Big Shot...

...But a legitimate one.

I saw Billy Joel in concert at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on 2006-04-09. He put on an awsome show.

In fact, that concert is the primary reason I came to Vegas this weekend. It was worth it.

I've been a fan since the mid-eighties, and while his style has changed, the quality of his music has not. From his start in the early 70s, he writes with a raw passion and energy that makes the songs just jump up and grab you. His career spans decades with good reason.

Billy Joel is a superstar. How do we know he's a superstar?

1. He put on a 2.5+ hour concert, without a break.
2. By song two, the show had turned into a sing-along.
3. The audience sang his last encore for him.
4. He took one of his most popular songs, Big Shot, and by changing only his gestures and posture, and putting on a backwards baseball cap, turned it into a Gangsta Rap performance.
5. He did random Elvis impersonations.
6. He made a room of 12,000 feel like a room of 12.
7. I watched him on stage, instead of him on video the whole night.
8. He didn't play his most popular songs, or even open with his hits. He played the songs he felt like playing.
9. The king of Adult Comteporary asked a Roadie, named Chainsaw, to get on stage and sing AC/DC's heavey metal classic Highway to Hell (not to be confused wiht Weird Al's Nature Trail to Hell). Chainsaw was really good. Billy played guitar.
10. He looked like he was having the time of his life.

I saw him in 1989, as well. This time, while he didn't have the same energy, he made it a more intimate performance, and had complete confidence about him.

Absolutely awesome show.

Check out Jon's blog for his take on the concert.