Last Friday, a music legend (and a personal favorite), an iconic baseball stadium, fantastic summer weather and my family converged to make a truly memorable night. In other words, I enjoyed a Billy Joel concert with my family at Wrigley Field.
My friend Tom turned me onto Billy in the mid-1970s, and my passion for the Piano Man has grown steadily ever since. Forty years later, I still get chills hearing “Vienna” and I still get amped for “Only the Good Die Young.”
At this concert, we heard those songs and about 20 others. Billy isn’t the same raw, energetic performer as he was when I first saw him in 1983, but whatever edge he has lost has been replaced by veteran guile. Also gone are the sneakers and jeans (and his hair), replaced by a stylish black suit and a gray goatee. He is a smooth performer who knows what the audience wants, and he delivers.
From my group, I was the only one who had previously seen him. It was cool to see the reactions from the rest. They might not have enjoyed it as much as I did (how could they?), but they all had a great time. I have seen Billy about 15 times, with various groups of people. Each experience was fun, but this one stands out, and not just because it was the most recent. We had great seats, and the weather was perfect. We sat back and took in a fantastic concert, with the ivy-covered walls, the elevated trains and the Chicago skyline as the backdrop.
It really does not get much better than that for me.
— John Wroblewski, online contributor
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