Elton John

The Nashville Arena
23-January-98
Nashville,TN

Elton's concert at the Nashville Arena Friday night (1/23/98) was fantastic as always. It went pretty much the same as David described the Biloxi show, but with a few differences.
He DID play Made In England and Believe, right after SATWYLT and before Philadelphia Freedom. When he reached the line in MIE "here's my middle finger," the cameras showed Davey up on the big screens, giving the corresponding gesture as best as he could while playing guitar. But still no Someone Saved My Life Tonight. One of Nashville's newspapers had a big write-up on Beth Neilsen Chapman and Sand and Water the day of the concert, including conjecture as to whether or not Elton would still play that song. She was hoping he would, especially since Nashville is her home, but she also said something to the effect that she'd understand if he'd moved on and didn't play it anymore. He didn't, opting instead for Sad Songs as the first encore.
As for sartorial eloquence, Elton wore a pink suit with gold sequined (plus-shaped) crosses and matching cross earrings. Some of the folks with me thought the suit was pink leather, but I couldn't tell. After one song (sorry, forget which, but I think fairly early in the show), a stage hand came up and they had a brief whispered exchange. Then when Elton sat down to begin the next song, he announced, "I've ripped my pants, but who cares?" He didn't change clothes then until the first encore, when he reentered the stage in black pants and shirt.
I'll close by echoing a complaint seen here often: why can't these people finish up all their drink purchases and bathroom visits before the show starts or wait till it's over? We had aisle seats in the floor, and still there was a constant parade in and out. I just can't fathom why anyone lucky enough to get tickets would miss a *second* of Captain Fantastic in performance. Can wine from a concession stand be *that* good?


Simple Life
The One
Grey Seal
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
Honky Cat
Can You Feel The Love Tonight
Tiny Dancer
I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues
If The River Can Bend
I Don't Wanna Go On With You Like That
Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me
Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word
The Last Song
Daniel
Love's Got A Lot To Answer For
Take Me To The Pilot
Something About The Way You Look Tonight
Made In England
Believe
Philadelphia Freedom
Bennie And The Jets
Saturday Night's Alright (For Fighting)
Sad Songs (Say So Much)
The Bitch Is Back
Your Song

Concert review by Jerry B.