By Kasia Bugaj
What was billed as a last hurrah in central America state of Mexico and a correction of not performing there during the amended schedule for the Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour, turnd into a spectacular for those of us lucky enough to get seats.
Two days after the intimate Elton’s performance at the Apple Music Hall in London, I hopped on another plane, this time to Mexico. Elton was playing in Mexico City last weekend to 60.000 people each night so it was a completely different experience.
When I arrived in Mexico, I discovered that Elton’s band was staying at a hotel right next to mine so on the first day me and my Elton friends went there, hoping we see them. And we managed to meet John Mahon, Ray Cooper and Kim Bullard and we were chatting with them.
There were a lot of music fans in the city because Iron Maiden also performed that same day. The weather in Mexico was bad cause it was raining and we were all hoping it would clear up before the show. Thankfully, just before the show, the rain finally stopped. I was lucky to be in a front row on Friday.
Mexican fans were enthusiastic and many people got dressed up.
The show started a little later because Elton was on his way from the hotel and got caught in a traffic. I hoped Elton might wear a sombrero for this occasion but instead he appeared in a stunning white outfit, specially prepared for this show as I learned from one of his crew members.
Elton was brought by David Furnish into the stage and it was clear that he was having mobility issues. He opened the show with Funeral For A Friend/Love Lies Bleeding.
He and the band were on fire that night. However, at some point something unexpected happened. Elton’s crew started running around the stage and his nephew, who works with him, approached Elton. At first I couldn’t work out what was going on because it was happening in a different section. I could clearly see that Elton was upset and I was close enough to read his lips as he talked to to his crew members. He also said that he couldn’t see exactly what was happening which confirmed he still has eyesight problems.
Front Row drama
It turned out that people who hadn’t bought tickets in the front section, managed to get into that section and all pushed to the front. From what I understood, no-one was checking tickets. Elton yelled at them when people started getting hurt and he had to pause the show. He asked people to return to their seats. The organisation was poor but things looked better the next day.
Elton did the exact same set list on both nights – 20 songs. He skipped Philadelphia Freedom. I noticed that, just like in Rio, new footage had been added to the Crocodile Rock video, this time featuring Mexican fans. After Someone Saved My Life Tonight Elton stopped the show again. He told the audience he wasn’t feeling very well and needed to take a short break. I’ve never seen him to take a break before but I think it was because of high altitude. After a few minutes he came back to the stage and finished the show even with more energy. I wasn’t in the front row that night but someone from the staff approached me and my Elton friends and offered us better seats closer to the stage which was a lovely surprise!
At the start of the show Elton explained why he agreed to do these two shows saying that because of COVID they had been unable to come to Mexico as part of the ‘Farewell Yellow Brick Road’ tour. He said that these two shows would be his last. Elton said his family from England was there and dedicated Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me to them. This sparked speculation that this might actually be his last show and I got the same feeling. After the show, I talked to someone from his crew and learned that nothing is certain yet, as he may still continue to do some corporate shows or private gigs.
It was another great Elton adventure. My thoughts had been focused on Mexico for a few days and I hope we will have the chance to see Elton again somewhere in the future.
Gallery

With Kim Bullard

Davey Johnstone rocks

The famous jam routine

With Ray Cooper