B-B-B-Bennie and the Jets

Guess where I went last night with Loyal Sister? 

That red sign in the background, upon magnification, provides the clue:  an Elton John concert in the nosebleed section!

We only decided to go a few weeks ago, and were amazed that there were a few seats left. (And our tickets actually put us in a perfect location for viewing, listening, singing along and remembering.)

There are a few observations I need to make here:

• Elton John was the soundtrack of our teenaged lives in the 70s. We listened to him using record players and albums. Since then, we have seen the evolution from albums to 8 tracks to cassettes to CDs to Ipods. We have kept up with more technology than any generation. But we still had to take naps before the concert.
• I sometimes have difficulty remembering phone numbers these days. But I remembered every word to Tiny Dancer, Levon, Daniel, Crocodile Rock,  and happy playlist of other songs at the concert. 
• We wore sassy dresses and strappy heels to concerts in the 70s, much like the young(er) girls at last night's show. We now wear sensible tennis shoes for the mountain climb to Section 67 where the air is much thinner. And our feet thanked us for it this morning.
• We don't wave lighters at concerts anymore: now we sway with cell phones. After calling our now-adult children so they can hear "Good-bye Yellow Brick Road" and cringe. 

Loyal Sister begged me to not disclose the following facts on the blog, but I feel that I must be truthful to the readers: A now 62 year-old Elton uses a teleprompter to remember the words to his songs. (Shown in picture above piano.) But I have to hand it to him: he put on a three hour show, and at one point haltingly stood on his piano bench. (We all held our breaths collectively. He made it down OK to finish the set. Heavy sigh of relief.)

We exited happy and proud of ourselves for trying something new and totally enjoying it. And who do you think we ran into outside in the crazy Austin traffic?
Our favorite Peddicabber! Young Son (who will graduate from college on May 14th using dollars earned peddling Austin tourists through the jungle that is downtown) was working the after-show crowd, and stopping his mother and aunt's hearts as he wove through traffic. He was returning concert goers to their hotels and cars. We heard him tell his passengers, "That's my mom and aunt in that car," making a connection with his patrons. Who, he later texted, gave him a $100 tip for a ride of a few blocks. (Matthew McCaughney, one of his first passengers seen here, allowed a picture as a tip--which does not pay for books and tuition for my son, Matthew.)
So, Elton, we've all aged just a smidgeon since the 70s. But we never lost the thrills we got, doing a thing called the Crocodile Rock.

Apologies to my adult children.

Now I'm going to go catch up on my sleep. I hear Hall and Oates are coming to town soon.