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Elton John - Still That Madman Across The Water |
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Written by D.L. McCracken
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Saturday, 27 September 2008 |
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Thirty plus years ago I walked into a little jeanware shop on Argyle Street in Halifax called The Warehouse. As I was searching for that perfect pair of bell-bottoms the clerk put a new song on their stereo system. At first I paid little attention but gradually I found myself listening intently and thinking that this was the coolest song I had ever heard. I walked up to the counter to pay for my jeans and inquired about the artist singing that hauntingly dark melody that was so compelling. Two minutes later I walked out of The Warehouse clutching my new jeans in one hand and a slip of paper in the other that read, "Madman Across The Water" by Elton John.
Thus began a lifelong love affair with music that shaped my coming of age in the early 1970s.
Flash forward to last night at the Metro Centre. On stage sits a black grand piano. As the lights fade throughout the arena ten thousand voices begin to call out like an ocean wave as it nears the shore. Anticipation is electric and gaining strength and then, one bright white spotlight shines on that lone piano. The wave of voices is now cresting....
And there he is. We 10,000 rise from our seats and welcome the one and only Elton John to Halifax. I surprise myself when I discover that tears are rolling down my cheeks and just for a moment the crowd disappears and it is just the two of us in that room. I am transported back to that day when I met this man, this madman across the water, this rocketman, this man who created the sound track of my life.
Over the next two and half hours I journeyed with Sir Elton John back through time when life wasn't quite as complicated as today. He brought Daniel and Tiny Dancer and Levon with him and we reminisced. Marilyn Munroe made an appearance as his Candle in The Wind but it was Princess Diana on everyone's mind. One piano note announced Benny and The Jets. One lone piano note. We provided the chorus in Crocodile Rock...10,000 voices singing naaa na na na na naaaa over and over again. It was pure magic.
We were not in the best seats in the house but we had no complaints. At the end of every song he would face each section of the crowd, take a few bows, smile, point and wave. It felt almost surreal just to be gazing upon this legend and during one of his bows, I swear he was pointing and smiling right at me. I know he wasn't but still...I screamed, "I love you Elton!" anyway, just in case.
Last night became one of my Moments To Remember. I've finally seen Elton John in person. He's older now but so am I. He's not as agile now but neither am I. He no longer strives to reach the high notes in his songs but...neither do I when I sing along with him at home.
There's only one constant that remains. The most important one. Elton John is and always will be, my own Madman Across The Water.
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