I can't wait for the end of a Billy Joel concert. now that I want the night to end, or that the early part of the show sucked. The end of a Billy Joel concert, including the encore, remains the most thrilling part of the evening, even after 40 years of music.
That's how it was Saturday night at Citizens Bank Park in South Philly. Billy Joel played there for the 4th summer in a row.
It was a crisp, cool, fall-like night. Hard to estimate the size of the crowd, since tickets weren't sold to the outfield seats at the Phillies' ballpark. There were empty seats sprinkled here and there. I would say 30-35,000 people? As expected, there were a ton of middle-aged folks in attendance, but also a surprising amount of younger people- millennials, college kids, even younger.
I guess classic music knows no age bounds.
So, the ending first. The second half of the 2 1/2-hour show brought the hits- songs like "Allentown", the iconic "Scenes From An Italian Restaurant", and the signature song, "Piano Man."
It must be a rush to have 35,000 fans singing along to the familiar Piano Man. Everyone knows the words. Joel doesn't even have to sing it. Just let the crowd sing it.
The encore ( I wondered if Billy would come back, as the crowd wasn't crazy-fanatic to get him to come back) was a hard-hitting, generous, upbeat dance fest of "Uptown Girl", "It's Still Rock n' Roll To Me" "Big Shot", "Only The Good Die Young", and "You May Be Right."
The night started with "We Didn't Start The Fire", usually an encore song until recently, followed by "My Life". Album cuts were less enthusiastically received, such as "Everybody Loves You Now." "Don't Ask Me Why" and "She's Always A Woman" were done well. Die-hard fans were happy to hear songs other than the hits.
"I can't do them all," Joel lamented at one point.He's right. Left out were hits like "Downeaster Alexia", "Keeping The Faith", "A Matter Of Trust" and "Pressure."
A fun "Fielder's Choice" segment, where Joel offered two songs and the crowd picks one with their reaction, always concluded with the second song winning. I would have taken "Honesty" over "Vienna" and "Just The Way You Are" over "Zanzabar", but no big deal.
"Captain Jack" was part of the Fielder's Choice option. "Captain Jack" was an album cut form Billy's first album. Philly radio, specifically the famous late DJ, Ed Sciaky, played the anti-drug anthem on college underground FM radio. Joel stated that he only plays "Captain Jack" in Philadelphia. It was thunderous and great.
There were a few clunkers. "Sometimes A Fantasy" isn't as relevant or rocking a sit once was/ "New York State Of Mind" is always good, but in Philly, seemed a little out of place.
Billy didn't do some things he had done earlier in the spring/summer during his annual ballpark tour ( He played Dodger Stadium, Wrigley Field and Fenway Park, among others). He didn't do "Take Me Out To The Ballgame"; He didn't bring out any special surprise guests (past Philadelphia concert guests have including Hall & Oates and Boyz To Men). And he didn't do any songs related to Philly, such as "Philadelphia Freedom" ( he did "Los Angelinos" in LA and "Chicago" in..Chicago).
One of the best parts of the night was when Billy left the scrip Of Dreams" he suddenly veered into an unexpected, extended version of The Eagles' "Take It Easy."In the middle of the finale "You May Be Right" was a snippet of Led Zeppelin's "It's Been A Long Time Since I've Rock n' Rolled." That's what makes a Bruce Springsteen concert fun- the surprises in the setlist.
Billy still has a lot of energy, but admittedly, he is slowing down. "I'm getting old!" he mentioned. No more romping around the stage, climbing on top of the piano or running like a nut relentlessly around his band.
Speaking of the band, they were tight, but I miss the unique personality of drummer Liberty DeVitto. He was great and fun too. Sax player Mark Rivera has been with Joel 35 years, but either he can't hit the high notes anymore or the sound was fuzzy, because he didn't sound clean all night.
Billy needs to make new music. He says he has nothing new to say, and after so many legendary songs, i guess he deserves to not write anymore. He is living off his fame. The fans are still buying it and flocking to the shows. But there will be a day when it becomes old hat and boring, then Joel will either retire for good or reinvent himself.
Rather than play mediocre album cuts, new stuff, mixed in with the reliable, classic hits, would freshen-up the show and provide a spark of energy. I can't believe that Jowl hasn't done some secret writing or recording. He may have a ton of new material waiting to be released, either now or maybe when he passes. He's too good of a songwriter to just waste his extraordinary talent for the last 25 years.
A new Billy Joel album would zoom to No. 1 on the charts. After the underrated "The Entertainer" last night, Joel quoted himself by saying " 'I won't be here in another year, if I don't stay on the chars'...I haven't been on the charts since 1983!."
True, but Billy himself has the ability to change that, and to not only give us new music which will last forever, but also make his great shows even better in his golden years of performing.
It's time to appreciate guys like Billy Joel before they're gone. And maybe that's why the fans still come to hear the old stuff, 40 years on.Out of 4 stars, I give the Billy Joel concert at CBP a solid 3 stars.
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