Billy Joel Helped Us Celebrate Our 50th Birthdays

Doug: What a fun night! Last Friday, 26 August 2016, my wife and I rushed home from school and finished packing, grabbed a snack, and made tracks straight north. We faced no delays on the way into Chicago, as most people are heading out of town around 4:30-5:00 in the afternoon. Smooth sailing all the way to our hotel. The reason? Back in the waning months of winter we heard that Billy Joel would be making a third appearance at Wrigley Field late in the summer. Big fans who grew up through junior high all the way through college with his music, we decided it would be a great way to celebrate our 50th birthdays. I turned 50 in the middle of June, and my wife reaches that "milestone" late in September.

Great night - perfect weather. It's been a very (let me say VERY) humid summer in Chicagoland. It was that evening, but the temperature had cooled to the low 70s making it just about awesome. There were a few clouds in the sky and a light breeze. And the old stadium looked fantastic, as she always does. I have been a Cubs fan for the better part of 45 years and it never ceases to be a highlight to get to see a game. We've also taken two tours of the stadium over the years; we did just that back at the end of June. It's really, in my biased opinion, one of the most beautiful places on earth. And the place has been busy in August -- the weekend before Pearl Jam played two concerts, of course we saw Billy Joel, and then the next night Luke Bryan played.

I was very interested to see how the outfield grass would be covered. I knew the infield would be roped off and guarded by security, as would the famed ivy that clings to the outfield wall. I was surprised to see not tarps, but thick modular plastic covering every blade of grass from the moment we stepped through a large service door in right field. And lined up on the covering were rows and rows of light white-plastic folding chairs. They were zip-tied together, so when all us middle-aged fans got crazy we wouldn't tear the place up! We (obviously) had field seats, and were maybe 65-70 yards from the stage. But we were very happy. We could see the performers and make out facial expressions, so it was fine.

The stage had three large video boards hanging down from the rigging. They were actually comprised of several small boards, and the way in which they could be manipulated with live footage from the concert but also footage from Joel's music videos was captivating. The lighting was phenomenal and just seemed to breathe through the show's life. What an enhancement to the experience.

Here's the setlist from the show:

There were so many really cool, "man, that makes me smile" moments. The first was when Joel played Take Me Out to the Ballgame on the piano. He of course greeted Chicago and then made some comments on the great season the Cubs are having. If you don't know, it has been a tradition at Wrigley Field to sing that song during the break between the top and bottom halves of the 7th inning, immortalized by now-decesased announcer Harry Caray. Joel scored big again with his rendition of Frank Sinatra's My Kind of Town.

Sticking to the baseball theme, Joel gave the audience two different "fielder's choices", letting the level of noise decide between two songs. The first time our choices were both off "The Stranger" album. He asked if we'd prefer Just the Way You Are or The Stranger. You can see which one won. Later, we could choose between a song of which I was unfamiliar (can't even recall the name) and Vienna. The latter won big. "The Stranger" was the record of choice on the night, with the band performing six cuts from it. It's long been my favorite of Joel's albums.

You'll notice a cover of Layla on the setlist. They actually played only the instrumental ending to that song. But there were more surprises when percussionist/vocalist/saxaphonist Crystal Taliefero burst out in Martha and the Vandellas' Heat Wave, embedded in The River of Dreams. As part of the encore set, Led Zeppelin's Rock and Roll was embedded in You May Be Right, and sung by guitarist Michael DelGuidice.

The show was to have started at 8:00, and we assumed with an opening act. Well, 8:00 came and went and nothing. Lights still on, crowd still filing in and milling around. But about 8:20 a score began to play that might best be described as an anthem from a Disney film. Suddenly the baseball lights went down and the place erupted with the opening notes of Prelude/Angry Young Man. Wow-o-wow, was that cool! The band seemed to miraculously materialize, and overhead cameras caught Billy Joel's hands on the piano keyboard -- all monitors large and small showed that footage. They went right into My Life, and I sent my sons a text telling them I was singing that loud and proud like it was my job!

It was interesting that during some of the ballads the crowd sat down, but every time it seemed the next song would bring them right back to their feet. Perhaps the most notable of those occasions was the winding down and finishing of And So It Goes. There were a few seconds of silence and darkness, and then that famous whistle at the beginning of Allentown sounded. Bam! Right back up and the house was rocking. 

The concert ended at 10:50 -- they'd played an almost-solid two-and-a-half hours with only a three minute break before the encore set... and what a set that was! We Didn't Start the Fire was fast and loud, with the video screens flashing every person or event named in the song. Uptown Girl continued a theme of Joel reminiscing about the hits he'd gotten out of his three previous wives -- Just the Way You Are and She's Always a Woman were the other two. Hey, you have to be able to poke fun at yourself, right?

So a good time -- no a great time -- was had by all. Super memory for us, and for the other 60,000 attendees, too.

PS: An attendee at the same concert we attended has uploaded this video of one of the great performances of the evening. The camera's view approximates our own -- we'd have been back a bit and slightly to the left. Enjoy!