Billy Joel

Review

On “Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song),” he sounded very much like Paul McCartney would sound if McCartney had grown up in Hicksville. Joel, however, brought to mind other artists last night. “New York State of Mind” is such a perfect counterpart to “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” that it’s a wonder Tony Bennett hasn’t recorded it. Joel sang the song with a growly inflection that made it clear that this would also be a fine vehicle for Ray Charles. Joel added a few words to the lyrics for this occasion. On the original recording, Joel notes missing “The New York Times, the Daily News.” Last night, Joel added “Newsday, too” to that line and the audience actually cheered. — Wayne Robins, Newsday, Dec. 12, 1977

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

Review

In Joel’s guileless good humor, the sentimentality of his records — toward the Long Island fishermen, toward a stylized myth of tight-trousered adolescence, or that New York state of mind — came off as genuine affection. Even the deliberate mush-headedness of “Still Rock ‘n Roll to Me” and “You May Be Right” became direct and inspiring.

There is a line somewhere between self-indulgence and just playing around, and Joel, even at his hammiest, kept to the right side of it. … He emanated corniness like gamma rays. He boxed with his microphone stand, held himself as if nailed to the cross, and even assumed the sprinter’s starting position atop his black baby grand. And for some unfathomable reason, he used smoke machines almost continuously throughout the show. But in his hometown, it all played as good-natured hucksterism; we were always in on the fun. Joel was Buster Poindexter without the hip distancing.

And that was, for all the surprisingly good music, the most striking thing about the evening. It was rare to see a star of his stature be so unguarded onstage. What I missed most in the Rolling Stones — some sense of self, a rapport with the audience — Joel delivered in spades. — John Leland, Newsday, Dec. 23, 1989

Review

Leave the headsets and production numbers to Janet Jackson and Madonna. These days, in his current state of grace, Billy Joel could probably perform with just a piano and no one would be disappointed — certainly not the devoted crowd that braved the snow to pack Nassau Coliseum Wednesday.

Where other big-league performers strive to create showy illusion loaded with unattainable glamour, Billy Joel still pounds ’em out here on Earth, adding only the self-deprecating flash that acknowledges itself. When he does Elvis Presley arm-and-leg gestures or attempts Joe Tex tricks with the mike stand, Joel isn’t trying to be anything but a humble fan enjoying the reference. And though sincerity, spontaneity and awareness of an audience as people rather than demographic dollar signs are not universal values among arena performers, Billy Joel remains a flesh-and-blood guy who can actually share what’s on his mind with his fans between — and during — songs.

Beginning a long homestand with a show that he announced was being recorded, Joel was the homecoming king, an avuncular hero returning from his travels, a fond nostalgist bringing old songs to old friends. — Ira Robbins, Newsday, Dec. 31, 1993

Review

There was no doubt that he reveled in being on his native Long Island, where he was kicking off a string of homecoming shows as part of a Northeast tour. He cracked enough jokes about his early years here to give the show the air of a high school reunion, bantering about skipping school to hang out at Jones Beach — “under the tunnel at Parking Field Four” — and cruising Hempstead Turnpike in a futile quest for women. At one point, he grabbed the hand of a man in the front row and exclaimed: “I grew up across the street from this [expletive] guy!”

The sold-out crowd, which included many baby boomers with their children in tow, reveled back. By the time Joel reached his third song, the defiant “Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song),” the entire arena was chanting the lyrics along with him. Joel was the man who had moved out; but he’d returned to the fold with tales to share with those who’d never left. — Letta Tayler, Newsday, Jan. 31, 1998

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)

After undergoing a $165-million renovation, the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum reopened on April 5, 2017, as the NYCB Live’s Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. And who better to take the stage first at the aluminum-finned venue with a hip, understated interior than the (piano) man who closed it 20 months earlier?

Billy Joel, who jokingly compared the new digs’ shiny new exterior to a “Jiffy Pop bag,” was joined onstage by a few surprise guests, including fellow Long Islanders Joan Jett and Kevin James. He also sang an LI-themed set that included gems like “No Man’s Land” and “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant,” which turned into a singalong.

The 2-hour, 50-minute show marked Joel’s 33rd sold-out concert at the Coliseum and, fittingly, he played 33 songs.

Review

Billy Joel ushered in the new, aluminum-finned era of the renovated Nassau Coliseum Wednesday night with a powerful set filled with Long Island references.

“We kind of have an attitude here,” Joel said, introducing the hard-rocking “No Man’s Land,” with lyrics written for Long Island that are still timely, right down to the cocaine bust news in the morning’s paper.

Joel’s concert was the first after the $165 million, 20-month renovation of the NYCB Live’s Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, and he gave its sound high marks as he rolled through songs he rarely plays anywhere else — like “The Downeaster ‘Alexa,’ ” about the plight of Long Island’s baymen. For “Goodnight Saigon,” Joel filled the stage with military veterans, who were greeted with a huge ovation and chants of “U-S-A!”

“Lest we forget that this is the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum,” Joel said as the group left the

Even Joel’s surprise guests had Long Island roots. Long Beach’s Joan Jett was commanding on “I Hate Myself for Loving You” and “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll.” Stony Brook’s Kevin James and his “King of Queens” “wife,” Leah Remini, did an interpretive dance to “She’s Got a Way,” ending with James’ passionate embrace of a hoagie.

When the singer paid tribute to the late Ray Charles with “What a Wonderful World,” Joel turned it into a gorgeous duet with Baldwin’s Carl Fischer delivering Louis Armstrong’s trumpet parts.

The two-hour, 50-minute show was remarkably well-planned. Joel played 33 songs to commemorate the 33 times he has now played The Coliseum, which was the first arena he ever played 40 years ago.

Throughout the show, Joel was in fine voice, taking more vocal chances than usual in songs like “New York State of Mind,” where he opted for a bluesier take. He was also in fine spirits, delivering his best Elvis Presley sneer during “It’s Still Rock ‘n’ Roll to Me” and a bit of a Bob Dylan impression to close out “Only the Good Die Young.”

It was clear early on that Joel was among his people when he offered them a choice. They could either hear “Just the Way You Are,” his Grammy-winning hit, or “Vienna,” the deeply personal ballad also from “The Stranger.” The crowd roared to hear “Vienna” and a smiling Joel began the song without pause.

This was a happier Joel show than the bittersweet one in 2015 that closed the first chapter of the Coliseum. There were jokes about paying too much for tickets, especially those in the back of the new arena, or as Joel referred to it, “Suffolk County.” But there was also plenty of hope and confidence in Mike DelGuidice’s poignant version of “Nessun Dorma.” And even more joy in the way “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant” became a sing-along, as Long Islanders see themselves in Brenda and Eddie and build new memories at the new Nassau Coliseum like they did at the Parkway Diner.