04-Jul-96
Last Night in Little Rock... STYX performed in Little Rock last night to what all agreed was the largest turnout to date at the new downtown stage on the banks of the Arkansas. Just a stone' s throw from the Old State House where, in 1992, musicians around the world watched with chagrin as newly elected Bill Clinton, V.P. Al Gore, et al, clapped on 1 and 4 as Fleetwood Mac vamped on "Don't Stop Thinking About Tomorrow". But last night the soulful rhythm had returned to the locals as the clapped and sang along to the most recent concert of the tour. Dennis was in a dancing mood and was as obviously being affected by the enthusiastic crowd. "This show never ceases to amaze me," Jeanne Mason marveled last night on the ride back to the hotel. "You think it couldn't possibly get any better and then somebody steps up and takes it to another level!"
Matthew DeYoung was overheard making the suggestion that the band should buy Super-Soaker water guns for tonight's concert in Dallas, where temperatures are expected to rise to 100 degrees. Someone reminded him about an event years ago where a prank was played on Dennis. 2,000 Ping-Pong balls were rigged to drop on the crowd in front of Dennis when he said something about the weather in the opening of a song he was about to sing. The balls fell, and almost immediately the fans began tossing them back. "The first five or ten weren't that bad," reminisced Tommy Shaw, "but after that they started to sting your face. I took one look at Dennis, and realized it was not a good thing." Dennis and Chuck and Tommy were red-faced with laughter as they all agreed not to give the audience any more of those kinds of ideas.