In four days, it will be Elton John's 61st birthday. So, I figured it appropriate to finally break into my copy of "Elton 60: Live at Madison Square Garden," the DVD of John's 60th appearance -- the most by a single artist at the Manhattan venue -- which took place on March 25, 2007, his 60th birthday.

I've had the DVD set -- of course, I had to get the deluxe, three-disc version -- for four months now, but once the strike was on, I made a vow not to watch DVDs until it was absolutely necessary. Now that my favorite shows have begun to return, I feel it is time to supplement the occasional half-hour comedy with something a little different.

Anyway, about the show: It's a 33-song set, with lots of oldies and obscure songs I'd never heard before. But, when you're Elton John and it's your 60th birthday, you get to make all the decisions. And, you get a nifty, custom-made jacket with a "60" in gold on the back. And you get thousands of people to pay lots of money to sit in an arena and sing along with you. Some of the famous faces I saw were Brian Wilson, Jake Shears, Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne, Bill Clinton and Eric McCormack. They seemed to be enjoying themselves, like normal people at a concert would. (That's opposed to the not-so-normal people in attendance, one of whom was wearing a giant birthday cake hat.)

Notes on the set list: DVD 1 only included the first dozen songs (so the other 21 will have to wait for another day). John began with the appropriate "Sixty Years On," then "Madman Across the Water," "Where to Now, St. Peter," "Hercules," "Ballad of a Well-Known Gun," "Take Me to the Pilot," "High-Flying Bird," "Holiday Inn," "Burn Down the Mission," "Better off Dead," "Levon" and "Empty Garden (Hey Hey Johnny)." Before he sang the latter song, he mentioned that his two most vivid memories of the previous 59 concerts at the Garden were the one after Sept. 11 and the one on Nov. 28, 1974. On that night, John Lennon came out and sang three songs with John in what would be his last public performance. John said he wrote "Empty Garden" for Lennon, and only sings it at the Garden, as it is very difficult to perform. I have always loved that song, even before I knew the meaning behind it. Watching John perform the song live brought tears to my eyes.

A few other observations: John has this habit of standing up from the piano after every song, acknowledging and thanking the crowd. I don't understand this. It just screams, "Look at me! You paid a gazillion dollars to hear me play! You love me so much!" Also, when he sings, it looks as if he's going to bite the head off the microphone. What did the microphone ever do to him? Can't he back it up an inch or so? And then there's the giant widescreen video monitor behind the stage. I'm all for a little bit of visual to go with the music, but it was a little too stimulating. In front of the giant screen was the Brooklyn Youth Choir, which was singing backup to songs that were all released before any of them were born. (This fact, however, did nothing to hinder their enthusiasm. They were so totally into it.) My question is: Do they even know what they were singing about? Are they aware of the importance of their performance and that they were a part of a historic moment? Had they even heard of Elton John before? No matter. At least they got to look out into the audience, and not at that big screen.

Coming soon: Part 2 of the concert, "Live, Rare & Unseen" and "Elton's New York Stories" -- all part of the fancy box set. (Hey, now: Don't judge me. At least I didn't wast hundreds of dollars to fly to New York for the show. I have a better seat at home, plus I have an available, clean restroom and I don't have to munch on overpriced snacks during songs I don't know.)