Got root?

Our latest indulgence was treating ourselves to Billy Joel’s concert at Mohegan Sun Arena this past Friday, June 13, 2008.

The demand for Billy Joel’s shows has been phenomenal of late, and the performer added more shows to his schedule as his scheduled shows sold out. We had decent seats, and it was my first experience seeing a concert at Mohegan Sun.

As to the venue, it was great, and at approximately 10,000 seats, it was more intimate than the Hartford Civic Center (oh, excuse me, the “XL Center” now). And the staff were far more courteous than I can remember at any other place we’ve been — the Oakdale, the Meadows, or the Civic Center. All were upbeat, and I must’ve heard “enjoy the show” fifty times on my way in.

Joel and his band were the only performers, there was no opening act.

The show was great. Billy was lively, and it almost seemed as if he were sitting in my living room giving me a private concert. He played most of his hits, all favorites of mine, but also included a couple, “Zanzibar”, “Vienna”, and “This Night” that didn’t top the charts.

His backup musicians were incredibly talented, and his guitar roadie, Chainsaw, did a wonderful rendition of AC/DC’s “Highway to Hell” as a break in middle of the show.

Versions of “Captain Jack”, “River of Dreams”, “We Didn’t Start the Fire”, and “New York State of Mind” were all excellent, and had the crowd singing along. He also played “Root Beer Rag”, which I never imagined he’d play in concert.

His encores, “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant”, “Only the Good Die Young”, and, of course, “Piano Man” brought the house down.

At almost 60-years old Joel still has it. He can play like hell, he still hits the high notes, and his give and take with the audience is stellar.

In short, it was worth every penny, and then some….

Technorati Tags: music, concerts, Billy Joel, Mohegan Sun Arena

Saw a great post on ArsGeek today about a band in the UK that couldn’t afford to shoot a music video, so they played their music in front of the ubiquitous CCTV security cameras and then demanded the footage through the Data Protection Act.

Talk about using The Man!

Well played!!!

Last Friday night we had free tickets to go see Foreigner at the Webster Theater in Hartford, CT.

We scored the tickets the evening before while we sat in Bushnell Park listening to the Black Eyed & Blues Festival, a blues fest sponsored by a local Cajun restaurant that features blues bands. The evening was spectacular — not quite so hot as it is now, and the sky was blue and the air clean.

While we were enjoying the concert, a fellow from the Webster came up to us, offered us the tickets and suddenly we had something to do the next night.

Friday evening we had dinner at the 99, including a couple of tall Samuel Adams Summer Ales, and off we went into Hartford. At the Webster, the main lot was full so we had to detour down a side street to a super market lot.

The Webster is an old movie theater, converted into a music venue. Beer and drinks are available inside, but aside from a few small tables and stools, it’s a standing room.

The show was good — after suffering through a couple of lousy opening acts. (But hey, isn’t that always that case? Twenty years ago I stood through 90 intolerable minutes of a band called Jason & The Scorchers — quick, name their one MTV hit — to get to listen to Stevie Ray Vaughn. Believe me, SRV was worth the wait).

The acoustics don’t really matter though in the Webster — it’s all concrete in there, and they had the amps cranked up to a Spinal Tap-like “11″. Couldn’t hear a thing out of my right ear all the next day. But, the band played all their old hits, and they sounded like Foreigner, even though the only original band member was Mick Jones.

As an added treat, Jason Bonham was on drums, and in tribute to his late father, they did cover “Misty Mountain Hop”, which really revved up this old Zep fan.

All in all, for the price, the concert was GREAT.

Next up on the horizon? Santana, at the Oakdale, on Father’s Day. CANNOT WAIT.

And lastly, the trivia question answer is “Where Are You Tonight, Sweet Marie?” (You can look that one up!)