Billy Joel’s monthly residency at Madison Square Garden—you really had to have grown up on Long Island to appreciate how prestigious that is to him—means he can be selective in choosing dates to play outside of his home state. Being the first piano man to play the T-Mobile Arena is enough to get him to go west for one of his marathon concerts, with a competitive factor involved as Elton John ends his spring run of shows at the Colosseum on the same night. Joel broke John’s record for most solo shows at the Garden last year, and he’s been widening the gap ever since.
Joel has been playing one or two shows at large venues between each residency concert since “Billy Joel at The Garden” began more than two years ago. Quality gets priority over quantity, with Joel giving his voice plenty of time to rest between career-spanning sets that feature five-song encores.
While his days of playing the hits game may be long gone—Joel’s songwriting taking place mainly in his head these days, and consists of instrumentals more akin to hymns and soundtracks than any of the 33 top 40 nuggets in his oeuvre—that means that most of his energy can be reserved for performances. No one goes away disappointed.
Signature songs from “Piano Man” to “We Didn’t Start the Fire” are practically guaranteed, favorites such as “Captain Jack” to “Zanzibar” may be voted in for fan selection, and Joel has no shortage of surprises when it comes to covers. Recent tributes have been paid to Led Zeppelin, Elvis Presley and Procol Harum, and Joel recently serenaded a Cincinnati audience with his version of John’s “Your Song.” Could the other piano man cover “Just the Way You Are?” If it’s possible, it will happen in Vegas.
T-Mobile Arena, 6 p.m. April 30, starting at $99.99 plus tax and fee. 888.929.7849
