Elton John had recently signed a new deal to return to MCA Records and was heading out on a National tour called “Sleeping with the Past” It was standard in those days to bring Record Store buyers, managers, and owners to concerts in your respective markets. I had personally invited about 20, the other staffers invited 20 and our radio promoter invited about 20, so we had a whole mess of people together. I arranged a greet and meet with Elton who said he would meet everyone pre show. Upon arriving a bit early to Shoreline, I met with production and we did the Back Stage Pass computation, also I got a chance to meet Elton in his dressing room. His dressing room had been made to order by Bill Graham himself. Bill took great pride in making performers feel special. Bill had specially prepared Elton’s dressing room with 25 hand picked Hats from a Haberdashery in San Francisco, he lined them in columns on the wall. When I met Elton he was having fun trying on the different hats with different colors, feathers, braids, crests and boas. I asked him which one he was going to wear and he said; “ I think I’ll use quite a few of these tonight” True to his word, during the performance he changed wardrobes a few times, including the Hats!

Set list 8/20/89 Shoreline Amphitheater

Smoke filled intro to

Bennie and the Jets

Island girl

Harmony

Tiny Dancer

Sleeping with the Past

The Bitch is Back into Brown Sugar cover

I guess that’s why they call it the blues

Mona Lisa and Mad Hatters Pt.1 & Pt. 2

Funeral for a Friend/ Love lies bleeding

Sorry seems to be the Hardest word

Daniel

Candle in the wind

Sacrifice

Blue Eyes

Philadelphia Freedom,

Burn down the Mission

Levon

Stones throw from here

Sad Songs say so much

Don’t let the sun go down on me

I don’t want top go with you like that

Encore

Saturday Nights alright for fighting

Rocket man (I think it’s going to be a long time)