
DATE: Monday, October 13, 1997              TAG: 9710130067

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B6   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: Music Review 

SOURCE: BY CRAIG SHAPIRO, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH                    LENGTH:   64 lines

``BIG PICTURE'' HARDLY MATTERS, AS ELTON JOHN SOARS IN CONCERT

There are two rules in show business. 1. Always leave 'em wanting more. 2. Obey rule number one.

Elton John followed them to the letter on a flawless Saturday night, dropping the curtain on the GTE Virginia Beach Amphitheater's sophomore season with a rousing, engaging performance that will be long remembered by the capacity crowd of 20,000 as among the best in the venue's history.

It would have been impossible for him to do any wrong, any way.

Forget the hit singles and platinum LPs. Never mind his myriad charitable causes. The class with which he dealt with the recent deaths of Princess Diana and fashion designer Gianni Versace, two of his closest friends, has seemingly elevated John to mere sainthood.

Much to his credit, John would have none of that Saturday. He has said he will never again perform ``Candle in the Wind 1997,'' his mega-selling tribute to the Princess of Wales. He's also shelving the original version for now.

But anybody who groused because neither song made his nonstop marathon set is picking nits. They're also missing the point: With the kind of catalog at John's disposal, every song's a Maserati.

Besides, his cover of Beth Nielsen Chapman's ``Sand and Water'' provided all the emotional catharsis anyone needed.

Virginia Beach was the second stop on this tour, in support of the just-released ``The Big Picture.'' The new album, though, hardly mattered.

What did was that John was on the road for the first time since 1995. Energy levels were soaring on both sides of the stage. With that gap-toothed grin beaming, his enthusiasm was contagious.

Gone are the outrageous costumes of his 1970s heyday. Now 50, the former Reg Dwight has toned it down a tad sartorially - he wore a canary yellow suit with a Nehru collar - but not at all musically. For nearly three hours, he poured heart and soul into every song.

With long-time guitarist Davey Johnstone leading his seven-piece band, John set the tone for the evening with a spirited run through ``Simple Life.''

Then he plucked one nugget after another: ``Goodbye Yellow Brick Road,'' ``Tiny Dancer,'' ``Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Me.''

Vocally, he met every challenge. His piano playing - tasteful on the ballads, full-throttle on the rockers - was sterling.

So he didn't play ``Burn Down the Mission'' or ``Madman Across the Water.''

``Take Me to the Pilot'' and a lovely solo version of ``Daniel'' more than compensated. Even the syrupy ``Can You Feel the Love Tonight,'' his Oscar-winner from ``The Lion King'' went over.

``If the River Can Bend,'' one of the tracks off his new album, fit alongside his classics. The set-ending one-two-three punch of ``Levon,'' ``Bennie and the Jets'' and ``Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting'' kept the crowd on its feet through two encores.

Fittingly, the show ended with his first hit, ``Your Song.''

Last month, John was asked by the Los Angeles Times if he could foresee a time in the near future where he might quit making music.

``No, I'd miss it,'' he said. ``I love what I do.''

He would have had no problem getting an ``amen'' to that Saturday night. ILLUSTRATION: Elton John performs during his show at the GTE

Virginia Beach Amphitheater on Saturday. The fans - some 20,000

strong - converged on the amphitheater and staked out their seats to

see the show, which had sold out in a near-record 36 minutes.

MOTOYA NAKAMURA

The Virginian-Pilot