(no subject)
I saw Billy Joel and Elton John in concert last night. It was, of course, incredible. We were behind the stage, three rows from the top, seats that actually did not suck. Yeah, I pretty much only saw the band's back, but Joel and John were both in profile pretty much the entire time. They played a few songs together at first, started with "Your Song", "My Life" and others I don't remember. Then, Sir Elton played a set of his classics, including "Mad Man Across the Water" and an epic 15 minute long "Rocketman". Actually, all of his songs were epic long, because he added extended jam sessions to all of them. And after each song he would jump up and pump his fists in the air like, "Yes!! I am Elton John and I ROCK!!" Awesome. He's also a lot shorter than you think he would be, but he was totally rocking that silk coat with floor length tails. Then, Billy Joel played his solo set. I'm relatively certain that he was not sober (humping the piano during one song was a clue), but, hey, as long as he's not driving the bus and doesn't forget his own songs. He did a LOT more chatting with the crowd, making really lame jokes at his own expense, and so on. He turned to the people sitting behind him and pointed to his nearly bald head and said, "Sorry, you guys are just getting a lot of head right now." :p After "She's Always a Woman" and "Uptown Girl" he slowly said, "And then we got divorced." For a while he was introducing every song, when it came out, what album, etc. Before one he just said, "Eh, this one came out in like 1929 or something, whatever" OH, and then his piano went away and he grabbed a guitar before saying, "So, I may not remember all the lyrics to this one. Help me out, I'm getting up there and there's a lot of words." At which point everybody went batshit, except me and Dez who were all, "Okay, we know you can't do everything, but you cut "New York State of Mind" in favor of "We Didn't Start the Fire"?
So then Sir Elton came back and they rocked it for 6 or so more songs - "Benny and the Jets", "Uptown Girls", "I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues", and so on, then sent the rest of the band away for "Candle in the Wind", and, of course, wrapped up with "Piano Man".
I don't usually dig concerts. It's crowded and loud, expensive and a real pain in the ass. (Stuck for an hour in the goddam parking garage. AN HOUR) But this was totally worth it.
So then Sir Elton came back and they rocked it for 6 or so more songs - "Benny and the Jets", "Uptown Girls", "I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues", and so on, then sent the rest of the band away for "Candle in the Wind", and, of course, wrapped up with "Piano Man".
I don't usually dig concerts. It's crowded and loud, expensive and a real pain in the ass. (Stuck for an hour in the goddam parking garage. AN HOUR) But this was totally worth it.