In its first months as a venue, Matthew Knight Arena has already lived up to the hype of landing big acts that would normally only tour Portland.
Sir Elton John will visit Eugene tonight for the first time in his overwhelmingly successful musical career.
The format promises to provide the audience with all of John’s chart-dominating hits. “Rocket Man,” “Benny and the Jets,” “Your Song” and the all-time favorite, “Tiny Dancer”, will be played by John and his band.
The excitement around this show began in late November when the Matthew Knight Arena announced John would be playing.
The word “excitement” may be understating the feeling many Eugene locals and University students have about the icon’s first appearance in Eugene. His accomplishments and staying power place him in an elite club of entertainers.
John, whose career spans more than five decades, has become one of the best-selling musicians of all time. He has roughly 250 million records sold and more than 50 top-40 hits produced, including nine No. 1 hits. He’s also won six Grammy Awards, an Academy Award, a Golden Globe and a Tony Award.
His record sales place him in front of bands such as AC/DC, Pink Floyd and the Rolling Stones. The only solo artists to outsell him are Madonna, Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson.
Matthew Knight Arena landing John isn’t entirely surprising. The musician is well-known for having a affinity for performing live. John has played roughly 3,000 shows during his career, often in unique and new locations. His last show in Oregon was almost exactly a year ago, when John played the Rose Garden in Portland alongside Billy Joel as part of their “Face 2 Face” tour.
Attendees of tonight’s show can expect the big-venue concert format that John has played for most of his career. The show will transition between full band accompaniment and more personal piano solos.
Also to be expected will be bright lights flashing on stage, paying homage to John’s golden era of the late ’60s and ’70s.
The entire night of hits will be something any generation can enjoy and affiliate with. Even if you weren’t alive when John released many of his top-selling hits, everyone has an Elton John song that will surely elicit some good memories. This time he’ll just be up front and center, a timeless great, doing what he does best.
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