Sing Us a Song

(This was my view at Billy Joel. Yeah, I know the camera phone pic stinks. I'm looking for a new phone).

Billy Joel was the entertainer last night at the "Well" in downtown Des Moines. It wasn't a sellout. But he did still pack 'em in. A couple of interesting moments... During the second or third song, all of a sudden, he just stopped singing. He said he "swallowed a bug" or something. I was a bit skeptical. He had been coughing quite a bit (away from the microphone) earlier and continued to do so throughout the concert. He even made mention of some type of throat spray he was using to help. He said Madonna also uses it, so maybe he would start dressing better. ???

He also brought up the obvious...his appearance. He introduced himself as "Billy Joel's dad". He definitely has aged since I remember him. Of course, he's lived a pretty hard life. Maybe that has something to do with it.

The biggest ovation probably didn't come for him. But rather, it came for a "roadie" as Joel called him. He said this guy had been following the band for years and tried out for American Idol but wasn't "telegenic" enough (I think he was kidding). He said the band was going to give this guy a chance to sing and it would be some type of religious or spiritual song. He added maybe it would resonate with us as we were heading home after the concert. We soon found out why. It was hardly spiritual. It was "Highway to Hell" by AC/DC. And it was great! The guy was awesome...this middle-aged guy, dressed in shorts and a t-shirt that maybe fit him 20 pounds ago. He brought the place to its feet and then some. BTW, the Piano Man was good, too.