Elton John and Billy Joel:Face 2 Face Tour

Last night I went to see Elton John and Billy Joel together in concert. Oh my. I spent my entire adolescence listening to these guys. I vividly remember laying on the floor, album playing, reading everything on the LP covers.

I had a very handsome date along (my son, Jamie) who has been enjoying both artists from his young perspective in this digital age. He downloads their music on his computer and/or iPhone and is as familiar with their songs as I am.

We found our seats which were behind the stage and waaaay up high. We looked right down on the empty stage. Soon the lights dimmed and two large rectangles opened up in the stage. From these black holes rose two grand pianos. The arena exploded into applause.

Billy Joel took the stage from our left, wearing a dark suit and waving to the crowd. Elton John appeared from the right, wearing what can only be described as his version of a suit and also waved to the cheering audience. The two met in the middle and shook hands.

And then we were off!

Note: To those of you unfamiliar with this whole blogging business, if you see an arrow under a picture, it's a video. Click on the arrow. You may have to click it twice.



They performed together at first, alternating between an Elton John hit and a Billy Joel hit.
Elton John and Billy Joel:

Your Song
Just The Way You Are




Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me




My Life



During thunderous applause, following "My Life," Billy Joel took some bows and exited. His piano sank back under the stage. Elton John continued the show alone.

Elton John:

Funeral For A Friend/Love Lies Bleeding
Saturday Night's Alright (For Fighting)

Burn Down The Mission
Madman Across The Water
Tiny Dancer
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
Daniel
Rocket Man
Levon
I'm Still Standing
Crocodile Rock


Elton John took lots of bows after his last song and then it was Billy's turn.

Billy Joel:



Billy provided more banter than Elton. Before he started to sing, he thanked the people in the top rows in front of the stage. He pointed way up towards them and said, "Thanks for buying those seats up there in Denton!" (I think it's a town in Texas that's pretty far from here. Gimme a break, I'm not from here!)
Then he turned and pointed to those of us sitting behind the stage and said, "And your seats are better than you thought they'd be, right?" Finally, he pointed behind his head to the folks seated on the side of the stage and said, "But those guys are just screwed."

Actually, they weren't. Billy's piano spun slowly on a turntable, so everybody got a good view of his hands flying across the keyboard.

Prelude/Angry Young Man
Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)
Allentown
Don't Ask Me Why
Zanzibar
She's Always A Woman
Scenes From An Italian Restaurant
River Of Dreams
There's a point in the middle of this song where the music stops for four counts and then resumes. At the concert during this pause, Billy started to tinkle the piano keys in a teasing manner until he finally broke out into "Deep In The Heart of Texas." He didn't sing the words, but we did. And then he went back to "River of Dreams."

When "River of Dreams" ended, Billy got up from the piano and we watched it disappear below the stage. My heart sank. I thought he was done. But then a stage hand gave him a guitar (A GUITAR?! I've never seen him play guitar.) and he launched into...

We Didn't Start The Fire
It's Still Rock'n'Roll To Me
During this song Billy did an amusing 'dance' with his microphone stand. He twirled it, pushed it over and pulled it back, leaned low to the side while singing into the mic and finally threw it straight up into the air at the end. Then he dramatically tossed it offstage to a waiting stage hand. It was very entertaining.

His piano rose up once again from beneath the stage and he launched into a raucous version of...

Only The Good Die Young

Elton returned and the two of them wrapped up this 3 1/2 hour concert with these songs:

Elton John and Billy Joel:

I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues
Uptown Girl
The Bitch Is Back
You May Be Right
Bennie And The Jets
They Say It's Your Birthday
Back In The U.S.S.R.
Candle In The Wind
Piano Man
Everyone sang this song loud. Even my ultra-cool son, Jamie. At one point all the music ceased and the audience sang while Billy and Elton looked out at the crowd smiling.

And then it was over. It was an amazing show. My son and I agreed it was rock and roll history. We'll be telling his kids about it.



I have to share that the only other time I've seen Billy Joel perform live was back in college. He did a show on campus. I was aware of him, but not the huge fan I am today. That show turned me on to him. I have every album, including one bootleg. I even saved the review that appeared in our school paper. There aren't many musicians you can say you followed for a lifetime: