Rock royalty

I wrote this piece last Friday while packing a few clothes for a very short trip to Manila wondering if Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago would be watching the concert of British piano rock superstar Elton John.  Watching the legendary rock royalty in person is in my bucket list so when I heard in late October that he will be coming to Manila for a one night concert on Dec. 8, I immediately made plans to fly to the capital city.

My friend Eileen who tagged along with me on this trip thinks I’m a groupie but actually,  Elton John’s songs sort of walked me through difficult times when I and my late husband Boy first arrived in Cebu City in 1973. We had just been released from military prison but freedom found us having difficulty finding a job because of the stigma of being an ex-detainee. I finally landed one in 1974, as record librarian and disc jockey on weekends for station dyRF.

The early hits of Elton John, “Your Song,” “Skyline Pigeon,” “Sweet Painted Lady,” “Daniel,” “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” and “Crocodile Rock” were regular picks in my playlist. His songs consistently topped the charts. His fans enjoyed listening to his variation of mellow rock, rhythm and blues and soul music because he brought a lot of emotion to any song.  I remember playing “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me” wondering if the artist knew the Philippines was in a dire political situation.

Elton John is now in his mid-60s and with a personal fortune worth more than 160 million British pounds, he could very well watch the sun set.  Instead, he has rounded up his band for the “40th Anniversary of the Rocket Man Tour,” to mark the release of his first single, “Rocket Man” in April 1972.

This is a global celebration and this year, he’s bringing his music to Australia, Oceania and Asia, to cities he has never been to, entertaining fans to their hearts delight. This is his first and probably last engagement in Manila so I matched my promo fare with a general admission ticket.

In Australia from Nov. 10 to 20, Elton rocked in five cities to full house performances, generating nearly US $2 million in 100-percent ticket sales.

Boring Elton John is not.  In China, he drew the ire of Communist leaders when he announced at the end of his show in Beijing that he’s dedicating his show to dissident artist named Ai Weiwei.  Some quarters demanded the cancellation of his concert in Malaysia where he performed in late November. The critics’ slant is not directed against his sympathies to Weiwei, but rather on Muslim law that prohibits openly gay artists from performing in Malaysia.  Street protests organized by a political party in Kuala Lumpur were met with ridicule and Elton John once again performed to a sold-out crowd, same thing he did last year.

I wondered about Sen. Miriam Santiago watching the Elton John Concert because even as she loves classical music, she can be adventurous sometimes.  Santiago, along with lawmakers Antonio Trillanes IV, Manny Villar and his wife, former Las Piñas Rep. Cynthia Villar plus a host of movie and television celebrities occupied the VIP boxes during J. Lo’s concert which featured dance, pop and funk music. I heard a VIP seat costs more than P25,000, but the seating is nothing if you’re not quoted in the next day’s prime time newscast.

As we know, only Senator Santiago made it to the headlines after she criticized the Latina’s songs, describing it an assault to the ears. They were just too loud for the senator’s taste and she wondered why fans went gaga over someone who has “morphed into a digital idol.”

Whatever it is, Santiago didn’t watch the show to listen but to look at the Latina beauty, who virtually has everything in the material world: voluptuous body that make men go bonkers, fame, fortune and one tabloid writer added, a boy toy in tow.  Even without singing and dancing, J. Lo will still be laughing all the way to the bank.

Elton’s first hit single hit it big in the United States in 1972, where he lived in the fast lane for a number of years.  He went back to the United Kingdom in the early ‘80s, reunited with lyricist Bernie Taupin and turned his life around by supporting charitable causes for victims of HIV AIDS.  In 1998 he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II.  He is openly gay and has allotted part of his earnings to the HIV foundation that bears his name.

On his musicality, Elton John’s platinum and gold albums are by the dozens.  Recently, he has been named to the 2013 Hall of Fame although he had been inducted to that elite circle in 1994.  He isn’t showing signs of old age either. His new show in Las Vegas titled, “The Million Dollar Piano” began last year and will be on stage for the next three years.

But one accolade that fits Elton John comes from another legendary musician, former Beatle Paul McCartney who said that Elton John is the “first new thing” he had heard since The Beatles broke up.  McCartney made this quip some 40 years ago but in my book, Elton John gets better and better with age.

He made it to the Smart Araneta Coliseum in one piece Saturday night and he didn’t disappoint his fans, this one included.  He jazzed up a number of Pinoy favorites and that sort of disappointed many fans who wanted to listen to his hits the way he recorded it 40 years ago. Still, I loved the way he rendered “Nikita” by making it a love ballad. So many enthralling numbers, so many hits that needed to be sang, but so little time. In the end, the legendary rock royalty promised to go back to Manila.