Elton John can command a top ticket price of $225 yet still sell out the Saddledome every few years when he performs. Having seen John twice, it is clear why he is able to pack arenas around the world. With two hours and forty minutes of hit after hit, John kept the crowd in the palm of his hand.

He kicked off the show with instrumental Funeral For A Friend/Love Lies Bleeding, Saturday Nights Alright (For Fighting), and Levon. What followed was a barrage further hits - Philadelphia Freedom, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, Rocket Man, and I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues.

Sir Elton admitted that the hardest part of a show is playing new material, but "we have to play it or we will go crazy." Hey Ahab, The Best Part of the Day, and Gone To Shiloh followed from his collaboration with Leon Russel The Union. The audience stayed with him the entire time and many sang along to the new songs with as much enthusiasm as the classics.

Between songs Elton would get up and bask in the applause, waving to the fans that were around the stage and smiling at the group of young men in the front row that had mysteriously lost their shirts. During the show there was some sort of altercation between them and security, prompting Elton to tell the security to "Fuck off. This is a rock concert."

Big screens ensured that even those far in the back could catch Elton's grins and performance as if they were in the front row. A camera on the piano gave the audience a close up look at the master's fingers working over the keys during songs like Candle In The Wind and Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me.

The time flew by and another barrage of hits - Bennie and the Jets, The Bitch is Back, and Crocodile Rock wrapped up the main set before Your Song closed out the show. The length of the performance speaks to John's long history; so many other songs could have been included, and the audience would have been happy to listen for even longer.

As a music fan, Elton John should be on the "bucket list" of acts to see once in your lifetime. Even if you have never bought one of his albums, his songs are so instantly recognizeable that you will find yourself singing along. At 64 years of age, he outshone the concerts of artists decades his junior. They do not make performers like Elton John anymore.