Billy Joel is Timeless at Bank of America Stadium
The Piano Man Dazzles at His First Stadium Show Ever in Charlotte
“It’s a pretty good crowd for a Saturday
And the manager gives me a smile
‘Cause he knows that it’s me they’ve been comin’ to see
To forget about life for a while…”
After several years and several rescheduled events, Charlotte concert-goers finally got what they have been patiently waiting for, Billy Joel had arrived in the Queen City. Tens of thousands of music lovers gathered at Bank of America Stadium for a night they would never forget.
It was a perfect night for an outdoor concert. The weather was beautiful and the crowd was buzzing with excitement. We may have been in the heart of Uptown Charlotte but everyone was definitely in a “New York State of Mind.” Fans young and old filled the stadium from couples in their seventies and eighties to young families. I spotted a family with a baby wearing a “My first Billy Joel concert” shirt and a young couple in front held up a sign saying that they missed their prom in order to come to the show.
After a bit of a late start, a taped version of the Randy Newman song “The Natural” began to play and Joel’s eight-piece band made their way out onto the stage followed by the Piano Man himself. Billy took his seat at his piano which was situated in the front of the stage, dead-center, raised on a platform that slowly rotated during the performance.
“I don’t need you to worry for me ’cause I’m alright
I don’t want you to tell me it’s time to come home
I don’t care what you say anymore this is my life
Go ahead with your own life leave me alone…”
The night began with a rousing version of “My Life” from Joel’s 1978 album 52nd Street and we were off to a fantastic start of what would become an epic night. It was clear from the start that Joel was healthy and feeling great. In fact, Joel sounds as good at 72 as he did at 32 and that is saying a lot. He joked between songs saying that this song wasn’t even a hit when there’s no doubt it was a classic Joel tune, penned by one of the most prolific songwriters of our time.
I won’t go into the details of each and every song. For that, you can purchase a ticket for his next performance but there are some things that just need to be mentioned. Not only are Joel’s vocals still top-notch, but his keyboard skills are beyond compare. To say that he spent the night tickling the ivories would be an understatement as his fingers simply floated over the keys in a majestic march that really is beyond compare.
From pop-rock radio hits to beautiful ballads, Joel’s music is classic with songs that appeal to everyone and anyone. One moment we were transported to a city jazz club as the lights dazzled and Joel’s piano rotated as he got us into a “New York State of Mind” complete with gorgeous horns from his saxophone player Mark Rivera and the next we were trading in our Chevy’s for a Cadillac, ack, ack, ack, ack during “Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song).
The giant screens on each side of the stage, changed imagery for each song, sometimes giving us close-up views of Joel’s fingers flying across the keys or individual band members, which by the way are some of the most talented and gifted musicians on the planet. Joel stepped away from his piano and came to the front of the stage, introducing the next song as one that he doesn’t play often due to all the high notes, apologizing in advance if he doesn’t hit them all, and joking that if he didn’t hit them, we would know it. He needn’t have worried as his performance of “An Innocent Man” was flawless, giving us all goosebumps as he hit every high note, soaring over the stadium in breathtaking beauty.
Joel then took us on a journey through the struggles of the working class in his ode to the steel industry “Allentown” but then had us swinging and swaying to “Keeping the Faith.” But it was during the next song, that I shed the first of what would be many tears of happiness and joy that night. There was a man and a woman two rows behind me that stood up and started weeping openly with tears of joy as soon as they heard the first notes of “She’s Always a Woman.” I’m not sure if it was a proposal, an anniversary, or just a simple memory of a shared moment in time, but those around them soaked up their feelings and I know I wasn’t the only one searching for a tissue. It was a beautiful moment, the kind that speaks to the power of music and how much of our lives can be relived through a simple song.
It’s good that next on the setlist were a few rockers because I think we all needed a moment after that and dancing and singing along to “Only the Good Die Young” was just what the doctor or in this case, the Piano Man, ordered. We were soon treated to a bit of “Dancing In The Street” sung by the talented and multi-instrumentalist Crystal Taliefero during “The River of Dreams.”
“A bottle of white, a bottle of red
Perhaps a bottle of rose instead…”
The beauty and majesty of Italian composer Giacomo Puccini’s “Nessun dorma” led to the next song selection which had Bank of America Stadium turned into the biggest Italian restaurant in Charlotte as the roar of the crowd could be heard as soon as the first notes began to “Scenes From An Italian Restaurant.” It was a powerful performance that ushered in the crown jewel of the night. As Billy lowered his harmonica holder, the entire stadium erupted and he joked that this one wasn’t really a hit either and that it didn’t make any money. We all knew what was coming but I don’t know if any of us were truly prepared for just how amazing it would be. As Joel blew into his harp, everyone stood up and began to sing along with the one and only “Piano Man.” It was as if we were all sitting in a bar with just Billy playing the piano as we sang along. When he got to the final verse, “It was a pretty good crowd for a Saturday…,” the applause was thundering and the roars were deafening as Joel took us one more time into the chorus, stopping and letting the crowd sing it for him.
“Sing us the song, you’re the piano man
Sing us a song tonight
Well, we’re all in the mood for a melody
And you’ve got us feelin’ alright.”
And certainly, that was the case, we were all feelin’ most definitely alright at that moment. I’m sure you could hear us a mile away as we cheered and screamed “Billy!” as the stage lights went dark.
“Everybody’s talkin’ ’bout the new sound
Funny, but it’s still rock and roll to me.”
The first part of the evening may have had us swinging from one emotion to the next, but for his outstanding five-song encore, it was all rock and roll to Billy Joel. The giant LED screens lit up with flames and Joel was taking us through a history lesson for “We Didn’t Start the Fire” before we were all “Uptown Girls,” literally as we danced and sang. Joel was working his microphone like Steven Tyler during “It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me,” as he swung, flipped, and eventually threw his mic stand as he had us jumping in the stands. Is this man really 72 years old? He sure didn’t seem it as he unquestionably still has rock and roll in his soul. It was all swagger for “Big Shot” and indeed we all pretty much felt like one being at Joel’s show on this night.
“You may be right
I may be crazy
Oh, but it just may be a lunatic you’re looking for
It’s too late to fight
It’s too late to change me
You may be wrong for all I know
But you may be right.”
The grand finale of this monumental evening of rock and roll came with a rock the stadium performance of “You May Be Right” during which guitars were sizzling and Joel was riding his piano bench like a bucking bronco at a cowboy bar. What a night!
Billy Joel gave us his heart and soul, leaving nothing left at the end of the night. We laughed, we cried, we danced, we sang and we all got to forget about life for a while. Thank you Billy for an amazing performance that the Queen City will never forget. Until next time…
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