I thought for sure that Sir Elton John’s sparkling farewell extravaganza at Amalie Arena on November 4 would be his last time here. I was proven wrong one morning last week. A second show in Tampa, set for May 26, 2020, was added, since the tickets not only went so fast the first time around, but also, prices skyrocketed both on TicketMaster and third-party sites.
It took a ton of soul searching and honestly, there’s a chance I’ll regret this. But I made the conscious decision that I won’t be in attendance for the maestro’s second final show in Tampa.
In short, this is still Farewell Yellow Brick Road, just like the show I saw on November 4. I feel that getting a ticket to see the same show that so many people worldwide (many being bigger fans than myself) have to travel for, just because their hometown show sold out, would be pretty intrusive on my part. I got incredibly lucky to have had the opportunity to drive 45 minutes, as opposed to 45 hours, to say farewell to Elton. Let me go a little bit more into depth:
I got my ticket to the first Tampa show on January 30, 2018, originally scheduled for November 28 of that year. I signed up for that stupid Verified Fan code lottery, and was thrown on the waiting list for a presale code. But somebody I knew from Tom Petty Nation, a lifelong die-hard fan of Elton, was a member of his Rocket Club, and all members got presale codes, no matter what. She graciously offered to help me get into the show by getting me a nosebleed, and I’d pay her back a few weeks later. I humbly accepted. I took a look at the event on TicketMaster that Friday, when tickets officially went on sale to the public.
All gone.
The ones that became available much later were either $2000 resale seats, or one of TicketMaster’s bullshit platinum seats that could be a nosebleed, and you’d pay like, $300 before fees, if you’re lucky. Farewell Yellow Brick Road easily became one of Tampa’s highest anticipated, and sought after shows of 2018. Then, only a day before it was supposed to happen, after almost a year of waiting, Elton got sick in Orlando, and postponed the show to almost exactly a year later.
This was a chance for those who failed to snag tickets to, in a sense, try and get a resale ticket. But even when the rescheduled date of November 4 dawned in nearly a year later, there were still die-hards in the area struggling to obtain any seat in the house. I felt pretty bad about that, because here’s the thing: Elton’s music has been in my life from the beginning, and he’s one of my top 15 artists of all time. I listen to some of the deep cuts, as well as the hits. However, while I’m a bit more than a casual fan, I certainly don’t consider myself a die-hard, unlike many Tampa people who had to miss the show.
Granted, I most certainly did not attend the show just to say that I got to see Elton John live once. He was on my bucket list since I was thirteen years old. He played for three hours, and it was genuinely one of the top 10 shows I’ve ever seen. Also, they say that there’s no time like the first time. It’s the most special one. I treated the first show in Tampa like it would be the last time I’d ever get to see him, because that’s what I thought from the start. Harsh as it sounds, I’d personally like to keep it that way, solely because of how special that night was to me.
With all that aside, I still couldn’t help but think about those local die-hards who were stuck at home that night. It could have been their last chance to see their hero live, unless they were willing to travel, of course. Basically, I see this second date as another chance for those who missed getting tickets back in 2018 to try again. Every single fan of Elton’s, no matter how long they’ve been following him, deserves to see Farewell Yellow Brick Road.
This most likely is going to be Tampa’s official final chance to experience the legend live, and there’s a chance I’ll regret not being there at least a little bit. What if he totally Springsteens the setlist between now and May 26? Well, there’s a good chance that there’ll be some songs from the first show that will be omitted from the second one entirely, being replaced by tunes he ignored the first time around.
If you missed out on the first show, and are getting tickets at 10:00 Friday morning, I’m rooting for you. And if you already got your tickets, congratulations. You’re going to adore the show. Oh, and by the way, no shame at all if you’re a massive fan, saw the first show, and are going to this one, too. I’m seeing Billy Joel for the third time next year, so no judgement whatsoever.
But if you really don’t care, or are a scalper who’s taking away from all those real fans, for shame.
Josh Bradley Live 