Barre, PA. I had to drive 3 hours to get to the show, but for me it was either 3 hours to NYC or 3 hours to PA. I’m glad I made the drive to PA, because if I had been at the NYC concert, I would have definitely asked for my money back. The tickets were more expensive, and Elton didn’t even perform until the last 15 minutes of the show? Jeez, I’m sure that must have really made a lot of fans mad!

I agree that this show was misrepresented. I was somewhat expecting Elton to at least be on the piano for the entire album, even if someone else were to be singing in his place. That’s how I interpreted the “Elton and Friends” phrase.

What I definitely wasn’t expecting was the inclusion of Broadway elements into the mix, this cheapened the whole affair. I also found the incessant “Please welcome …” announcements to really mess with the continuity of an already disappointing show.

Having Elton appear for the last three songs for what seemed like less than 15 minutes killed the event in my opinion.

I disagree. There aren’t just one or two people that feel mislead - there are many.

They should’ve called this show what it was, as many have said in posts before this. Not everyone hears that Elton John will be performing a classic album for charity and take to the Web to make sure it’s real.

Folks - I saw this concert on ticketmaster and thought wow, I can go see Elton again. However after READING what it was about, decided not to attend because I only want to see Elton, not others attempting to sing his songs. I don’t know what you were reading but it was quite clear what the concert was about and that Elton was not the main entertainment.

This show was a huge let-down. While the talent did their best, it had the same feeling as -back in the day- when you bought the “K-Tel Rock Hit Collection”, got it home, and found out that the songs you were hearing weren’t by the original artists.

I felt sorry for the artists because most of the audience sat in stunned silence, instead of the thunderous applause they were hoping to get. It really was the bizarro world - especially when you saw Sir Elton just sitting there while his fans were in misery. We were scammed. Period.

This was a complete bait and switch - we are owed an apology. This was a tribute to Sir Elton, not - Elton John and Friends.

And please refer to Mr Bruce Springsteen - who when he says is performing and entire album for charity as he did so brilliantly this year - ACTUALLY PERFORMS THE ALBUM.

And for the earlier writer Bob, who made great points - my tickets were a grand apiece.

I’m curious, did anyone go to the after party?

This was an absolute joke, as is the article the politically correct author wrote. I got my money back, and why is the author not taking to task, the fact thatthe only time ANYONE realized that Elton was not playing was when they took a “quick glance of the playbill”. I walked out (AND GOT MY MONEY BACK) before the show even started. the fact that it turned into another mindless Palin bashing event makes me even happier that I did not stick around. This was a horrific job by Elton, the Broadway Cares folks, and the fact that you are breaking your arm patting yourself on the back because somebody took ANOTHER cheap shot at Palin, shoes you were disingenious when you began writing this article.

I agree with all the other posts! The show was so misrepresented! It seemed slapped together and not worthy of Elton. Many performers could barely reach the notes. Granted, the money went to a good cause, but it should have been billed as a “TRIBUTE” to Elton’s GBYBR.

Just want to echo all these comments. I’ve been waiting to see elton because i never wanted to go to one of his usual shows and just hear the hits. This was an opportunity to hear one of the best albums ever - and it was kind of destroyed. The exorbitant ticket price was just salt in the wounds.

While this show was entertaining — it was misrepresented. Elton John was sitting in a box seat the entire show while everyone was booing and calling out for him to perform. He disappointed a great many of his New York following -

Aside from hearing Elton play Roy Rogers, which I have never seen him play before live and having Bernie Taupin come on stage for a brief hello it was quite a dissapointing show. It should not have been called Elton John and Friends. Maybe there is a reason why there are no lights on Broadway on Mondays.

What Broadway Cares did to fans of Elton last night was disgusting….we were led to believe Elton would perform his “GYBR” album. Anyone looking at the on-line flyer would assume this. I saw people crying…one couple flew in from Mexico to see their hero, and were crying and shaking so much that it took a bunch of us to calm them down. One couple fumed that it was their anniversary, and they’ll never forgive Elton for the false advertising. Had the ads read “A tribute to…” or “The music of…” it would have been much clearer. I have attended many “BC” events over the years, but myself and the seven other people I went with will NEVER attend another….Elton owes his $500 per seat fans a heartfelt apology.

The show should have been billed “Broadway performs Elton John’s Good By Yellow Brick Road Album”. Most of the performances were enjoyable, but I do agree with Kristen that it was an Aid Fundraiser - not a political rally.

The show was a big disappointment!My father got me these tickets thinking I was going to an Elton John concert. Yes, I am aware it was “Elton & Friends” but I figured he’d be singing or playing the piano along with the broadway singers. However, I respected the broadway singers enough not to scream out, ” I want my money back!” like others did . But they were absolutely right. I know the money was for charity but I feel that i was tricked! I mostly feel bad for my father, after he paid $500 for these tickets, and I had to reply with a “no” when he asked if I had a good time.

Also, I did not sign up for a political campaign tonight. This was for charity not an Obama rally. I would’ve like to see an AIDS awareness montage than people mocking Palin. Wasn’t that the point of tonight?

I just wish I got to see Elton John perform his great songs.