LIVEBLOGGING Hillary's Elton John Fundraiser [Updated x2]
Wed Apr 09, 2008 at 09:00:28 PM PDT
UPDATE at end of diary.
Seems as if the event is about to get started. Good crowd; close to a 50/50 male/female split. The crowd is skewing, what's a delicate way to put this--well, old. Most of the men look like the guys in the 'Viva Viagra' commercial, except about ten years further down the road. Some of them are pretty long in the tooth. The women seem nice; you really can't go wrong with large floral hats.
Hillary just stepped up to her seat in the balcony overlooking the side of the stage. The crowd went delirious; good energy. She looks utterly resplendent in her canary yellow pantsuit.
Hillary has acknowledged the crowd, marinating in the applause, and sat down after the extended ovation. The house lights have dimmed save for one spotlight aimed at the center of the stage. Elton seems to be rising from beneath the stage while seated at a grand piano that probably would have made Liberace blush.
Hey . . . he's wearing a canary yellow suit as well with those over-sized glasses that he wears, which also seem to have canary yellow rims. The crowd is on its feet. The show seems ready to begin.
8:00 p.m.:
Elton seems to be starting the show with the song "I Guess That's Why They
Call it the Blues," although it's hard to tell from the piano alone. Wait . . . yes--here are the opening lyrics: "Don't wish it away. Don't look at it like it's forever." The crowd is singing along in unison.
8:05 p.m.:
Elton thanks Hillary and offers a few supportive bromides. However, he seems intent to give everyone their money's worth and cranks up the next song. He launches into "I'm Still Standing." The irony of the lyrics certainly doesn't seem lost on the spirited crowd. Elton seems emotional while singing:
"And did you think this fool could never win
Well look at me, I'm coming back again
I'm still standing better than I ever did
Looking like a true survivor, feeling like a little kid
Once I never could hope to win
You starting down the road leaving me again."
The crowd really seems to be responding. I can't see Hillary up in the balcony. Not sure what's happening there. However, so far it's almost as if Sir Elton's play-list has been culled from Sen. Clinton's talking points. The crowd is pretty energetic, overall.
8:10 p.m.:
Elton launches into a piano solo that becomes "Sad Songs." This doesn't seem to fit the night's narrative; especially these lyrics:
"Turn them on, turn them on
Turn on those sad songs
When all hope is gone
Why don't you tune in and turn them on"
This seems to have taken the wind out of the audience's sails a bit. Is Elton saying that all hope is gone and that they should all revel in their sadness? I just overheard an elderly woman in a floral hat say "I didn't pay $4600 to hear this young whippersnapper sing about not having a chance." There's a bit of a murmur from the crowd as the song finishes; they seem unsettled. Maybe we're at the concert equivalent of the night of the Iowa primary?
8:15 p.m.:
I think Elton needs a fast one here to pick the room up a notch. He seems to recognize this and is saying something about what a fighter Hillary is and how she will be the next president of the United States. The crowd is responding favorably.
Yes . . . Elton heads into the first piano chords of "Philadelphia Freedom." The place is rocking again. The crowd roars when they hear the following lyrics:
"I used to be a rolling stone
You know if the cause was right
I'd leave to find the answer on the road
I used to be a heart beating for someone
But the times have changed
The less I say the more my work gets done."
I don't know. The lyrics seem vaguely insulting and conjure up images of the people that want the centrist poll-driven Hillary to give way to the Wellesley commencement speech Hillary. However, the audience doesn't mind; although many in the audience seem to be wearing earplugs. Not sure what that is all about. Maybe this is the concert version of the New Hampshire Primary?
8:20 p.m.:
Elton seems to be sticking with a play-list of greatest hits. Just hitting the high points. The audience is again on their feet while he's playing "Rocket Man." Again, perhaps it's just me, but I find the lyrics to be oddly metaphorical, especially the way he faded out to the continued ending chorus of:
"And I think it's gonna be a long long time
And I think it's gonna be a long long time"
8:25 p.m.:
Concert is hitting a bit of a lull. Elton is currently playing another slow one and the audience is seated now. It's "Someone Saved My Life Tonight." Again, I don't think the lyrics are actually reflecting the broader narrative that Sen. Clinton is hoping to get across. Not sure what to make of these, although I could be simply reading too much into this:
"Someone saved my life tonight sugar bear
You almost had your hooks in me didn't you dear
You nearly had me roped and tied
Altar-bound, hypnotized; sweet freedom whispered in my ear
You're a butterfly
And butterflies are free to fly
Fly away, high away, bye bye."
This song kind of seems as if it could be Super Tuesday for Sen. Clinton.
8:30 p.m.:
Seems as if some in the audience have fallen asleep. Elton is plodding through his easy listening greatest hits. Oh boy . . . now he's doing a song that seems entirely inappropriate for this event: "Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word." The people that are still awake seem mournful when they hear the opening line:
"What have I got to do to make you love me?
What have I got to do to make you care?"
I see a few tears, although this looks like a 'you had me at hello' crowd; could be wrong on that one. This seems entirely off-message for a campaign rally, especially this passage:
"What do I do to make you want me?
What have I got to do to be heard?
What do I say when it's all over?
And sorry seems to be the hardest word."
What indeed? Not sure if this was a good choice on Sir Elton's part. The audience seems depressed now. We're in the concert equivalent of eleven consecutive losses.
8:35 p.m.:
Woo . . . Elton is righting the ship with "Bennie & the Jets" and "Saturday's Alright for Fighting," neither of which seem to carry a depressing metaphorical Clinton campaign narrative. A few people have even awakened, although the man next to me seems to think it's tomorrow morning. Not sure what that's about. However, I think we're squarely in Texas & Ohio country now.
8:45 p.m.:
This is a good moment. Kiki Dee came out and joined Elton for a duet on "Don't Go Breaking My Heart." For my money, there simply isn't enough Kiki Dee on the radio these days. This is another good moment for Hillary. They put a house light on the balcony and Hillary and Bill are dancing. The crowd exploded.
Looks like that was the last song. The crowd is applauding and, with the median age of those involved in mind, Elton reappears almost immediately for an encore. Probably better to not keep these folks waiting too long.
8:55 p.m.:
Elton acknowledges Hillary again and implores the crowd to donate to her campaign. This is a bit strange, but the campaign has unfurled a banner above Sir Elton with Hillary's website: 'hillaryclinton.com' plastered
across it. Also, it seems as though the campaign has handed out literature to the audience titled 'Internet Donating for Dummies.' Not
sure how helpful that will be.
Elton begins an extended, almost imploring version of "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me." The audience seems to connect to the song. Next up is "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road," to which the audience is singing along. Strange to have 6000 people in unison singing:
"So goodbye yellow brick road
Where the dogs of society howl
You can't plant me in your penthouse
I'm going back to my plough."
Elton thanks Hillary one more time and says that he'd like to close the show with a special song that has particular meaning to the Clinton campaign. There's a house light on the balcony and Hillary is waving a
hankie as the crowd roars its approval. Elton launches into a dramatic
rendition of "Candle in the Wind." There is a full-throated audience sing-along.
"And it seems to me you lived your life
Like a candle in the wind
Never knowing who to cling to
When the rain set in
And I would have liked to have known you
But I was just a kid
Your candle burned out long before
Your legend ever did"
I could be wrong, but I think he just sang "your campaign burned out long before . . ." rather than "your candle." Perhaps I simply misheard, but that seems to be the case. Sir Elton is bowing to the balcony, the crowd is cheering, and Hillary is waving the hankie again as the house lights are brought up.
There's not a dry eye in the house.
UPDATE: Since some of you out there are partaking of an adult beverage or two, please have one for me as I am sitting at a big table in a law library desperately attempting to finish a paper on habeas corpus [or what's left of it, anyway].
CHEERS!
UPDATE X2: By the way, I'm certainly not averse to your general pity, and should you the reader feel inclined to recommend this modest stab at humor, I would certainly appreciate it. By the way, if you've ever attempted to read and 18th century British legal opinion, I don't recommend it; at least not for kicks.
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