Billy Joel Concert Review

I'll admit - I'm a big, big Billy Joel fan.

There are some artists of which you know the hits, and some you know most of the catalog - and I'm pretty intimate with most Billy Joel albums.  Having seen him in concert numerous times over the years, I know the general drill - you'll usually get a high energy greatest hits set, with a spot or two for a rare nugget for the hardcore fans.

Now that Billy has been at it for 40 years, he's made it clear he doesn't just want to play the hits anymore - and that was made evident from the get go at PNC Arena last night with the opener "Miami 2017".  The first 45 minutes of the show was filled with great moments of joy for huge fans (otherwise known as bathroom breaks for casual fans).  This included songs like "Summer, Highland Falls" (my favorite Billy Joel song), "Zanzibar", and "Sometimes A Fantasy".

As I predicted on Twitter, Billy (who has claimed the Beatles appearance on Ed Sullivan inspired him to pursue a career in music) played a Beatles cover last night, on the 50th anniversary of that show - in fact he played three Beatles songs.  "Can't Buy Me Love", "The Night Before", and "She Loves You" all sounded fantastic.

As usual, the audience was bombarded with hits in the last hour.  I don't think you'll ever see a Billy Joel show lacking "Movin' Out", "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant", "Piano Man", "You May Be Right", "It's Still Rock n Roll To Me", or "Only The Good Die Young" (though he oddly swapped out "Big Shot" for "We Didn't Start the Fire").

Billy's voice was in better form than it's been in many years.  While in the recent past he's used background singers for the high notes, this time he was nailing even the most challenging of them.  Radio 96.1 and DJ Collin Y hosted Billy Joel karaoke before the show, making it a memorable evening from start to finish.

Foster
P.R.O. (Petty RadioHead Officer)
Radio 96.1