“I haven’t been on the charts since 1993!” Billy Joel stated after wrapping up his synthed up semi-hit, The Entertainer. Apparently, he had no idea what he was talking about in 1975.
Friday night was my third Billy Joel show, in the span of three years. Whether it’s on New Year’s Eve, or a January evening, he starts every year in Florida. But since 2014, only years that are even numbers get a show in Tampa. So next year, we’ll probably see him in Orlando or Miami. Like it or not, Florida is spoiled rotten with the experience of seeing the Piano Man live.
At 8:20, following the end titles from The Natural blasting through the venue, Billy strapped on a blue Fender, and opened with We Didn’t Start The Fire, after three straight Tampa shows of opening with Miami 2017 (Seen The Lights Go Out On Broadway). He admitted early on that he had come down with a cold, and that he felt like the show had a rough start. “Okay, that was an authentic rock and roll fuck-up.” he proclaimed. But even with the illness burden on his back, the King of Madison Square Garden, with a little help from his Entertainer’s Secret throat relief spray, nonetheless brought his songbook spanning twenty-two years to the ears of some 20,000 snowbirds and at-heart New Yorkers.
Normally, Joel pokes fun at a fellow musician early in the show – it’s usually Elton John. The target is now Madonna. While talking about his usage of the Entertainer’s Secret, he mentioned that he once saw the pop star use it, and it made no difference. “Then she had them turn the air conditioning off, and that made all the difference.” But Billy himself is an exception. “I’m 70 now, so I don’t care anymore.” he bragged.
Most of the album tracks everyone wanted to hear were moved out of the way during the first half of the show. Most of the album tracks get an incredible rap when played, and have become absolute show highlights every single time he plays Tampa. Zanzibar, featuring the incomparable Carl Fischer on trumpet, was no surprise, and Vienna being chosen over Just The Way You Are, based on audience applause, was also pretty expected. Oh, and The Downeaster ‘Alexa’ is still, four shows later, Tampa’s absolute fave off of 1989’s Storm Front. After those three favorites, and then some, three new additions to the common setlist finally surfaced in Tampa for the first time either in ages, or ever.
He dedicated Summer, Highland Falls to “all you manic-depressive people out there” – “How about a new name? What is it? Um…normal!” he jabbed. Some might say the song’s appearance in the list came at the perfect time, following the tumultuous week America has had. One song later, he came up with the name he was looking for: Bipolar. Say Goodbye To Hollywood was a pleasant surprise addition as well. Most everyone knew that one better than the highlight of the night’s featured deeper cuts, Modern Woman, from 1986’s The Bridge, and also the Danny DeVito-starred Ruthless People. “Eh, it was alright,” Joel said about the movie.
A few covers were thrown in, too. The Beatles’ I Feel Fine was used as a platform to show off Tommy Byrnes’ wah-wah pedal, and expertise as lead guitarist in general. And during the break in between The River Of Dreams came a totally unexpected, rowdy rendition of ZZ Top’s Tush. Sure, there’s usually a cover in that slot, (during Joel’s 2016 stop in Tampa, there was a Take It Easy tribute to the then-recently fallen Glenn Frey) but there was definitely something odd about a New Yorker croaking out a song about Texas.
Most of the non-die hards came to the show for the hits. And hits, they received: The factory whistle opened Allentown, shades were donned for New York State Of Mind, and She’s Always A Woman triggered slow-dances and, like with most every other tune, the crowd echoing the chorus. Even his encore was a swing through the hits – the head-banger hits. Joel twirled around a flowery shopping bag (might have been a gift bag from a fan) on Uptown Girl, and twirled around the mic on It’s Still Rock And Roll To Me. He would stagger back to his grand to close up shop with his best-known album openers, Big Shot and You May Be Right.
Ending the main set was guitarist and life-long fan Mike DelGuidice showing off his operatic chops with a stirring rendition of Nessun dorma, which would warm everyone up for the two that most people were waiting through the album tracks and hits for: 1977’s Scenes From An Italian Restaurant, and um…what’s that one song he did with the harmonica that made it into the Library Of Congress? “If you’ve got a beard or a mustache, it gets stuck in the freakin’ harmonica!” Billy said while setting up his harmonica holder.
Even if he was spitting out little hairs in between blaring out that iconic riff, he sure as heck nailed the two and a half hour party harder than other 70 year olds with a cold would.
Josh Bradley Live 