are always welcome
I Was There: Yakima, USA
I Was There: Sault Ste. Marie, Canada
I Was There: Kelowna, Canada
I Was There: Prince George, Canada
I Was There: Hamilton, Canada
"My 9-year-old son and I traveled from Sacramento, CA to Tucson to see Elton's concert. For years, it had been a dream of mine to take one of my kids to see Elton. We were not able to attend his show in Lake Tahoe due to a schedule conflict, so decided to fly to Tucson. When we heard the news that he was ill, I was more worried about Elton than anything else. I am so glad he was able to perform the following night. We re-arranged our flight and decided to stay an extra night. It was worth the wait! The songs Tiny Dancer, Daniel and Your Song nearly made me cry. I have always loved Elton...the way he plays the piano...everything. I am also one who thinks his aging voice has gotten better. And now I share my love for Elton's music with my son, who is a piano student himself. He was inspired by seeing Elton play the piano, loved the fun songs like Crocodile Rock, and knew all the words to many of the songs because he hears me play them at home. Thank you, Elton, for sharing your talent with us. We truly did appreciate it that night in Tucson."
"July 21, 2010, Tucson, AZ. I have a front row seat for tonight's concert, right in front of the piano. A dream come true. It cannot be better. Then, there is news that the concert is postponed, and I will have to wait one more day to recover my soul.
"July 22, 2010. It's there on the calendar, on this date in 1970, his first album was released in the US, the same album that started me on the road to where I am today. I wonder, "Does he know?" I decide to remind him tonight with a handmade sign.
"I am sitting in the seat of my dreams. I can't be any closer to my Teenage Idol. I communicate with him via the signs I have made. I show him the sign that mentions the 40th anniversary. He sees it, he points, and nods. I am thrilled.
"The last song he plays that night, is the first song of his that I heard in 1970. It's my favorite, because it was the first. I know it will be his final song, it always is. But before he plays it, he mentions that a "young lady in the audience" noted this special anniversary. I am stunned, did he mention ME? My friends are giving me the "thumbs up", and the strangers around me are smiling. And then, he plays the song. I am filled with joy, so thankful. I have made a connection with this special man. Forty years after I first heard him sing, a lifelong dream came true, in the city where it all began for me.
"The first song I heard, the last song he sang...and yes, it was on the back of the sign he read. 'YOUR SONG IS MY SONG'.
"Thank you, Elton, from the bottom of my heart. How wonderful life is, while you're in the world. See you in Brussels on December 1, my Rocket ticket are ordered!"
"Nous chantons et dansons a Tucson sur les chansons d'Elton. C'etait vraiment bien!
I drove from Sedona on July 21, and picked up my ticket by 3:00 pm to find out the concert was canceled. All I heard was: Sir Elton was sick. I could have cared less about the concert then. Someone needs to look over him really good.
I stayed an extra day in Tucson, enjoying the monsoons, which were a real show on Wednesday.
On Thursday, the genius was here with us, smiling, beautiful; if he was not feeling too good, he did not let us see it. I felt a little guilty asking for more at the end, knowing he was not well. How selfish can we be!
"Everyone says Sir Elton is getting better and better, it is extremely difficult to be better and better when you are Sir Elton, but actually it is true, he manages to better himself every time. How does he do it? Probably with a life time of practice, and the mind of a genius which never stops working and growing. Bravo, Sir Elton, please take good care of yourself."
"The concert in Tucson was fantastic, and that is an understatement. It was incredible to scan the crowd and see four generations of fans mouthing the words of each of your songs. Each of your songs took me back to the time they were popular. It was an enjoyable yet sentimental journey. Oh, the power of music and that of a timeless artist."
"We attended the Tucson concert last night and want to say huge thank you to Elton and his band for the fantastic time. Knowing he was not quite up to par and he came out and rocked it anyway is one of the reasons why we have been long time fans. Hope Elton is better and thanks again for another great time!"
"I just came from the Elton John concert in Tucson. It was the best concert I have ever been to. I am so happy that Elton was feeling good enough to do the concert. He was fantastic. After all these years he sounds as good as ever. The band was great too. They were fun to watch. My son was diagnosed with aggressive leukemia two weeks ago and is currently in the hospital undergoing heavy duty Chemotherapy. This concert took away the stress for a few hours. Thank You."
"I am writing from Tucson, Az, the day after Elton John rocked our community center. My wife and I attended and completely enjoyed the show and were so impressed that he was such a trooper, considering his illness. One of the highlights for us was actually when Elton talked about other groups that have boycotted our state and basically said how ridiculous it is. We agree completely and cannot express our gratitude for his support and obvious enthusiasm for performing. We have listened to and enjoyed his music for 35+ years and last night reaffirmed why we do.
"I am a police officer here in Tucson, and would also like to pass on to Elton that Officer Billy Daniel, the motorcycle officer that escorted Elton to the airport, was on Cloud Nine today with excitement about being able to meet Elton and do the escort."
"Elton and the band put on an awesome show. Tucson was treated to music royalty on a hot and humid night in the Az desert. Elton was still not feeling 100% due to some food poisoning, however, you would not know if he didn't mention it. His voice is truly better with age and the band shows no signs of slowing down. I have been fortunate to see Elton (20 or so times) over many years when living in New Jersey, as well as when he has ventured out to AZ. To me, this show, ranks up with the 60th and 9-11 tribute. The reason being, his grace and generosity toward the crowd (when not feeling well).
"From the opening note of Funeral For a Friend to the closing of Your Song, he had me and the approximately 9,000 in attendance in the Tucson Convention Center in another place and time. A few friends of mine went that had never seen Elton and the Band, and they were truly amazed at their performance. What a treat for me to share the Elton experience with others! The crowd had a great time and Elton, the consummate professional, gave the crowd a three-hour treat."
"After driving to Tucson and hearing the news that the show had been postponed due to Elton having food poisoning, we just hoped he'd be better for the following night. And he sure was! I was incredibly lucky and following some great friends' advice got a front row ticket! Elton was fabulous and told us he might have to leave for a while as he was still recovering from his illness. He only had to leave once for a few minutes and you couldn't really tell he had been sick the night before. He gave us everything he had! His piano playing was impeccable, just as his voice. He apologized more than once for having to cancel Wednesday's show and sure felt the crowd's love with all the loving signs and the fans shouting his name. He also said: " I heard other acts won't come here, yeah "bleep"... "what the "bleep's" wrong with these people!" That's our Elton!
"The band was also fantastic! It was a bit sad not seeing Guy at his usual spot, but Kim sure blended perfectly with Davey, Nigel, Bob and John and they all played wonderfully. Thanks so much Elton for coming to Arizona in summer, you're a real trooper and made this fan very, very happy!"
"My wife and I saw the Elton concert in Lubbock, TX in April. It was absolutely the best concert we have ever attended. When we returned home we looked at the upcoming concert schedule and noticed that he would be performing in Tucson on our anniversary, July 21st. We could not resist seeing him again and it would be the perfect anniversary gift to my precious wife who has been an Elton fan since 1971.
"So we embarked on the eleven-hour drive from Texas to Tucson. Oddly, on Wednesday the 21st we were not a bit discouraged that Elton could not appear that evening. We simply booked another day at the hotel. And again, just has we had anticipated...an amazing concert. Elton is simply the greatest performer of our generation. He just gets better year after year. We will continue to watch his concert schedule and anytime he is within range, we will be there!
"Our thanks to Elton for making our anniversary very special.