What do Puccini, Joe Cocker and The Tokens have in common? All three were unexpected treats at Saturday night’s show, inasmuch as “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” can be considered a crowd pleaser and not karaoke-based punishment. Also surprisingly featured in this two-and-a-half hour, nearly sold out gig at Wembley Stadium? Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, “Rule Britannia”, and some deep cuts from 1970s and 80s albums by Billy Joel. Nice that those particular songs got squeezed in, considering the name on the ticket was Joel himself.
What can we say, the man loves music. So much that he also let his guitar tech, a man looking like he was born with his nickname (Chainsaw) come out and command the stage with a crowd-rocking version of “Highway to Hell,” while Billy prowled the front row playing guitar. And all of this after the 67-year-old Pianoman had the nerve to tell the slightly damp but enthusiastic crowd, “I don’t have anything new for you – just the same old shit.”
AC/DC to NYC
Keep the crap coming, Billy. Looking like a seacaptain come a’land to find his missing pipe, or a jovial Paul Giammati, or a partially shaven Fozzie Bear – I could go on, but let’s just say his years of hard living and hard lovin’ have caught up, to an extent – a laidback Joel held court from an occasionally rotating piano, a nice technical move for the punters in the side seats. He opened the show with “Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway)”, one of his many nods to New York, America, the past and the future.
“Last time I played here it was Hammersmith,” Joel noted, “and the first time, Drury Lane Theatre, 50 people – they hated me”. And he risked the wrath of Saturday’s ticket-holders by dropping the T word, saying his “The Entertainer” was, well, not exactly dedicated to Donald Trump, but “reminded” Joel of the presidential candidate. When those in the audience not aware of the lyrics to the song expressed dissatisfaction, Joel smiled, wagged a finger and shook his head. “uh nuh nuh…,” he admonished. “Brexit…???”
Drawing from 40 years of songs…
This buddy-buddy, “just happy to be here” vibe lasted all night. Four times the singer let the audience choose between two of his songs, one time warning that a set was for “you manic-depressives out there” and throwing out a pairing consisting of songs that “sure weren’t barnburners”. Of course he played “Piano Man” (I asked my companion, do you think he has the cajones NOT to? Answer: no) and “Allentown” (ok, sure, why not) and “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant” (never gets old for me) and “We Didn’t Start the Fire” (err, no comment), but the set list dug deep: “You May Be Right”, “Zanzibar”, “Sometimes a Fantasy” (complete with dial-tone opening and heavy breathing), which he reminded us was banned from some US radio stations when it debuted in 1980.
Add to this, microphone tossing, Elton John-mocking, fly-swatting and jokes at his own expense, and the fact that the misty rain stopped as soon as the lights went down — all involved had a wonderful night. The Old Sea Captain’s voice was pitch-perfect, his band was tight, and while he didn’t slide across the piano or jump into the crowd like he used to, his old shit was still rock and roll.
…to me. There. Yes, I had to complete that.
only missing a star because he allowed the audience to select “Just the Way You Are”. That is the fondue of songs.
More Billy Joel: Streetlife Serenade Review
More Live Music: An Evening with Todd Rundgren
A former ABC National, Dallas and Atlanta radio personality, Martina O'Boyle is now making movies and covering culture in London, Dublin, and as far in Europe as the cheapie flights will take her, for Pop Culture Beast.