Billy Joel Concert Tour ~ Still the Piano Man

What an evening. We arrived with much anticipation, to a packed parking lot and tickets clutched in our hands. We were going to see BILLY JOEL. It had been awhile since I had seen him in concert last. I was a freshman in college. And well, that was a long time ago.


But now these college kids (my two step-daughters and a friend who jumped at the chance to buy our extra ticket) were seeing him in concert too. After all these years, Billy Joel's classic songs are a hit among every age.


While we waited outside the stadium we could see the Hershey cocoa stacks standing tall, reminding us of how sweet the town is. It was a great evening, perfect for an outdoor event like this.

Once inside the stadium, we slowly made our way to our seats. Then we waited, and waited, and waited some more. Where was he? There was no opening act to keep us entertained. But there was plenty of people watching we could do. It was CROWDED.

Finally, the crew showed up and Mr. Joel entered the stage....the crowd started cheering. The video screens were amazing and we got some great shots of him via the screens. We could see him on the stage from where we were sitting, but we would have never been able to get these close ups without them. He apologized a little later for starting so late....they had decided to wait until the sun went down.

And he played, and played, and played. Tickling the ivories like only Billy Joel can. He is an amazingly talented musician. His lyrics are just as great which is why he has remained so popular for so many years. He even said to the crowd: "I haven't had a new album out in 15 years and yet you all let me do the best job in the world, thank you!"
He played and sang non-stop for almost two hours.

I was having a great time...which made Dear Hubby happy because when I first arrived I was UNhappy trudging through the crowds. It was all worth it.

He played my favorites, of course. New York State of Mind which was aided by the cool stage design, complete with a Miss Statue of Liberty crown that stuck out at the top of the stage roof. Images of NYC splashed all over the screens, bringing back memories of my trips to the big city. He played others like Keeping the Faith, Only the Good Die Young, Don't Ask Me Why, and Scenes from an Italian Restaurant.

There were many others, including We Didn't Start the Fire. I really like this song, even though I can't keep up with the lyrics! If you really take the time to actually study the words and look back on what went on in the news, there's a lot to gain from it. Here is a website that breaks the song down and gives the history behind the pieces and parts. I think schools use it to help teach! We didn't have cool stuff like this to learn from when I was a kid. Check it out here.

Then, probably to give his voice a break, Billy grabs a guitar and comes up to the front mic and introduces one of his road crew....a guy named "Chainsaw"....who comes out and sings a little ditty for us. Okay, it wasn't really a little ditty it was "Highway to Hell." But he was funny and gave us all a good laugh.

Then he was back on the piano...his home away from home. We hoped that each "next song" would be his theme song "Piano Man," which he saved of course, the best for last.

And Mr. Joel, sing us the song anytime, you ARE the Piano Man. Bravo! Bravo!

A great concert and I'm glad I got the chance to see him play for the second time in my life.

Thanks for following along with me...I enjoyed sharing the pictures with you. For my next post I have received an award from Ms. Daisy over at The Daisy Chain How cool is that?

Hope you're enjoying your summer!