Billy Joel - Toronto, March 9th, 2014
Here is the full song-by-song review as requested by Lisnaholic.
Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway) - Not a song you hear played much. It was an energetic way to start the show.
Pressure - Never liked the song. Even with the strobe lights, I'd still rather have heard Tell Her About It or Say Goodbye to Hollywood. Billy then teased the crowd with I Only Have SARS For You.
The Entertainer - One of my favourites. Billy followed it up with a frighteningly good Gordon Lightfoot impression for a snippet of If You Could Read My Mind.
Vienna - One of those songs which I'm indifferent about. I enjoyed it more live than recorded.
Up on Cripple Creek - He did part of this song by The Band because he was in
Ontario...?
Zanzibar - An absolutely scorching trumpet solo. It got to the point where you couldn't tell it was a trumpet.
And So It Goes - My favourite of Billy's ballads. Its understated piano and poignant lyrics were the perfect contrast to the preceding song's raucousness.
Allentown - This was one of only two songs that didn't stack up to the recording, in my opinion. Still a great tune, though. He then played the intro of The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald and followed it up with his own ship song,
The Downeaster "Alexa"
New York State of Mind - Speaks for itself.
Sometimes a Fantasy - Kind of a "meh" song for me. I'd never heard it before, and I didn't leave with an overwhelming desire to hear it again.
Movin' Out (Anthony's Song) - Billy then announced that the lighting director had just gotten married and played a snippet of... Queen's Another One Bites the Dust.
She's Always a Woman - I don't know why, but this was an absolute show-stopper. The audience was hanging on every word.
Don't Ask Me Why - Another song that sounded better live.
Keeping the Faith - I wasn't as familiar with this song as most of the others, but I think it, too, bettered the recording.
The River of Dreams/A Hard Day's Night - I sang every word of the closing three, or four, if you count the half of the Beatles' A Hard Day's Night, which Billy threw in unexpectedly (or at least until we heard the opening chord!) right in the middle of The River of Dreams.
Scenes From an Italian Restaurant - Always has been my favourite. The brass was all there, even the trombone.
Piano Man - Everyone knew all the words and sang along, and for one of the choruses, Billy just let the crowd ask him to"sing us a song tonight". He left the stage and returned with a guitar for his encore.
We Didn't Start the Fire - What Billy called "a genuine rock and roll f***-up". They played the first verse, then kind of stopped while he criticized the melody. "Na-na-na, na-na-na, verse after verse. One of the worst melodies I ever wrote." I have to agree with him. They played the rest of the song, and Billy put the guitar away for
Uptown Girl - He danced around like in the music video, but with a microphone instead of a wrench.
It's Still Rock and Roll to Me - More microphone dancing here.
You May Be Right - Really improved upon the recording, in my opinion. The crowd was appreciative, and then Bily returned to his piano for
Only the Good Die Young
It was an incredible show. Billy is quite the entertainer. Highly recommended. Just arrive about half an hour late to avoid the opening act...
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