BILLY 9 – Face2Face
Sept. 25 & 27, Oct. 11 & 13, 2002 (4 shows)
Face2Face
These were the shows at the Coliseum that solidified Billy Joel’s comeback. In the months leading up to this tour with Elton John, Joel had dealt publicly with the worst problems of his career. He had gone through a well-publicized stint in rehab and high-profile traffic accidents, as well as a respiratory infection that had some questioning his ability to perform.
On this tour, he put those issues behind him and started to have fun again. Years later, Joel remembers joking around with John, telling him, “You know I grew up about 15 minutes from here.” He laughs as he recalls John saying, “Yes, I threw up about 15 minutes from here.”
“I thought it was hysterical,” Joel says. “I couldn’t stop laughing the whole night.”
By the numbers
- Year-end ranking of Joel and John in Billboard’s top-grossing tours 3
- No. 1 songs in the set 4
- Cost of prime ticket $175
- Length of show, in minutes 210
- Total gross for 2002 Face2Face tour $66 million
Review
Fear not, Billy Joel fans. The Piano Man is doing just fine.
At any given moment in the 3 ½-hour ‘Face to Face Tour’ extravaganza, the 53-year-old Rock and Roll Hall of Famer from Hicksville could be found riding his piano stool like a bucking bronco, step-dancing atop his baby grand like he was Michael Flatley, Lord of the Dance, or swinging between the pianos like they were the parallel bars and he wanted a perfect 10 from the East German judge.
Or maybe he just wanted a perfect 10 from his fans.
— Glenn Gamboa, Newsday, Sept. 26, 2002 (reviewing the Madison Square Garden show)
SET LIST
(Sept. 25, 2002)
JOEL & JOHN:
Your Song / Just the Way You Are / Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me
JOHN SET:
Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding
Someone Saved My Life Tonight
Philadelphia Freedom
I Want Love
Rocket Man
Take Me to the Pilot
Have Mercy on the Criminal
Tiny Dancer
This Train Don’t Stop There Anymore
I’m Still Standing
Crocodile Rock
JOEL SET:
Prelude/Angry Young Man
Scenes From an Italian Restaurant
Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song)
Allentown
The Downeaster Alexa
Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel)
River of Dreams
Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway)
New York State of Mind
I Go to Extremes
It’s Still Rock ‘n’ Roll to Me
Only the Good Die Young
JOEL & JOHN:
My Life
The Bitch Is Back
You May be Right
Bennie and the Jets
A Hard Day’s Night
Great Balls of Fire
ENCORES:
Candle in the Wind
Piano Man