The lights went down after a two-hour set of rock ‘n’ roll classics, and 39,000 people stood in their seats waiting for an encore from a living rock legend. Thousands of lights from cell phones and lighters began to flicker on, giving an eerie blue and gold aquarium feeling to the Carrier Dome. The rocker finally returned and, after playing two of his hit songs, finished with the one tune everyone was waiting for, ‘Piano Man.’ And in the midst of what could possibly be the largest sing-along in the history of Syracuse University, the rocker smiled and sang these lyrics to the applause of the crowd:

‘It’s a pretty good crowd for a Saturday / And the manager gives me a smile / ‘Cause he knows that it’s me they’ve been coming to see / To forget about life for a while.’

And that’s exactly how it felt when Billy Joel played at SU.

Joel played a two and a half hour set Saturday night to a filled Dome, breaking the record for the amount of people he had previously held with The Rolling Stones. While starting 25 minutes late and encountering some sound problems, Joel quickly won over the crowd with songs emphasizing his amazing talents on the piano and lyrics perfect for a hall filled with SU Students.

Without any words to the audience, Joel began the night with ‘Angry Young Man’ and segued right into ‘My Life,’ both songs about dealing with being young in society. It was the perfect start to what would be a nonstop rock spectacle filled with stage antics, stories from the road and surprise guests.

Joel’s performance was a culmination of a yearlong celebration of the 25th birthday of the Dome. Joel, currently on the My Lives tour, his first solo tour in seven years, has played a large role at SU this year. Beyond the performance, he gave the College of Visual and Performing Arts $320,000 for music fellowships in September and will be the keynote speaker at the university’s commencement ceremony in May.

And like any good party, there were a few surprises. About halfway through the show, people started arranging things to the side of the stage. Even Billy commented on it by exclaiming, ‘Some strange people are walking around on the stage. Some kind of weird shit is going on here.’ And so it was, when the hosts of the Discovery Channel show ‘Orange County Choppers’ showed up on stage to present Joel with ‘The Billy Bike,’ their latest cycle creation.

‘The Orange County Choppers was great, it was so awesome they were there,’ said Camille Allen, a resident of Albany, whose friends bought her tickets for Christmas. ‘It was all awesome. (Billy) played every song I wanted to hear. He looked like he was having a really good time.’

Joel knew the crowd he was playing to, and worked it. He gave a slight pause to let the crowd cheer after singing about smoking pot and masturbation in ‘Captain Jack,’ inserted Syracuse into ‘New York State of Mind’ and, in ‘It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me,’ after singing, ‘Should I try to be a straight-A student?’ let the audience respond with, ‘If you are then you think too much.’

The most amazing thing about Joel is how he needs so little to entertain. In an era where concerts have become a sort of theater with special effects, choreographed dances and bright flashing images set up on screens behind the performer, Joel has been doing the same routine show for more than 30 years, but it works. Using a minimal amount of lights and a little bit of fog, the focus remained almost entirely on the performer.

Joel is a natural-born performer, and used playful antics to entertain. Whether it was spinning a microphone stand like a ninja staff for ‘Still Rock and Roll to Me,’ straddling and spanking a piano stool while performing ‘You May Be Right’ or playing air guitar to ‘The Entertainer’ (and real guitar for ‘Matter of Trust’), Joel never stopped trying to keep the audience enthralled.

‘It was funny just to see Billy Joel up there acting like an idiot. It was a really good time, a really great show,’ said Jim Reep, a resident of Syracuse.

Joel, having long ago perfected show banter, would often make small talk to the audience, including making fun of himself and the different embarrassing things he has done.

‘You in the back there,’ Joel said to the people in the last rows and bleachers of the Dome. ‘I want to thank you for buying the shitty seats. I appreciate it. I need the money now. I got some amazing car insurance.’

He would also often introduce his songs with what album and year they were from, along with any stories or comments that seemed to even amuse himself.

‘This song isn’t about anything in particular, but it did help a lot of history students pass,’ he told the audience before breaking into ‘We Didn’t Start the Fire.’

‘It was unbelievable; Billy was on top of his game,’ said Henry Haber, a freshman accounting major. ‘He really played to the audience, and he really enjoyed himself and all of Syracuse appreciates it.’

Joel did have some help with his performance. He had a backup band of eight skilled musicians, many who played multiple instruments. Joel seemed to include as many different sounds into his pieces as he could, including accordions, electric pianos, two drum sets and multiple percussion, brass and woodwind instruments.

And while unable to still hit some of the higher notes, Joel’s voice has remained strong, and he sounds as good as he did long before most of the crowd was born. What has remained amazing, if not advanced, is Joel’s talent on the piano. Throughout the show, he performed numerous solos, displaying his amazing talent on the instrument. There was even a specific camera set up to display his hands, which was appreciated since it was entertaining to see them move across the keys.

‘It was phenomenal, absolutely phenomenal. It’s Billy Joel – what else do you have to say?’ said Josh Davis, a junior finance major.

When the show finally ended, people shuffled out of the Dome into the warm night, with smiles on their faces and literally, songs in their heart.

‘Ain’t it wonderful to be alive when the rock ‘n’ roll plays?’ Joel sang to the crowd in ‘Keeping the Faith.’

Yes, it certainly is.

Published on March 25, 2006 at 12:00 pm