Billy Joel at Wrigley Field 2018

Despite being a big Billy Joel fan, my first Billy concert happened almost by accident. In the pre-internet days, info wasn't readily available everywhere. I learned about his tour for "The Bridge" as I walked by Rose Records downtown Chicago. Tickets just went on sale and I decided to go in and get a pair. I think they were about $20.

Fast forward to early this year, when another Wrigley Field concert was announced. The September date worried me a bit because of the potential weather issues, but that wouldn't stop me from attending. Billy would be 69 at concert time and you never know when he will stop touring.

My sister Jean and brother-in-law Scott agreed to join me. Although not huge fans, they enjoy concerts and I was glad to go with them, especially since I would be intruding on their 33rd anniversary.

My early weather concerns were realized, as rain was predicted for the day. We endured some rain early on through mid-afternoon. We ate lunch and did a little bar-hopping, hoping for the storm to pass, which it did by late afternoon.

Billy opened with "Big Shot" and closed with "You May Be Right," as the 4th encore song. All told, Billy and the band romped through 26 songs, with Billy getting a short rerst as two band members took the lead twice.

Crystal Taliefero took the lead on "Respect," as an homage to the recently deceased Aretha Franklin. A long-time favorite of mine, Crystal took center stage and rocked the house.

Later in the show, Mike DelGuidice showed his operatic abilities with a powerful rendition of "Nessun dorma." DelGuidice, who fronts Big Shot, a Billy cover band, has an amazing vocal range.

Billy isn't the dame raw performer that I first saw back in 1986, but he is just as enjoyable. His edgy energy has been replaced with polished showmanship. He has transitioned nicely in his older years.

This was my 12th Billy show and I will keep going as long as he keeps returning. I especially enjoyed seeing it with Jean and Scott. Sharing these experiences makes for great memories. I really appreciate them letting me join their anniversary weekend.

I wrote more about the night for Global Traveler at The Piano Man Plays Wrigley Field. It was the most read piece on GT's site, mostly thanks to DelGuidice sharing it on social media, for hich I am grateful.

Scott, Jean and me in Chicago, IL-September 2018.

Billy Joel At Wrigley Field 2017

I recently saw Billy Joel in concert at Wrigley Field, my third time seeing hi at this historic venue.  I wrote about this experience for Global Traveler at A Night With Billy Joel.

I have seen Billy Joel in concert over a dozen times.  I have seen him more times than all of my other concerts combined.  I don't generally like concerts, but I make the exception for Billy.

I have been a fan of Billy since the mid-1970's.  If you ask me for my favorite Billy song, I'll probably say "Vienna," but I could easily say about 10 others.  He hasn't put our new rock music in over 20 years, but his music is eternal to me.

Experiencing Billy at Wrigley is something special.  I have seen hundreds of games at Wrigley, but only Billy in concert there.  The same iconic skyline and scoreboard sit behind him on stage.  A breeze off of the lake comes in on occasion.  It is about as peaceful as a moment as I could imagine, yet it is in the middle of a concert mob.  Granted, the Billy crowd isn't exactly rowdy, but a concert is still a "scene" no matter wo is performing.

Each time I see Billy, I recall my early days of discovering him.  Each new album (or each old album) I got was a new treasure.  I also think that each time I see him might be the last time I see him.  I soak it in and commit it to memory.

I don't know how many more concerts Billy will have.  I just know that I will do my best to make sure I am at every one I can make.

Thank you Billy for giving me (and millions of others) so much joy.  I hope to see you in 2018!

Billy Joel at Wrigley Field in Chicago, IL-August 2017.

A New York State of Mind

On a recent trip to New York for Global Traveler, Louie and I knew we would have a few hours to kill.  I came up with the idea of visiting some spots where Billy Joel album cover pictures were taken.  Fortunately, Louie is a patient and easy-going person.  He agreed to go along with the plan.
Some quick internet research brought me to PopSpotsNYC, a great site run by Bob Egan.  Egan found an detailed a bunch of interesting spots of pop culture history in NY.  Three of those spots were Billy Joel album cover picture locations pretty close to our final destination for Global Traveler.
Billy’s 52nd Street (released in 1978) presented a little more of a challenge. Billy leaned against the building on 52nd Street, just east of Seventh Avenue in Times Square. The building/block has changed quite a bit, but thanks to Egan’s efforts, I found the exact spot where Billy leaned.

The cover for 1983’s Innocent Man was shot at 142 Mercer St. in Soho. The belief is that the stoop was chosen to pay homage to the doo-wop sounds of the album. There were several people eating lunch on the steps, but they volunteered to move so I could get a solo picture on the steps. Score one for the politeness of New Yorkers.

For Turnstiles, released in 1976, Billy posed at the turnstiles of the uptown side of the Astor Place subway station (Eighth Street and Fourth Avenue). Billy played in several clubs in this area. This was easy to find but difficult to photograph due to the usual subway volume of people.

Holiday Music Part 3:Billy Joel

I can't do any music list without naming Billy Joel.  As everyone knows, I am a longtime and avid Billy Joel fan(atic).
Unfortunately, the clip below is just audio.  Billy performs a duet of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" with none other than Rosie O'Donnell.  Yes, Rosie O'Donnell.  It was on a holiday album that O'Donnell released.  It's an odd combo, but it works.

Holiday Music-Part 7:Billy Joel

This is the last in my holiday music series. I didn't even plan on having a #7, but then I ran across this on line and it had to make my list.
I heard Billy Joel perform Auld Lang Syne for the Millennium Concert album. I should have known that he performed it at other shows in other years. Still, I had no idea there was video of Joel performing it in 1982 during the Nylon Curtain tour.
I hope you have enjoyed my holiday selections. If you didn't, get your own blog and you can put up your own favorite songs.
Happy New Year!

Wanted:Billy Joel, The Piano Man

This is the first in an unspecified series detailing my celeb 'Want to Meet' list.

As my friends know, I am a serious Billy Joel fan. I have to thank my childhood friend, Tom Skalski, for originally turning me onto the Piano Man. I think we were in the 7th grade at Sacred Heart School on the southeast side of Chicago.
Tom was always a bit ahead of me on the music scene, but once I heard Joel's music, I surpassed Tom on the fan level. That was an incredible 31 years ago.
Since then, I have been to a dozen Joel concerts. I realize this is not a huge number for most folks, but I generally hate concerts. Joel accounts for more than half of my total attended concerts.
I have also seen his musical, Movin' Out, which I highly recommend. I'm sure my praise is no surprise, but LD saw it with me, before she was much into Joel and she loved it, too, vindicating my biased opinion.
Joel is not likely to do any 'Meet and Greet' conventions. I am going to have to try a legitimate journalistic approach. Joel is #1 on my list, but probably the longest long shot.