Last month, on February 9, Jay & I saw Billy Joel when he performed at the PNC Arena in Raleigh, NC. We weren’t sure what to expect, to be honest, mainly because Billy has had some well documented “troubles” and we didn’t quite know if they would affect his performance or not. I am so happy to say that they most certainly did not because Billy sounded great, had fantastic crowd interaction, and even danced for us a little bit at the end. The night we saw him was the same night that the Beatles anniversary concert aired on PBS or whatever channel it was. Billy made that his “theme” for us, thanking the crowd for watching him perform when they could easily be at home watching the Beatles tribute and then throwing in Beatles songs throughout the night, like “Can’t Buy Me Love” (“Here’s one I didn’t write, but I wish I did,” he introduced it) and “Hard Day’s Night” in the middle of “River of Dreams.”
If you get the chance to see Billy Joel in concert, whether it’s a year from now at MSG, or if he randomly tours in your city, you definitely should. Jay, who always asked me “What’s the big deal about Billy Joel?,” has become a fan now.
If you want to brush up on your Billy Joel:
Setlist:
- Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway)
- Pressure
- Sometimes a Fantasy
- Can’t Buy Me Love (The Beatles cover)
- Summer, Highland Falls
- Zanzibar
- Where’s the Orchestra?
- Allentown
- A Room of Our Own
- Uptown Girl (preceded by “The Night Before”… more)
- Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song)
- She’s Always a Woman (preceded by “Your Song”, 1 … more)
- The Entertainer
- Don’t Ask Me Why
- The River of Dreams (with “A Hard Day’s Night”, … more)
- Scenes From an Italian Restaurant
- Piano Man
Encore:
-
(The Beatles cover)
Here’s “Can’t Buy Me Love”
and “Uptown Girl”
