The Piano Man

"Sing us a song, you’re the Piano Man. Sing us a song tonight. ‘Cause we’re all in the mood for a melody and you’ve got us feeling alright."
- Piano Man, by Billy Joel

Last night, Anita and I were 2 of nearly 20,000 people singing these words to close out Billy Joel’s concert at HersheyPark Stadium. More accurately, I was one of the people singing. Anita kinda just sat there and watched, somewhat amused (I think she just didn’t know the words, lol).

The evening was perfect for an outdoor concert, which I convinced is the only way to watch Billy Joel. His music is just too good to be confined to a stuffy arena. The temperature was mild, there was a gentle breeze throughout the evening, the humidity was practically non-existent, and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. The sound was perfect – we sat on field level, close to the rear of the stadium, and there was never a point where I felt we were missing something in the sound relay. The balance was perfect between instruments and vocals, and the sound only lagged a second behind the video, which was perfectly acceptable, given our distance from the stage.

The concert began a bit late, as the decision was made to let the sun set behind the walls of the stadium before beginning the show. It turned out to be a good decision, as the setting sun would have made it difficult to clearly see the video displays on either side of the stage. But once the concert began, it was non-stop energy and excitement, which is impressive when you consider that he hasn’t produced a commercial album (his classical album, "Fantasies and Delusions" not withstanding) in over 15 years. And the audience was as diverse a crowd as I’ve ever seen at a concert. I saw a couple who had to be well into their 70’s, as well as families with children easily as young as 5 or 6. In fact, in our general vicinity, there were a lot of people who were college-age, or at least not much older than that. I would have guessed high-school age, but given the volume of beer most of these kids consumed, I’m going with at least 21. It did make me chuckle that at least 60% of the songs performed were written and released before most of these kids were even born. Yet there they were, singing along to every song.
I think that’s one of the things that makes Billy Joel such a great artist – his music spans generations and isn’t marketed towards any one specific demographic. During "Goodnight, Saigon," he had a group of men singing the chorus, some of whom were around during the Viet Nam crisis, others who were clearly not even born during that time. Yet there they were, standing shoulder to shoulder, every one of them singing along.

And he’s a great performer as well. It was refreshing to sit back (well, stand, actually) and watch a concert that didn’t require a flashy stage show or pyrotechnics to overwhelm the performance of the artist. In fact, the only special effect was the piano platform spun, very slowly, 180-degrees so that he could face everyone in the audience at different parts of the show. Otherwise, it was completely about the music, which is where the focus should always be. With his songs, you need to hear the lyrics, to experience the grandeur of the instrumentals, to immerse yourself in the blend of the music. He tells a story with each song, and he uses more than just words to tell that story. There are few artists in the music world today that can accomplish this feat.

All in all, the evening was nearly perfect. In fact, the only real complaint I have is that it took us almost as long to get out of the friggin’ parking lot as it did to listen to the concert. The show ended at just about 11:00, and it was 12:40 before we were able to get out of the HersheyPark complex and onto the main highway. Nothing like leaving a feel-good concert to bring out the absolute depths of obnoxiousness from the general populous. It was a frustrating end to an otherwise perfect concert experience.