The Chris Moeller Archives

Seems Like I've Been Lost in Let's Remember - by Aaron Moeller

The A-Train Summer Concert Series rolled on Monday night with a performance by Billy Joel in the new Sears Centre in Chicago. Through her job, my girlfriend got us free seats in a company suite of the sparkling new arena, so not only was it my first Billy Joel concert, it was also my first time in a luxury suite. Most music, it turns out, even when you’re far from the stage without a dance floor, isn't half bad when you have leather seats and free edible perks (food and booze).

This was a fortuitous concert event for us to witness, you see, because Billy Joel and I go way back. Some of my earliest audio memories came via Mr. Joel as my brother and I would frequently spin Dad’s copy of Billy Joel’s Greatest Hits on the ol’ Moeller family turntable. (Blog contributor and cousin Nick Dee’s parents also contributed to this early exposure, as did blog reader and commenter, Dave L.) The first record in our vinyl collection was a Muppets record that consisted of the fuzzy, lovable felt characters singing radio hits from the '70s. I can't remember for sure, but either Rowlf the Dog or Floyd Pepper sang "New York State of Mind". Few retained memories from my life pre-date my hearing of this recording and if anyone can track down a copy of this for me on ebay (or wherever), I will send you a crisp clean five dollar bill. (That offer does not extend to you, Dad, if the record is still buried in your basement somewhere.)

"Prelude/Angry Young Man" kicked off the show and is the best song for Joel to show off his piano chops. That is one fast song, dude. Even though the Piano Man occasionally takes some shots for his credibility as a "rock star", one who’s a bit too suburban and lacking in hedonism, compared to his more debauchery-based brethren, this song is electric. If you’re from the old time Jerry Lee Lewis school that gives credence to the piano as an acceptable lead instrument for a rock and roll band, I still don’t think you’re going to do any better than this guy, or this song. The average rock critic over-romanticizes working class rock bands anyway. I have no problem giving a classically trained pianist a chance to define his own place in the rock world. Rock and roll, you may know, belongs to everyone.

Just the same, I think Joel’s always fared better when he doesn’t stray too far from his balladeer roots. When it comes to his ear for melody, I don’t think it’s a stretch to mention his name in the same breath as a Lennon/McCartney or a Brian Wilson. This concert, unfortunately, featured neither of my two favorites. "And So It Goes" and "Lullabye (Good Night, My Angel)" are undoubtedly two of the prettiest (and saddest) songs ever recorded. The second song of the show, "My Life", swipes it’s title from an Animals tune and is the kind of masterful, rollicking, catchy pop tune that Joel could once turn out in his sleep. (It was also the theme to the old Tom Hanks sitcom, "Bosom Buddies", and perhaps the second song I remember hearing in my life.)

In the first bit of between-song banter with the audience, Joel introduced himself as "Billy’s dad" and told us that his son would be out in a little while. From his piano, he apologized to the crowd that had seats to the side of the stage that were forced to look at his back for part of the show. He commented that although they may notice he has less hair these days, he gets a lot more head. The Angry Young Man, it seems, has grown feisty. In interviews the last few years, Joel has been quick to minimize his own artistic output – sounding sometimes a bit defensive – and frequently commenting that he doesn’t put himself in the category of the greatest rockers. To paraphrase one quote I recall reading: "If I was a young kid who only knew of me from "We Didn’t Start the Fire" or "Big Shot", I wouldn’t like me either." To the full-house, all-ages crowd on this night, however, nobody was questioning his place in the Big Book of Rock. And let’s not forget he has rock star credentials: He has both fought substance abuse and married/divorced a supermodel.

The early part of the show consisted of unheralded tunes from Joel’s earliest albums. Songs like "Everybody Loves You Now" and the instrumental "Root Beer Rag" mixed with a couple songs I never particularly cared for, "Ballad of Billy the Kid" and "The Entertainer". But there was also better-known fare like the aforementioned "New York State of Mind" and "Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song)" which gave us all a ‘70s flashback-ack-ack-ack. Song intros and interludes also referenced "Beethoven’s 9th", "Rhapsody in Blue", and "The Magnificent Seven Theme". In one song slot, the audience was given the choice of hearing either "Summer, Highland Falls", "Vienna" (which was my vote because of its one time appearance in an episode of "Taxi"), or "Captain Jack", which was the overwhelming winner. I guess any song whose lyrics so clearly name check alcohol and masturbation is going to win any popularity contest.

The song "Zanzibar" from the 52nd Street album, brought a jazzy aura to the proceedings, featuring three horns. Multi-instrumentalists are the rule in Billy Joel’s band. Longtime members include Mark Rivera, former Springsteen-sidewoman Crystal Taliefero, and a guitar player whose name I don't know but whose face I recognized from old Billy Joel videos. For some reason, drummer Liberty DeVitto, who I saw a few years back in a late ‘90s incarnation of the Rascals, is no longer in the band. "Zanzibar" was also famous in the Moeller household for its lyric about Pete Rose: "Rose he's knows he's a credit to the game/But the Yankees grab the headlines every time." (I think Chris may have mentioned something about this East coast bias on Monday.) Now he's changed the line: "Rose he knows he'll never make the Hall of Fame..." Ouch.

Then the songs became familar for even the most casual fans. I sometimes forget it, but "An Innocent Man" is a helluva good song. Joel’s 58-year-old voice is surprisingly strong on its high notes. This song and its indelible melody is also the first piece of evidence I would admit in his defense should Joel ever be tried in court for not being a great lyric writer. "Don’t Ask Me Why" is a subtle pop masterpiece, maybe Joel’s best. "Always a Woman" is, of course, also set to a gorgeous melody, with a tight lyric, and was the biggest crowd sing-along to the point that it appeared in the night’s run of hits. "Keeping the Faith" is a fine bit of ‘80s radio pop, most noteworthy for its indisputable line, "It’s wonderful to be alive when the rock and roll plays". "River of Dreams" was never my favorite, as it always sounds like a rejected song from The Lion King soundtrack, but it had a certain charm in this live setting.

The consensus highlight of the night may well have been when Joel’s roadie, dubbed Chain Saw, made an appearance on stage and gave an "American Idol"-inspired performance of AC/DC’s "Highway to Hell". Appearing as though he ate Bon Scott (my girlfriend’s line, not mine), the big guy lumbered back and forth across the stage as the piano disappeared beneath the floor and Joel’s guitar made its first appearance.

"We Didn’t Start the Fire" found thousands trying to sing along and only a few passably succeeding. This song, I’ve learned, is utterly reviled in many rock circles. But its uncommitted politics and never-specified message aside, if you derive any enjoyment at all from singing along to radio songs, there is something undeniably satisfying about the way these rhymes and the alliteration of its lyrics roll off the tongue. I could go fifty years without hearing it, but still guarantee I could complete the line "Wheel of Fortune, Sally Ride, Heavy Metal..."

"Big Shot" and "It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me" brought the crowd up from their (mostly) non-leather seats and found Joel twirling his microphone stand, tossing it high in the air like he was leading a parade, then repeatedly extending it into the first few rows of the crowd for some more audience participation. Joel’s a fantastic old school entertainer and this is an inspired way to make sure you never get bored with performing your own back catalog. Then came the crash of a window breaking and the end of the main set - "You May Be Right". Turn out the lights. Don’t try to save me.

Leading off the encores, "Only the Good Die Young" again brought the horns down to the front of the stage. Then came another personal favorite, "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant". I'm an easy ticket sale to any number of musical acts, but in my day job I'm a Bruce Springsteen fan, so I’m a sucker for a song like this. It’s this sort of epic story-song, following young, doe-eyed romantics through the trials and travails of American existence by way of heartbreaking piano melodies that damn near brings me to tears every time it reaches its inevitable emotional climax. And it's just as true if I'm listening on my car radio as when I’m in a room with 10,000 of my closest friends.

Then, finally – the closer was no surprise. Springsteen has "Born to Run", the Stones have "Satisfaction", Ronnie Spector has "Be My Baby", and Dylan has "Like a Rolling Stone", but is there another artist not only identified with, but positively defined by a song as Billy Joel is with "Piano Man"? At this point, even in older men's clothes, we’re all pretty sure how it goes.

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