True survivors: Joni Mitchell jams with Elton John on ‘I’m Still Standing’ at Hollywood Bowl concert

by Chuck Amold
New York Post
October 21, 2024

It was a case of two music legends.

That was the awe-striking scenario when Elton John joined Joni Mitchell on "I'm Still Standing" during her "Joni Jam" concert at the Hollywood Bowl on Sunday night.

Mitchell put a jazzy, witty spin on John's 1983 hit, while Sir Elton provided "Yeah yeah yeah" background vocals.

Joni Mitchell's "Joni Jam" concert featuring guests Elton John, Meryl Streep, Annie Lennox and Brandi Carlile.

But the two true survivors - Mitchell, 80, made her debut with 1968's "Songs to a Seagull," while John, 77, made his with 1969's "Empty Sky" - were both sitting instead of standing.

"This is called 'I'm Still Standing,'" Mitchell said to the crowd. "But I think I have to sing, 'I'm still sitting after all these years.'"

As if that weren't enough, Brandi Carlile, Annie Lennox and Meryl Streep - yes, Meryl Streep - also joined in the fun for an all-star rendition of "I'm Still Standing" that drew cheers from the crowd of 17,000 at the amphitheater.

It was a joyous highlight of Mitchell's two-night stand at the Hollywood Bowl - her first headlining concerts in Los Angeles in 24 years. And a host of musicians - from Marcus Mumford and Jacob Collier to Jon Batiste - came out to jam with the "Big Yellow Taxi" singer.

Mitchell - who released her "The Asylum Years (1976 to 1980)" box set earlier this month - played three songs for the first-time ever in her iconic career: "Harlem in Havana," "The Sire of Sorrow (Job's Sad Song)" and "If I Had a Heart."

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer also performed such live rarities as "Hejira," "God Must Be a Boogie Man" and "Dog Eat Dog."

After suffering a brain aneurysm in 2015 that left her unable to speak or walk, Mitchell has been on the comeback since making a surprise return to the stage at the Newport Folk Festival in 2022.

She followed that up in 2023 with a headlining concert at the Gorge Amphitheatre in Quincy, Washington.

And then - after winning Best Folk Album for her 2023 LP "Joni Mitchell at Newport [Live]" - the singer-songwriter made her long-overdue Grammy debut in February with a stirring rendition of "Both Sides, Now."

Earlier this year, Mitchell also saluted John and his songwriting partner, Bernie Taupin, when they received the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song in Washington, DC. During that tribute, she also performed "I'm Still Standing" in her own swinging style.