Glitter Rock at the Garden

I was a skeptic. As I made my way up Madison Square Garden’s escalators, my suspicions about Elton John’s fans were being confirmed and then some. At 24, I was among the older in attendance at the rock star’s Thanksgiving concert.

At 8:15 p.m., a young emcee walks to the microphone. In mellifluous tones, he implores the audience to settle down. “Ladies and gentlemen . . . ladies and gentlemen . . .” Already he is hyperbolizing. After predicting, “This will be the greatest night of your life,” he introduces the warmup act, the Kiki Dee Band.

HS

About the Author

Herbert W. Stupp

Herbert W. Stupp served in the administrations of Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush. He was an NYC Commissioner appointed by Mayor Rudy Giuliani, serving 1994–2002. In 1970, as an undergraduate student, he was State Chairman of “Youth for Buckley.”

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I was a skeptic. As I made my way up Madison Square Garden’s escalators, my suspicions about Elton John’s fans were being confirmed and then some. At 24, I was among the older in attendance at the rock star’s Thanksgiving concert.

At 8:15 p.m., a young emcee walks to the microphone. In mellifluous tones, he implores the audience to settle down. “Ladies and gentlemen . . . ladies and gentlemen . . .” Already he is hyperbolizing. After predicting, “This will be the greatest night of your life,” he introduces the warmup act, the Kiki Dee Band.

HS

About the Author

Herbert W. Stupp

Herbert W. Stupp served in the administrations of Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush. He was an NYC Commissioner appointed by Mayor Rudy Giuliani, serving 1994–2002. In 1970, as an undergraduate student, he was State Chairman of “Youth for Buckley.”