The Dallas Concert--August 8, 1998

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I had been planning to see this concert as soon as I heard tickets were on sale. Not only would I get to see Elton again, but this would be a perfect opportunity to see my good friends, Kathie and Christine. We had planned to meet in Dallas for the big day. I was driving the almost 400 miles from SE Kansas to Dallas beginning Saturday morning. Kathie was driving up from Austin, TX. Christine was flying in from a business trip in San Francisco. Kathie picked up Christine at DFW and we all met at a very nice Hampton Inn in Plano, TX. About four hours before the concert, we met with my friends Harry and Mary for a nice chat and to get good directions to the Starplex. Unfortunately, Harry and Mary were not attending the concert with us. Harry did give us very good directions to the Starplex. We had no trouble getting there about an hour and a half before the show. I believe all of us were excited. This was my 10th Elton concert, Kathie's 2nd and Christine's 1st. The venue was beautiful. It was an out door venue. The seats were in a covered area. The lawn was on a gradual slope just behind the seats. We had lawn seats and had arrived early enough that we settled into a place about one-third of the way up and at center stage. The stage was covered with the Versace tribute curtains (see photo below). At approximately 8:20 pm the curtains dropped and the music began. Elton began and ended with a song from "The Lion King". The opening song was accompanied by scenes from "The Lion King" playing on the three Sony Jumbtron screens. The following is the set list from the show:

• "Circle of Life"
  
• "Grey Seal"
  
• "Goodbye Yellowbrick Road"
  
• "Honky Cat"
  
• "Tiny Dancer"
  
• "Levon"
  
• "(I Guess) That's Why They Call It the Blues"
  
• "I Don't Wanna Go On (With You Like That)"
  
• "Don't Let the Sun Go Down"
  
• "Rocket Man"
  
• "Roy Rogers" (as a tribute to the late cowboy)
  
• "Crocodile Rock"
  
• "Your Song" (as a solo while the band took a breather)
  
• "Recover Your Soul" (also as a solo)
  
• "Philadelphia Freedom"
  
• "Simple Life"
  
• "The One"
  
• "Sad Songs" (a great funky version)
  
• "Happy Birthday" (this was sung for the birthday of the backing vocalist--I didn't catch his name though)
  
• "The Bitch is Back"
  
• "Saturday Night's All Right for Fighting"
  

Elton then left the stage. I believe he shortened his show a little due to the intense heat in Dallas and the bugs that were attacking him on the stage.

Elton came back on stage for an encore. He began the encore with "Lucy in the Sky". This just happens to be one of my favorites because it is the first song I ever heard him sing and I have been addicted to his music since that time. The second song of the encore was "Great Balls of Fire". By this time I don't think there was a single person sitting at the Starplex. We were all singing with Elton. He then left the stage again. He was gone for quite some time and several people began to leave. He came back out for a second encore. He had changed clothes, which explains why he was gone for a while. He ended the night with "Can You Feel the Love Tonight".

During several short breaks, Elton talked with fans near the stage and signed autographs.

We got back to the hotel a little after midnight. The next morning we ate at Denny's, said our goodbyes, promised to do this again and headed our separate ways. What a great weekend!!! Thank you, Elton!

These photos are of Christine, Kathie and me. They were taken while I was on vacation in Austin, TX in May.

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