Billy!

Just got back from the concert. Like Liz, we had the nosebleed seats; but it didn't diminish the experience any. It was so good! At first I was disturbed by thoughts of him sleeping with his 26-year-old wife (who was 14 when I last saw him in concert!) but then I realized Christie broke up with him and he'd probably still be with her if she hadn't. Then I settled back and enjoyed the show ;)

He was a little stingy with the love songs, as ever - maybe he doesn't like to sing them or they remind him of Christie? Which is a shame because in my opinion he's written some of the best ones. "Just the Way You Are," "She's Always a Woman to Me," "She's Got a Way", I could go on...He did sing "An Innocent Man" and "She's Always a Woman to Me".

At the '94 concert he said, "Last time I played here [in Massachusetts] I was a married man. NOT ANYMORE!" He also did a handstand to "Big Shot". He's no longer bitter, but not doing handstands either. When he sang "Goodnight Saigon", the lights shone on a row of soldiers at the back of the stage. He also told us he broke a record - most sold-out concerts on a tour.

At first he was playing a few too many obscure songs ("Great Wall of China", "Zanzibar"???) but then he settled into the favorites. I predicted he'd do two or three encores and he did three - "Only the Good Die Young" (which always makes me a little wistful - all the good, dead people), "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant", and "Piano Man."

Does anyone else have a mental picture of Brenda and Eddie from the "Italian Restaurant"? Brenda has a round face and a big smile, with black hair cut chin-length. She's smiling as she waves goodbye. Eddie is a football player with close-cropped blond hair and a bit of a paunch as he gets older. He slaps other guys on the back and has a glass of cold beer in his hand. I liked the red and white lights to signify the bottle of red, the bottle of white.

As a nice added touch, tuxedoed waiters were circulating with cups of champagne with strawberries. The cups looked beautiful with the stage lights shining through them - pink, then gold.

When he sang "New York State of Mind" - "Some folks go to Miami Beach or to Hollywood...but I'm taking a Greyhound, Hudson River Line/I'm in a New York state of mind"...everyone was like, "YEAH."

He did take out his guitar at one point so I KNEW he was going to play "A Matter of Trust." I remember seeing the video for that nonstop in, what was it, '88? I worked with a guy once who said, "Billy, put the guitar away. Play the piano." But it was fine ;)

One of the funniest moments was when he said, "This is Chainsaw. He's going to sing a religious song." Then this crazy guy in baggy shorts started singing AC/DC, blaring "HIGHWAY TO HELL." Not what I expected ;)

Comments

Elsa said…
It sound like a great concert and sounds like you had a good time. I'm impressed - Billy can do a hand stand - wow - I was never able to hand stand.
Bearette said…
Well, that was 12 years ago ;) He didn't do one last night. Also, weirdly, the hardest part of a handstand is getting up...once you're up there, it's not hard to stay up.
Anonymous said…
Chainsaw made an appearance in DC, too. That was funny. :)

It sounds like there were some similarities between the two. I wish I could see him again!

Did he wear a backwards baseball cap and act like a rapper when he did Big Shot?
Bearette said…
Yes! And I learned that "Big Shot" was written about a date he had with Bianca Jagger, years ago (not while she was married to Mick). And he never sings "Honesty" live because he forgot the words in concert once.
Elsa said…
Ok...if you say so. I'll just have to tell my body "this is not so hard...just stand on your hands!" :-)
verniciousknids said…
Elsa, you should practice in the pool first to get over the fear of falling over...and when you do fall over - there's no pain ;)

Honesty is one of my faves...I can't believe he doesn't do it live!

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