Hey all,
This is a follow up to the thread we had going here last month in regards to the Billy Joel tour. I just saw him in Boston on Thursday night and as I expected, he didn't dissapoint. What was really great about the show was that he mixed in a lot of lost tracks and rarities that I've never heard him play live before. Of course the last hour or so of the show was a greatest hits romp....but he really did a nice job of mixing up the songs. He looked to be in much better shape than the last time I saw him...maybe he really is laying off the booze. He also did a nice tribute to Wilson Pickett as well.
Here are a couple reviews from the Boston papers if anybody is interested or planning on going to a show on this tour...
http://theedge.bostonherald.com/musicNe ... eid=122161
http://www.boston.com/ae/music/articles ... tertainer/
Billy Joel follow-up
Moderator: SMLCHNG
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MonumentBeach
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Billy Joel follow-up
Ashes of laughter
The ghost is clear
Why do the best things always disappear?
The ghost is clear
Why do the best things always disappear?
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phjim
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I can't wait to see him in Boston on Saturday 2/4.
Here's a good fan site to check out (not mine):
http://joelfan.orlowski.com/forum/
Here's a good fan site to check out (not mine):
http://joelfan.orlowski.com/forum/
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MonumentBeach
- License to Chill
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Thanks for the link jim. You'll enjoy the show I'm sure.
Here is a copy of the Boston Globe review as I know sometimes their site asks for a password...
Joel is still a showman's entertainer
By Joan Anderman, Globe Staff | January 21, 2006
Billy Joel hasn't put out any new music in 13 years, but he has been practicing piano. The 56-year-old singer-songwriter kicked off his sold-out Garden show Thursday night, the first of three Boston dates, as the human jackhammer, nailing the intro to ''Angry Young Man," in near-ridiculous rapid fire, chops-heavy band in tow.
Two-and-a-half hours of mostly greatest hits followed, amiably curated by the artist -- who supplied vintages, album titles, and brief commentary along the lines of a helpful docent.
''The Ballad of Billy the Kid," we learned, is historically inaccurate. ''The Great Wall of China" was written when he was angry with his ex-manager. And so on. Joel isn't the most charismatic of showmen; he invited fans seated behind the stage to check their makeup on the back of his head. But at his best, he's a fine tunesmith, and even if big-money saloon songs aren't your bag, there's no arguing with ''New York State of Mind" and ''Piano Man." They just work, and Joel and his excellent, old-school sidemen (and woman) played them with all the sentimental gusto they deserved.
There were few surprises. A couple of obscure tracks made the set list -- among them ''Everybody Loves You Now," a folk-rocker from 1971's ''Cold Spring Harbor" that, Joel noted, he used to sing at the late great Paul's Mall. The evening was devoted to crowd-pleasers, and the crowd was pleased to hear ''Stiletto," which featured the most acoustically-pristine finger-snapping in memory, ''Zanzibar," with its sleek double-time flügelhorn break, and snappy ''Allentown," during which Joel trotted out his impressive arsenal of man-made factory noises.
That nearly all of the 26 songs have stood the test of time was testament to Joel's often underrated stature as a pop-radio classicist. That ''Just the Way You Are" was excluded from the set was testament to his good taste. Glaring exceptions -- performed back-to-back -- were ''Sometimes a Fantasy," a dreadful ditty that evoked Pat Benatar in a '50s mood, and ''Sleeping With the Television On," another tinny rocker that strained toward a vaguely distant and unappealing past.
Redemption arrived shortly in the form of a throat-shredding, soul-saturated ''In the Midnight Hour" sung in tribute to Wilson Pickett, who died Thursday.
Despite his milquetoast image, Joel is a political man. ''Goodnight Saigon," a solid, sweeping ballad and a moving portrait of war, was ornamented onstage with four actual swaying veterans, arms linked under ghostly lights. And while ''We Didn't Start the Fire" won't advance Joel's guitar-god credentials, it did get fists and blood pumping in preparation for the grand-slam, high-octane (relatively speaking) finale: ''Big Shot," ''It's Still Rock & Roll to Me," ''You May Be Right," ''Only the Good Die Young," ''Scenes From an Italian Restaurant," and ''Piano Man."
On the eve of a record-breaking 11-show run at Madison Square Garden, it's clear neither the passing years nor changing fashions have dimmed Billy Joel's star.
Here is a copy of the Boston Globe review as I know sometimes their site asks for a password...
Joel is still a showman's entertainer
By Joan Anderman, Globe Staff | January 21, 2006
Billy Joel hasn't put out any new music in 13 years, but he has been practicing piano. The 56-year-old singer-songwriter kicked off his sold-out Garden show Thursday night, the first of three Boston dates, as the human jackhammer, nailing the intro to ''Angry Young Man," in near-ridiculous rapid fire, chops-heavy band in tow.
Two-and-a-half hours of mostly greatest hits followed, amiably curated by the artist -- who supplied vintages, album titles, and brief commentary along the lines of a helpful docent.
''The Ballad of Billy the Kid," we learned, is historically inaccurate. ''The Great Wall of China" was written when he was angry with his ex-manager. And so on. Joel isn't the most charismatic of showmen; he invited fans seated behind the stage to check their makeup on the back of his head. But at his best, he's a fine tunesmith, and even if big-money saloon songs aren't your bag, there's no arguing with ''New York State of Mind" and ''Piano Man." They just work, and Joel and his excellent, old-school sidemen (and woman) played them with all the sentimental gusto they deserved.
There were few surprises. A couple of obscure tracks made the set list -- among them ''Everybody Loves You Now," a folk-rocker from 1971's ''Cold Spring Harbor" that, Joel noted, he used to sing at the late great Paul's Mall. The evening was devoted to crowd-pleasers, and the crowd was pleased to hear ''Stiletto," which featured the most acoustically-pristine finger-snapping in memory, ''Zanzibar," with its sleek double-time flügelhorn break, and snappy ''Allentown," during which Joel trotted out his impressive arsenal of man-made factory noises.
That nearly all of the 26 songs have stood the test of time was testament to Joel's often underrated stature as a pop-radio classicist. That ''Just the Way You Are" was excluded from the set was testament to his good taste. Glaring exceptions -- performed back-to-back -- were ''Sometimes a Fantasy," a dreadful ditty that evoked Pat Benatar in a '50s mood, and ''Sleeping With the Television On," another tinny rocker that strained toward a vaguely distant and unappealing past.
Redemption arrived shortly in the form of a throat-shredding, soul-saturated ''In the Midnight Hour" sung in tribute to Wilson Pickett, who died Thursday.
Despite his milquetoast image, Joel is a political man. ''Goodnight Saigon," a solid, sweeping ballad and a moving portrait of war, was ornamented onstage with four actual swaying veterans, arms linked under ghostly lights. And while ''We Didn't Start the Fire" won't advance Joel's guitar-god credentials, it did get fists and blood pumping in preparation for the grand-slam, high-octane (relatively speaking) finale: ''Big Shot," ''It's Still Rock & Roll to Me," ''You May Be Right," ''Only the Good Die Young," ''Scenes From an Italian Restaurant," and ''Piano Man."
On the eve of a record-breaking 11-show run at Madison Square Garden, it's clear neither the passing years nor changing fashions have dimmed Billy Joel's star.
Ashes of laughter
The ghost is clear
Why do the best things always disappear?
The ghost is clear
Why do the best things always disappear?
-
SouthernSeas
- We are the People our Parents Warned us
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Thanks for all the reviews guys! I have been looking to see how he has been doing on tour and all. I am driving over 13 hours up to Hartford, CT to see him March 28th. I have excellent seats (20 rows from stage -- dead center --- section 2 on the floor).
The only thing I am p*** about is the fact that he is only performing up in the frigid northern territories of USA. He has not really released any southern dates (only a few in Florida). He needs a new booking agent from the looks of it. Not many people are happy with the North East attention. Come to Carolina Billy!!
The only thing I am p*** about is the fact that he is only performing up in the frigid northern territories of USA. He has not really released any southern dates (only a few in Florida). He needs a new booking agent from the looks of it. Not many people are happy with the North East attention. Come to Carolina Billy!!
Sunset Beach is my Margaritaville. Where there is endless beach, no time, and sunshine that seems to last forever. I know that Someday I Will.....Someday.