Billy Joel: The Piano Man

Way back in October, my boyfriend Jake found out that Billy Joel was coming to Syracuse University for his seventh show in the Carrier Dome. We are both huge Billy Joel fans – I grew up listening to "Piano Man" and Jake's first CD was The Stranger. Since I like country and pop music and Jake prefers 80s rock, Billy Joel is one of the few artists we both like. His  songs are always playing on car rides. Being the sweet man he is, Jake jumped at the opportunity and bought Billy Joel concert tickets for my Christmas present last year!

After months of waiting, the concert finally happened last Friday night. I haven't been to many concerts, but I'd say with 110% certainty that Billy Joel was the best artist I've ever heard live. He was funny, poised, and talented. He sucked the audience in, and the 37,000 person crowd was singing and dancing along to his hits. My favorite songs were "Piano Man," "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant," "Only the Good Die Young," and "Movin' Out." But really, he nailed every song.

Twice Billy made the audience choose what he should play; he gave two choices, and the songs with the loudest claps won. I liked the interaction! Billy Joel performs once a month at Madison Square Garden in New York City and travels around the country performing, so I wonder if he gets bored performing the same songs over and over for 30 years. Our seats were at the very back of the Carrier Dome, but we had a great view of the stage.