Billy Joel, Gavin DeGraw

Consol Energy Center, Pittsburgh, PA.....

It was my first time seeing Joel, even though I'm not a hater like so many other people that I know have bafflingly turned out to be. I can't fathom why any Piano Man with a sense of melody get dismissed as fluff by so many "cool" music fans (Ben Folds gets a pass because he's never had a true hit). Maybe it's because I'm such a Beatles fan and appreciate Joel reaching for similar approaches to songwriting, but I've always been a fan. And seeing a concert like this reminds you how much of a human jukebox the man has been over his career.

The fact that he released his last non-classical album more than 20 years prior to this concert and, therefore, had no new album to promote was also an interesting wrinkle to the setlist. In the places where an artist like McCartney or Springsteen or the Stones would be playing the new songs (and sending many attendees to visit their local concessionaires for overpriced cans of near-beer), Joel was playing deep cuts. I soon noticed during the show that few people were leaving their seats except to stand and cheer. I wonder if the food and drink vendors at venues hate it when Billy Joel comes to town and cause a hit to their sales projections.


 

Billy Joel setlist:

  • Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway)
  • Pressure
  • All for Leyna
  • When I'm Sixty-Four
  • The Entertainer
  • Summer, Highland Falls
  • Zanzibar
  • And So It Goes
  • Allentown
  • My Life
  • Sometimes a Fantasy
  • Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)
  • New York State of Mind
  • She's Always a Woman
  • Don't Ask Me Why
  • Captain Jack
  • The River of Dreams
  • Scenes From an Italian Restaurant
  • Piano Man

encore break

  • Uptown Girl
  • It's Still Rock and Roll to Me
  • You May Be Right
  • Big Shot
  • Only the Good Die Young

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