SAN DIEGO — Elton John did not perform “Swing For The Fences,” a standout number from his new album with Brandi Carlile, during his fog-shrouded Friday night Curebound Concert For Cures at Petco Park, the home of the San Diego Padres.

But the beloved music superstar’s 17-song show boasted enough rock-solid hits and thrilling home runs — including “Bennie And The Jets,” “Tiny Dancer” and the final encore of “Your Song” — to ensure a winning evening, even if there was a bump or two along the way.

Like an aging slugger stepping up to the plate again after their retirement, the 78-year-old John was given a returning hero’s welcome by the 27,000-strong audience. The concert raised $11.5 million for Curebound, the San Diego nonprofit that funds adult and pediatric cancer research.

It followed the two previous Curebound benefit concerts at San Diego’s nearby Rady Shell — by Ed Sheeran in 2023 and Alicia Keys in 2022 — which together raised more than $8 million. Since its inception in 2021, Curebound has raised nearly $150 million to fund 150 research teams that are pursuing cures for cancer.

“Now more than ever, the scientific community needs our support,” Curebound CEO Anne Marbarger told the audience, in an apparent reference to recent National Cancer Institute budget cuts. “Together, let us make San Diego the city that cures cancer.”

It’s a cause that resonates strongly with John, who was treated for prostate cancer in 2017. That was the year before he launched his globe-trotting “Farewell Yellow Brick Road: The Final Tour,” which included a memorable Petco Park show in late 2022.

His six-year final concert trek concluded in 2023, and John vowed he was retiring from touring and would never hit the road again. Happily, he has since performed a handful of benefits. His return to San Diego for his only announced U.S. performance of the year was a bucket-list opportunity for more than a few fans.

“Good evening, Curebound!” John said, after opening Friday’s concert with a rousing rendition of “Funeral For a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding” that clocked in at 10 minutes.

“It’s great to be here to celebrate this incredible organization,” he continued. “Things like this don’t happen to me very often, where I get to places like this and see so many cancer survivors, including myself… Let’s have a good time.”

Power of music

A good time is exactly what John delivered with his band, whose two longest-serving members, guitarist Davey Johnstone and drummer Nigel Olsson, are 74 and 76, respectively. They performed with polished precision throughout, making it seem as if their most recent tour was two months ago — not two years.

That said, the concert wasn’t flawless. The audio quality was too often muddled, although it improved as the night progressed. No matter how energetically percussionist Ray Cooper played his tambourine, which was often, it was all but inaudible. Thanks to the giant LED screens to either side of the stage you could see Cooper’s animated tambourine work, but not hear it. Guitarist Johnstone was alternately audible and indistinct. John’s piano and vocals, thankfully, were front and center, and did not suffer from uneven mixing.

To the disappointment of some, two of John’s biggest crowd-pleasers — “Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting” and “Crocodile Rock” — were conspicuously absent from the set list. Ditto even a single song from his inviting new album with Carlile, “Who Believes In Angels?” Its deeply moving closing track, the stirring, valedictory ballad “When This Old World Is Done With Me,” could have provided an even more fitting cap to the evening than “Your Song.”

Regardless, the concert was a welcome testament to the transformative power of John’s music to uplift listeners — and the apparently ailing legend himself — while supporting an eminently worthy cause.

After his cancer treatment in 2017, John underwent hip surgery in 2021. This was followed by an accidental fall in 2023, which required hospitalization, and an acute eye infection last year that has limited his vision in his left eye and left him virtually blind in his right.

Yet, despite hobbling onto the enormous stage at Petco Park at the start of the concert — and requiring assistance when he left it nearly two hours later — the iconic singer-songwriter came alive with impressive gusto as he breathed new life into classic songs that have provided a soundtrack for several generations of music fans.

John’s opening salvo of “Funeral For a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding,” “Bennie and The Jets,” “I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues,” the disco-fueled “Philadelphia Freedom” and “Tiny Dancer” underscored how appealing, well-constructed and durable his music remains. As if to reinforce that point, he followed them with “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road,” “Rocket Man (I Think It’s Going To Be A Long, Long Time),” “Levon,” “Candle in the Wind” and “Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word To Say.”

His singing voice grew stronger with each new song, faltering only during the 15th selection, “I’m Still Standing,” which was performed in a key with which John never quite connected. His keyboard work was consistently inspired and full of verve. This held especially true when he soloed on “Benny and The Jets,” “Rocket Man” and “Levon,” during which his double- and triple-time lines combined boogie-woogie flair, barrelhouse-blues oomph, gospel-inspired joy and jazzy reharmonizations that were an altogether visceral delight.

A foggy night

The chilly night air and thick fog prompted a comment from John in between his engaging performances of “Rocket Man” and “Levon.”

“Its cold out here,” he said. “You must be freezing.”

Yet, while he dabbed his nose several times and had a stage crew member bring him a box of tissues, John gave his all to his songs. They included a very rare performance of “Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters,” which proved to be a high point of the night.

It’s a mystery why John elected to make his first encore the dance club-oriented “Cold Heart,” a so-so duet with Dua Lipa, whose part was pre-filmed and shown on the giant LED screen at the center of the stage. The band-free song found John singing at his piano, arms at his side, while a prerecorded backing track provided the beat-thumping music.

John quicky redeemed himself with the wonderfully tender “Your Song,” which was followed by a one-minute barrage of fireworks. “Your Song’s” closing line — “How wonderful life is when you’re in this world” — could easily become Curebound’s mission statement.

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