BILLY JOEL! (#1)
This probably doesn't interest you, but it might. It definitely interests me, so I'm posting it. :)
8:15 pm
Prelude/Angry Young Man: Let me just tell you how freakin' excited I was for Billy to come out on stage. I've been watching the website for all of the playlists for concerts prior to this, so I had a decent idea what was going to happen when. However, since the tour is designed to be different every time, I knew that there were going to be some surprises in there. This song wasn't one, but it was so good. The seats were straight in front of the stage and just right above the floor: perfect views of both the big screen and stage.
My Life
The Ballad of Billy the Kid
Vienna: Before this song, Billy let the audience choose which we wanted to here: "Vienna" or "You're My Home." My family and I all chose Vienna (Mom and Dad had already heard "You're My Home,") so we were happy. Such a beautiful song. For some reason, a lot of the lyrics seemed especially poigniant to me.
The Entertainer
Stiletto: I'd learned this song and the next on purpose because I'd read in the playlists that he'd been playing them, and I didn't know them. I'm so glad that I know them now, because they're quickly becoming favorites.
Zanzibar: The trumpets and saxes, during a lot of the songs, were just so cool. There were 3 of them, and they just sorta wandered around the stage together. At some point, they faced everyone in the audience, and they would do little dances on top of their parts. Neat to watch. :)
Allentown
Don't Ask Me Why: This song was exactly the same as the version on one of my CD's. Dad said the next day that it was in his head all day long. I felt like it was really, really well done. Very energetic. On top of which, he hadn't done it before on the tour.
All For Leyna: I learned this song, too, beforehand, but I don't like it. Fortunately for me, the mics didn't work for about half of it. (Billy had gotten up from the mainstage piano and moved to another keyboard up on the left hand side. I guess they weren't ready in the tech booth.) When it was over, Billy said, "Well that sucked" and was clearly disappointed. To make up for it, he said to the band, "No no no... let's not play that song [to whatever song they were planing to play] I want to do
Pressure": What a freakin' great song to see in concert. They make the lights blink according to the organ melody, and it's just so good. I was quite glad that he decided to play it to make up for his mistake. ;)
Captain Jack: I'm not a huge fan of this song, but I really liked it in concert. Dad says that it's a Philly song for some reason, and he always does it when he comes here. Dunno what the deal with that is... maybe it's all the drug references? :) For whatever reason, he got a standing ovation after it. You could see that he was relieved to have gotten back in the groove after the "All for Leyna" screw-up, and he said "Well, I feel better now." :)
The Night Is Still Young: Before singing this song, he went into a little intro about which CD it was from and stuff, which he'd done for most all of the albums. This was the only one that I knew that my dad didn't. Neither of us liked it; too mellow for a concert, and not really good. This was the only song I would've liked for him to not have done.
Movin' Out: From this point on, the show kicked into gear. It was all hits from here to the end, which, incidentally, was still 1 1/2 hours away.
She's Always A Woman: Um, I went to the bathroom during this song. I gave up soda for Lent, and have been trying to drink water instead. Unfortunately, that means that I have to go to the potty every 2 seconds. Wah wah.
Keeping the Faith: The truth is that I was a little thrown off by this song in person. It was almost exactly the same as the album version, but it seemed different somehow. It was fun to sing with a whole stadium of people though. :)
And So It Goes: *sigh* It never fails that, when I'm around my family, something will give me a reason to cry so that they can make fun of me for the rest of my life for being a wuss. :) I managed to make it through most of the song, but around "And so will you too, I suppose," I couldn't keep the waterworks in. That song has always, and will always, make me cry. But, you know, what're you gonna do? :)
The River of Dreams: Kick ass. Awesome song to see in person.
A Matter of Trust: At this point, Billy got up and played the guitar. Didn't know that he really did that... He did it well, and I'm a big fan of that song.
Highway to Hell: Billy brought out a guy, who is supposedly a roadie named Chainsaw. He sang the song, and was pretty decent. It felt like Billy just wanted a break for a bit. However, if he was honestly "giving the guy a chance" to be heard, as he claimed, then I think that's very cool of him. :)
We Didn't Start the Fire: Jen was quite excited for this song. It was another neat one to hear in person, although it seemed a little funny... Maybe because the lyrics are so dated?
Big Shot: Billy got a hat from offstage, turned it around, and totally acted the part. Quite funny. He did a little dance with the microphone too, which was also amusing.
It's Still Rock and Roll: I've actually been skipping this song on the CD lately because it's been boring me. I felt completely the opposite when it was done in person: It was fun, energetic, and great to sing with everyone else in the WC. "Ooooooooooh..."
You May Be Right: Kick ass. Standing ovation, of course.
ENCORES:
Only the Good Die Young: I think that this may be one of my favorite live songs. It's just so good. And he changes it up just enough to keep it new and exciting. After this song, he pretended to walk offstage, and people, being Philly fans, booed him. :) He made a big game out of pretending to walk off for the rest of the show. "Boo... Yay!... Boo... Yay!"
Scenes from an Italian Restaurant: Also freakin' awesome. I wish that I could impart the same picture that I have in my head of a whole stadium standing up, dancing and singing. It was just so much fun. Again, "Boo!... Yay!...Boo!...Yay!" Ok, we get it. :)
And last but not least, Piano Man: There really isn't anything that I can say to describe it. During the choruses, he would stop singing altogether and the audience sang it back to him. A weird experience, being that he is the piano man. It felt as if we were singing to him, but then, he'd already sang us the songs tonight... Quite the conundrum. But of course, the perfect ending.
11:00 pm
And that, as they say, is that. It's worth noting that my dad is possibly the best driver around and managed to bypass almost all of the traffic out of the WC. (Granted, he almost sideswiped an ambulance and a police car, but it was worth it. :) ) I'll be back at Billy Joel in, oh, 14 days. :)
8:15 pm
Prelude/Angry Young Man: Let me just tell you how freakin' excited I was for Billy to come out on stage. I've been watching the website for all of the playlists for concerts prior to this, so I had a decent idea what was going to happen when. However, since the tour is designed to be different every time, I knew that there were going to be some surprises in there. This song wasn't one, but it was so good. The seats were straight in front of the stage and just right above the floor: perfect views of both the big screen and stage.
My Life
The Ballad of Billy the Kid
Vienna: Before this song, Billy let the audience choose which we wanted to here: "Vienna" or "You're My Home." My family and I all chose Vienna (Mom and Dad had already heard "You're My Home,") so we were happy. Such a beautiful song. For some reason, a lot of the lyrics seemed especially poigniant to me.
The Entertainer
Stiletto: I'd learned this song and the next on purpose because I'd read in the playlists that he'd been playing them, and I didn't know them. I'm so glad that I know them now, because they're quickly becoming favorites.
Zanzibar: The trumpets and saxes, during a lot of the songs, were just so cool. There were 3 of them, and they just sorta wandered around the stage together. At some point, they faced everyone in the audience, and they would do little dances on top of their parts. Neat to watch. :)
Allentown
Don't Ask Me Why: This song was exactly the same as the version on one of my CD's. Dad said the next day that it was in his head all day long. I felt like it was really, really well done. Very energetic. On top of which, he hadn't done it before on the tour.
All For Leyna: I learned this song, too, beforehand, but I don't like it. Fortunately for me, the mics didn't work for about half of it. (Billy had gotten up from the mainstage piano and moved to another keyboard up on the left hand side. I guess they weren't ready in the tech booth.) When it was over, Billy said, "Well that sucked" and was clearly disappointed. To make up for it, he said to the band, "No no no... let's not play that song [to whatever song they were planing to play] I want to do
Pressure": What a freakin' great song to see in concert. They make the lights blink according to the organ melody, and it's just so good. I was quite glad that he decided to play it to make up for his mistake. ;)
Captain Jack: I'm not a huge fan of this song, but I really liked it in concert. Dad says that it's a Philly song for some reason, and he always does it when he comes here. Dunno what the deal with that is... maybe it's all the drug references? :) For whatever reason, he got a standing ovation after it. You could see that he was relieved to have gotten back in the groove after the "All for Leyna" screw-up, and he said "Well, I feel better now." :)
The Night Is Still Young: Before singing this song, he went into a little intro about which CD it was from and stuff, which he'd done for most all of the albums. This was the only one that I knew that my dad didn't. Neither of us liked it; too mellow for a concert, and not really good. This was the only song I would've liked for him to not have done.
Movin' Out: From this point on, the show kicked into gear. It was all hits from here to the end, which, incidentally, was still 1 1/2 hours away.
She's Always A Woman: Um, I went to the bathroom during this song. I gave up soda for Lent, and have been trying to drink water instead. Unfortunately, that means that I have to go to the potty every 2 seconds. Wah wah.
Keeping the Faith: The truth is that I was a little thrown off by this song in person. It was almost exactly the same as the album version, but it seemed different somehow. It was fun to sing with a whole stadium of people though. :)
And So It Goes: *sigh* It never fails that, when I'm around my family, something will give me a reason to cry so that they can make fun of me for the rest of my life for being a wuss. :) I managed to make it through most of the song, but around "And so will you too, I suppose," I couldn't keep the waterworks in. That song has always, and will always, make me cry. But, you know, what're you gonna do? :)
The River of Dreams: Kick ass. Awesome song to see in person.
A Matter of Trust: At this point, Billy got up and played the guitar. Didn't know that he really did that... He did it well, and I'm a big fan of that song.
Highway to Hell: Billy brought out a guy, who is supposedly a roadie named Chainsaw. He sang the song, and was pretty decent. It felt like Billy just wanted a break for a bit. However, if he was honestly "giving the guy a chance" to be heard, as he claimed, then I think that's very cool of him. :)
We Didn't Start the Fire: Jen was quite excited for this song. It was another neat one to hear in person, although it seemed a little funny... Maybe because the lyrics are so dated?
Big Shot: Billy got a hat from offstage, turned it around, and totally acted the part. Quite funny. He did a little dance with the microphone too, which was also amusing.
It's Still Rock and Roll: I've actually been skipping this song on the CD lately because it's been boring me. I felt completely the opposite when it was done in person: It was fun, energetic, and great to sing with everyone else in the WC. "Ooooooooooh..."
You May Be Right: Kick ass. Standing ovation, of course.
ENCORES:
Only the Good Die Young: I think that this may be one of my favorite live songs. It's just so good. And he changes it up just enough to keep it new and exciting. After this song, he pretended to walk offstage, and people, being Philly fans, booed him. :) He made a big game out of pretending to walk off for the rest of the show. "Boo... Yay!... Boo... Yay!"
Scenes from an Italian Restaurant: Also freakin' awesome. I wish that I could impart the same picture that I have in my head of a whole stadium standing up, dancing and singing. It was just so much fun. Again, "Boo!... Yay!...Boo!...Yay!" Ok, we get it. :)
And last but not least, Piano Man: There really isn't anything that I can say to describe it. During the choruses, he would stop singing altogether and the audience sang it back to him. A weird experience, being that he is the piano man. It felt as if we were singing to him, but then, he'd already sang us the songs tonight... Quite the conundrum. But of course, the perfect ending.
11:00 pm
And that, as they say, is that. It's worth noting that my dad is possibly the best driver around and managed to bypass almost all of the traffic out of the WC. (Granted, he almost sideswiped an ambulance and a police car, but it was worth it. :) ) I'll be back at Billy Joel in, oh, 14 days. :)