LOS ANGELES — Elton John had already worn two different bedazzled suits — the first one made him look like a lion tamer, the second a fabulous cabinet secretary — by the time he reached the encore of his concert Thursday night at Dodger Stadium. But as one of music's greatest living showmen, the 75-year-old pop legend knew his audience was waiting to see one particular outfit. So when he ambled back onstage just a few minutes after having ripped through "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting," he did it in a glittering white-and-blue Dodgers bathrobe with matching ball cap and glasses — a callback, of course, to the iconic sequined Dodgers uniform he poured himself into while performing at the same spot in 1975.
Back then John was cementing his status as the starriest of superstars with two shows he rightfully described in his 2019 memoir as "a complete triumph." On Thursday, nearly half a century later, he was kicking off a three-night stand at Dodger Stadium that he says will serve as his final American gigs as he approaches the end of a globe-circling farewell tour. "Tonight is the 269th show on the Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour," he told the crowd, adding that it was his 101st show in the Los Angeles area and his fifth time playing Dodger Stadium. (Sunday's finale will be livestreamed on Disney+ and will feature special guests including Dua Lipa, Brandi Carlile and the singer's old pal Kiki Dee.)
Much has happened since John launched the Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour — so named after the smash 1973 double LP with which it almost shares a title — four years ago in 2018. For one thing, COVID disrupted his carefully plotted road plans, which is why the show will head to Australia and Europe next year before finally wrapping for good (after having become the third-highest-grossing tour in history, with ticket sales of more than $600 million). More happily, John saw his life dramatized on the big screen in 2019's splashy "Rocketman" biopic and hit the top 10 of Billboard's Hot 100 for the first time since the late '90s with his sleek Dua Lipa duet, "Cold Heart." This past summer he charted even higher with another shrewdly conceived collaboration, "Hold Me Closer," which has him and Britney Spears mashing up several of his oldies including the deathless "Tiny Dancer."
