Well, ladies, after two fabulous Don shows in two states in two days, I am finally home, one tired but extremely happy camper. It was great meeting up with Soda and my buddy HenleyHound--I loved sharing the experience with them--we had a blast together! Soda and SH have already written good reviews of Dallas, but I will add my own thoughts.

The venue was great, wonderful acoustics, and although our seats weren't as close as Soda's, we were on the second row of the first tier, left side, with a great view. Brian Setzer and the Stray Cats opened and boy, did they "Rock This House"! Chrissie Hynde and the Pretenders played a great set too. I'm not sure how old she is now, but she looked great in slim jeans and high heeled boots, rocking to songs such as "Don't Get Me Wrong" and "Brass in Pocket."

Finally we heard the opening chords of Dirty Laundry and Don took the stage, dressed mainly in black and looking terrific, and the hometown crowd in the packed auditorium greeted him with wild cheers. "Hello Dallas, it is good to be home," he said, adding, "At my age it is good to be anywhere!" He went right into Witchy Woman and said "I wrote this song in 1972--do any of you remember 1972? I don't!" and New York Minute, and before Sunset Grill he said something like, "This is about cheeseburgers and cruising down Route 66. When I was young I always wanted a Corvette--did any of you? Now that I am old I can afford one, but I don't want one anymore!"

Then we heard unfamiliar chords and knew we were in for something new. He stepped into the spotlight and sang almost acappella and very slowly, "Remember when the days were long and rode beneath the deep blue sky...I didn't have a care in the world with Mommy & Daddy standing by..."He sang the entire first verse of EOI that way, just the man and his voice, soaring out over the auditorium, and it was so moving and beautiful that I held my breath, afraid I would miss a note. That entire song was amazing!

Before his terrific version of Everybody Wants to Rule the World, he said, "I didn't write this song, but it seems appropriate." Then he got into the rock mode and we all rocked out as he sang BOS, ASWTDID, LITFL--when he sang, "Remember how you made me crazy? Remember how I made you scream?" HH and I both let out a huge scream and everyone around us laughed. He came back for his first encore of Hotel California (playing the congas at the end while Frank Simes nailed the guitar solo) and Desperado, and everyone in the audience screamed and clapped so long that he came back out for another encore--I Will Not Go Quietly. When I heard the first chords I screamed because I got my wish--I LOVE that song and have always wanted to see him perform it live. It was unbelievable watching him sing "C'mon over here baby, you're about to give me a heart attack--I want to wrap my lovin' arms around the small of your back..." Talk about a heart attack! More screams! Then he sincerely thanked the Dallas crowd and was gone.

Later, we talked to some other fans and found out that before the show Don's assistant, Tony, had escorted Sharon and all the Henley children plus their friends to a private viewing box in the balcony. Wonder what those kids think of the reception the appreciative Dallas crowd gave their famous father? Anyway, Soda, HH and I stayed up half the night, talking and giggling and reliving the concert, and we reluctantly took Soda to the airport before HH and I headed to OKC for the second show Sunday night. More on that show in the next post!