It’s been a VERY long time since I went to a rock concert. Here’s an indication of how things have changed. The last time I went, people were drinking and smoking (cigarettes and other items) in the venue, and you held up your lighter for an encore.
We went to see Billy Joel open the
I can’t even say I felt old as we were probably right in the middle of those attending whose ages ranged from their 20’s to their 70’s. It was very nostalgic as I started listening to BJ during my formative years. Though I’ve never stopped, so much of the soundtrack to those good ole days is his music. It brought back a lot of memories, particularly his older material.
Needless to say, it was fantastic and very high energy!!! There are only a few artists for which I can claim that I know almost all of their songs, including the lyrics and BJ is one of them. With the exception of one song from the
For a man who has not released an album in 12 years, his tour is doing incredibly well. Tickets for a record 12thshow in NY recently went on sale. And for a 56 year old rocker, he still does a great act with some patter and banter between each song. With a great band with an outstanding horn section, simple stage, good straightforward and coordinated lighting, he played for 2 and a half hours straight, including one encore during which we all waved Brenda and Eddie goodbye and banded together 50,000+ strong for the chorus to Piano Man. Songs were from the whole spectrum of his discography, mostly the more upbeat tunes with a few poignant ones thrown in. Before starting We Didn't Start The Fire, he warned us that we had all better sing along because he knew that if he didn't get the words right, there'd be hell to pay. As a tribute to Wilson Pickett who died just a few days ago and was an inspiration to BJ growing up, they also did a kick-ass version of In The Midnight Hour.
What surprised me most was how much BJ is starting to resemble me. He’s gotten thick around the middle, has a goatee and a closely shaved bald pate. He was dressed in jeans, black shirt, and blazer and the band were mostly wearing slacks, shoes, and collared shirts. A class act.
One of the best parts of this show was our seats. Our friend Jeff who works for Pfizer was able to score the Pfizer house seats. We were on the side, just past the front of the stage, and in a separated 4-seat box above one of the entry tunnels into the stands. It is a space often used by sportswriters so we had plenty of legroom and a long desk on which to rest our drinks and an unobstructed view so we didn’t have to stand when everyone else did (unless we wanted to). The diamond vision board above the center of the Garden carried live video from several cameras including one mounted on the edge of the piano’s keyboard so we could all see his hands up close. This was especially cool during the opening number – Angry Young Man – which has such a great piano solo at the beginning.
It was loud and my ears were still ringing this morning, but it was worth it. I may be an aging rocker, but I’m damned proud of it. And in the parting words of BJ as he left the stage, “Don’t take shit from anybody!”
