Elton John as seen from upper deck.
PHOTO BY HAWES SPENCER

Holden Caulfield, the protagonist in The Catcher in the Rye, reserved some of his strongest opprobrium for a pianist who added extra flourishes. But when the piano man is Elton John and the songs are America’s soundtrack, sometimes less isn’t more.

The haunting “Levon,” the song about about a boy-man born a pauper to a pawn, got an interesting bit of reverb about halfway through, as John R&Bed the end of it Friday night at John Paul Jones Arena. And consider what he did to “Rocket Man.”

Seen upon its 1972 release as a mere response to David Bowie’s haunting “Space Oddity,” John’s song about a Mars traveller was originally four minutes, forty-one seconds of quiet loneliness counterposed against synthesized, overdubbed harmonies.

But inside Virginia’s biggest concert venue, “Rocket Man” grew into something closer to a rock opera. As colorful, almost Yellow Submarine, images danced behind him, the 61-year-old pianist showed how even a classic can get a new interpretation.

“I want to get up and dance,” said the attractive blonde fan in the next seat, as celestial scenes (and archival images of Captain Fantastic himself) moved behind the band during the extended “Rocket Man.” By the time the 10-minute opus ended, the crowd was indeed on its feet in a standing ovation.

Speaking of standing, there was one fan– a wild whirling-pogo-man-boy in the front row– unable to restrain his glee. The performer, likewise, hopped up from his piano bench to wave, point, and thank the crowd after nearly every song.

At one point, he burst from his seat to lead the crowd in la-la-laing his “Crocodile Rock.” While obviously not as athletic as countryman Mick Jagger, who cavorted across another local stage three years ago, John gave a physically impressive performance that included a solo and even (unless he thought it was New Year’s Eve) a brief nod to UVA by playing the hook of the “Good Old Song.”

“Hope you win the game tomorrow,” he told the packed-to-the-rafters crowd who paid $57-111 to be there and whose average age appeared to start with a five.

Although John’s voice no longer finds the highest notes and even though his Manhattan phone book-thick hit catalogue offers myriad opportunities to thrill, he still found a way to create a fervor with his now falsetto-free version of that perpetual radio staple “Tiny Dancer.”

As the main event ended, John chose not to leave the stage but instead signed tickets and t-shirts while five minutes of screaming and clapping led the band– which includes original drummer Nigel Olsson and original guitarist Davey Johnstone– to join the the orange-haired frontman for an encore.

John has ditched the ostrich feathers and giant sunglasses that defined his 1970s flamboyance, but what he’s given up in props, he seems to be taking back in intensity. As the concert wrapped after about two hours and 45 minutes of non-stop energetic singing and playing, the conclusion would be obvious, even to Holden Caulfield.

Sometimes more is more.

–last updated 11:32am, October 21