Billy Joel – July 12th – Coors Field

Photo Courtesy of Myrna Suarez

If I’m being honest, Billy Joel is not a guy that I’m following much (if at all) these days but that wasn’t always true. Going up a “classic rock” fan, in the North East in the 80’s, the guy was everywhere and I vividly remember not being able to go see his Storm Front tour in 1990 and being pretty upset about it. I finally did see him in Philadelphia in 1993, and went to catch him several more times in the 90’s and 2000’s (I even saw him do a solo Q&A and storytelling performance at Princeton University). All in all, I’ve probably seen him five or six times over the last 30 years and he typically puts on a pretty solid show. So, when the opportunity came to catch him one more time, I snatched it up.

Massive lines snaked through the concourses of the stadium as the the crowd, a vibrant mix of ages and backgrounds, buzzed with anticipation long before Joel took his seat at the grand piano. When the first notes of “Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway)” echoed through the stadium, I was instantly transported back to those days of listening to Storm Front on my yellow Sony Walkman (yes, I know “Miami 2017 isn’t on Storm Front). Make no mistake, this show was about nostalgia for me and I even hung out with two friends who I met 30 years ago at the show (both also from the North East). I think just about everyone in the massive stadium knew the words to every song and they proved it as the sang along loudly to hits like “Pressure” and “The Entertainer” before encouraging Billy as he reached for the high notes in “Innocent Man.” Throughout the evening Joel shared self-deprecating stories and gave us some insight into the history of some of his biggest hits like we were in his living room.

Coors Field, typically the home of the Rockies, proved (unsurprisingly) to be a challenging concert venue. The sound, initially muddled, took the first four or five songs to get dialed in properly. However, once it was adjusted, things became crisper and more clear, carrying Joel’s voice and piano work across the expansive field.

Midway through the show Joel reeled off a string of four of my favorites including “New York State of Mind,” “Movin’ Out,” “Allentown,” and “My Life” and made it crystal clear why he’s still playing stadiums; he’s one of the great songwriters and his work is firmly cemented in the cannon of American popular music alongside the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon, and Bob Seger.

The marquee moment of the night came, not from Joel, but rather from his rhythm guitarist Mike DelGuidice who delivered a jaw dropping take on Puccini’s “Nessun Dorma” from the opera Turandot. It was stunning and you could pretty much hear a pin drop in the cavernous stadium. Not wanting to be upstaged, Billy dug deep into his bag of tricks and (appropriately) served up the epic, multi-part “Scenes From An Italian Restaurant” to the delight of just about everyone.

As you may have guessed, the main set closed with “Piano Man” and, while I have heard that song a million times, it’s always cool when 40 thousand people sing together under a sea of cell phone lights. Joel even stopped singing and playing to listen to everyone singing back at him and soak it all in. I have to admit it was a cool moment!

As the evening drew to a close, Joel’s encore of “We Didn’t Start the Fire,” “Uptown Girl,” “It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me,” “Big Shot,” and “You May Be Right” had some of the best energy of the night as everyone was finally on their feet.

Has a lost a step or two? Sure, but the guy is 75 and he’s still out there doing it pretty darn well. As he even said before teasing “Start Me Up” “I’m no Mick Jagger!” A lot has changed in the 30 years since my first Billy Joel show, but those songs will remain a part of me forever. Hats off to the Piano Man!