September 1, 1998
Elton John thrills fans, but keeps promise on "the song"

TORONTO -- Princess Diana may have been on everyone's minds, but it was Elton John's concert at the Molson Amphitheatre last night.

The sold-out show coincided with the one-year anniversary of Diana's death in a Paris car accident.

John kept any reflections he may have had about his late friend private, and instead treated the 16,000 in attendance to an upbeat collection of hits spanning his 28-year solo career.

He stuck to his vow, allegedly made to Diana's sons, Princes William and Harry, that he would not play Candle In The Wind in concert.

The 51-year-old John eulogized Diana at her funeral with a rewritten version of his 1973 Marilyn Monroe tribute. The recorded single of the song went on to sell over 35 million copies and raised $35 million for the Princess Of Wales Fund to benefit charities.

The obvious option of turning last night's show into a colorful anniversary tribute must have seemed distasteful, or just plain grim for John.

Instead, he did right by his music and put the mourning behind him.

Even a late-set version of his 1984 hit, Sad Songs (Say So Much), was pepped into a foot-tapping rave-up.

Looking relatively subdued -- by his own flamboyant standards -- in a sequined, spangled plaid suit, he led his seven-man band through a smooth, even-paced two-and-a-half hour run-through of his appropriately-named The Big Picture tour.

Fans got a big picture, but John never scrimped on the details.

The singer came off like a perfectionist bent on meeting a stage-energy quota. The strain in his voice was audible by the end of opening tune Circle Of Life. That only lent warmth to the songs as he plowed on tirelessly to a marathon, encore version of Bennie And The Jets.

Ballads Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, Daniel and Rocket Man, and steady rockers Crocodile Rock and Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting were treated to equal precision.

John showed raw power over more obscure tunes like Levon and Tiny Dancer.

He did get a chance to play one tribute, honoring late T. Rex leader Marc Bolan with I'm Gonna Be A Teenage Idol.

But John also rattled off the names of a dozen or so Toronto friends and supporters before launching into Your Song -- proof, perhaps, that he'd rather concentrate on the living.

JAM! Rating: 4 out of 5