Sing Us a Song: Billy Joel shines at Citizens Bank Park

Billy Joel | photo by Matthew Shaver for WXPN | brightloud.com

Billy Joel is as American as apple pie, and New York as Frank Sinatra. For many of us, adults and kids alike, he’s been a part of our lives for as long as we can remember.

Whether it’s desperately trying to get “Piano Man” unstuck from the far reaches of our brains, dancing around the living room with our parents to “Uptown Girl”, or smashing your fists down on the bar as you drunkenly belt out the chorus to “An Innocent Man.” I personally remember sneaking down to my parents record cabinet in the middle of the night, carefully putting on The Stranger, and dozing during the first track “Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song),” only to be jarred awake at the sound of the car revving.

Joel hasn’t released an album in 15 years, and hasn’t put out a signature style album in more than 2 decades, but that doesn’t stop him from packing them in. He played Citizen Bank Park filled to the brim, pulling songs from across his career and working in classic rock touchstones into his hits. “A Hard Days Night” by The Beatles joined up with “River of Dreams,” “Rock and Roll” by Led Zeppelin was fused with Joel’s rocker “You May Be Right.” Nodding to his surroundings, he even did “Take Me Out To the Ballgame.” It was a sprawling set of music that is still rock and roll to me.

Below, check out a gallery of photos from Joel’s set, as well as the opening performance by locally-rooted pop singer Christina Perri. You can also peruse the setlist and watch a few fan videos from YouTube.

Setlist
Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway)
My Life / Ode to Joy
Just the Way You Are
Big Man on Mulberry Street
The Entertainer
New York State of Mind / Rhapsody in Blue
Prelude/Angry Young Man
And So It Goes
Allentown
Captain Jack
She’s Always a Woman
Don’t Ask Me Why
Take Me Out to the Ball Game
Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song)
Sometimes a Fantasy
Keeping the Faith
I Go to Extremes
The River of Dreams / A Hard Day’s Night
Scenes From an Italian Restaurant
Piano Man

Encore:
We Didn’t Start the Fire
Uptown Girl
It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me
Big Shot
You May Be Right / Rock and Roll
Only the Good Die Young