BILLY 4 – The Nylon Curtain

Dec. 29, 1982 (1 show) The Nylon Curtain
Photo credit: Kevin Mazur

Dec. 29, 1982 (1 show)

The Nylon Curtain

The concert was being filmed for Joel’s first concert special, “Live from Long Island,” which aired on HBO in 1983. That meant the house lights were up for nearly the entire concert, cameras were zooming around and the audience was filled with VIPs.

“Everyone I ever knew in my whole life is here,” joked Joel.

He also introduced a lot of new material from his album “The Nylon Curtain,” which arrived only a few months earlier, creating an unusual flow to the Coliseum concert.

Set list

By the numbers

  • Peak position of “The Nylon Curtain” on the album charts 7
  • Length of concert that aired on HBO, in minutes 80
  • Actual length of concert, in minutes 150
  • Copies of “The Nylon Curtain” sold 2 million
  • Band members who toast the crowd with a bottle of white and a bottle of red during “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant” 4

Review

Wednesday’s performance was peculiar. The mood of the nearly two-and-a-half-hour show was dictated not by the band and not by the audience, but by the camera lights that never went dim. … The benign aura of mutual self-congratulation between Joel and his hometown audience soon became one of self-consciousness. … The older songs were received with more enthusiasm. The band performed with quiet confidence, yet sounded completely more restrained than it is capable of being. — Wayne Robins, Newsday, Dec. 31, 1982

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SET LIST

Allentown

My Life

Prelude/Angry Young Man

Piano Man

The Stranger

Scandinavian Skies

Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song)

Pressure

Until the Night

Scenes From an Italian Restaurant

Just the Way You Are

It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me

Sometimes a Fantasy

Big Shot

You May Be Right

ENCORES:

Only the Good Die Young

Souvenir