All roads, especially yellowbrick ones, led to Croke Park last night. About 35,000 devotees of two veteran pop stars packed the stadium. Elton John and Billy Joel were, ahem, in the house, and there wasn't a tantrum or a tiara in sight.
There were, however, plenty of couples in their thirties and forties swaying blissfully to the songs they had fallen in love to years before.
Judy and Jimmy Baker sat in the sunshine waiting for the show to begin. It was their 11th wedding anniversary. "I came because they remind me of when I was younger", said Judy. She liked Elton, she said, while Jimmy preferred Billy. "But I'll put up with the other fellow", he said.
The piano man and the rocket man stepped on stage at 7.10 p.m. and gave the not yet capacity crowd a touching rendition of Elton's Your Song. By 8.30, the venue was packed.
The only concession Elton had made to his flamboyant reputation was a slick blue Versace suit and a dangly silver earring. By the end though, true to form, he had donned a luminous green wig.
Billy was in black and won the hearts of the crowd with a piano instrumental of Danny Boy.
Elton slurped diet cola throughout his set, which at times resembled a high-tech karaoke evening. If this man was a radio station, he would be Classic Hits FM.
Billy Joel had complained earlier that his recent 49th birthday meant he wasn't hitting the high notes. However, as the two singers reunited at the end of the almost four-hour-long concert, they turned back the musical clock and the women on the hot-dog stand jived with a sweeping brush.
There may have been cooler or trendier places to be last night, but for these crocodile rockers only Croke Park hit the spot.