Crowd has a blast with Billy Joel

Crowd has a blast with Billy Joel Billy Joel - Exclusive Track + $7.99 Catalog Album Sale - Download Now on iTunes RALEIGH - On Dec. 31, 1999, as a millennium drew to its close, Billy Joel likewise seemed set on bringing his touring career to an end, playing a four-hour show at Madison Square Garden that he declared would be his last. He stuck to his word, aside from a few stray performances and odd forays into classical music. Then last year, Joel returned to the touring circuit. He had no new product to push; it wasn't until last month that a solitary new single, "All My Life," his first pop composition in nearly 14 years, came down the pipeline (and was overshadowed by his turn at singing the national anthem before the Super Bowl). Why the change of heart? Billy Joel - Exclusive Track + $7.99 Catalog Album Sale - Download Now on iTunes Judging from his performance Saturday night at the RBC Center, the most logical explanation might simply be that he missed the thrill of delivering his classics to thousands of screaming fans and hamming it up to everyone's unconditional delight. Every song Joel trotted out was released before the O.J. Simpson trial, but it didn't feel at all like we were witnessing a star going through the motions. The six-time Grammy winner tore into his back catalog with vigor, leaving few of his most beloved stones unturned in a 2 1/2-hour retrospective. Joel's set list has been fairly rigid on this year-plus tour, though he did throw a few curves by dusting off "The Downeaster Alexa" and singing a tantalizing bit of "Carolina in My Mind." Otherwise, it was mostly still-scintillating regulars such as "New York State of Mind," "You May Be Right" and "Only the Good Die Young," all of which were enthusiastically received by the widely age-divergent crowd (who knew Billy was so popular with teenage girls?). Billy Joel - Exclusive Track + $7.99 Catalog Album Sale - Download Now on iTunes To say Joel seemed to enjoy himself would be an understatement. Never one of rock's deathly cool customers, the ivories-tickler seems to have reconciled that he's destined to be seen as a shlub by disdainful hipsters while being absolutely adored by millions of others. It's hard to imagine Mick Jagger or Steven Tyler goofily striking b-boy poses or conducting a series of prop gags with their mic stands, but that's exactly what Joel did throughout "Big Shot," at one point pretending the mic had hit him in the groin and then cheesily breaking into falsetto for a few lines afterward (trust me -- it was just as dorky as it sounds). Ever the showman, Joel has even taken to bringing out one of his roadies to howl through a roaring take on AC/DC's "Highway to Hell." The energetic crew member turned in a hilariously passable imitation of Bon Scott's ravaged vocals. Billy Joel - Exclusive Track + $7.99 Catalog Album Sale - Download Now on iTunes With the entire building having such a blast, it's quite possible that Joel was thinking the same thing as almost every one of his fans: What took you so long to come back? Billy Joel-Twyla Tharp Musical 'Movin' Out' Won't Dance on PBS' "Great Performances" Billy Joel - Exclusive Track + $7.99 Catalog Album Sale - Download Now on iTunes "Despite much effort, Movin' Out will not air on 'Great Performances.' While we have a long association with both Billy and Twyla and remain dazzled by their dynamic collaboration on Movin' Out, bringing a Broadway show to public television requires formidable financial resources beyond our usual fare," a PBS spokesperson told Playbill.com. "Alas, we were unable to raise the necessary foreign and commercial investment before the tour ended." The planned broadcast was announced in the "Great Performances" 2006-2007 season brochure and slated to air some time in winter/spring 2007. Billy Joel - Exclusive Track + $7.99 Catalog Album Sale - Download Now on iTunes Following a tryout at Chicago's Shubert Theatre, Movin' Out officially opened on The Great White Way Oct. 24, 2002, closing Dec. 11, 2005. The production took home Tony Awards for Best Choreography (Tharp) and Orchestrations (Joel and Stuart Malina). Launched in Detroit on Jan. 27, 2004, the dance-heavy musical's national tour ended its run in Birmingham, AL, Jan. 21, 2007, having played 1, 111 performances. Billy Joel - Exclusive Track + $7.99 Catalog Album Sale - Download Now on iTunes The bookless show uses Joel's song lyrics and Tharp's choreography to craft a story of five friends and lovers across three decades through love, war and loss. There is no dialogue, and all songs are performed by the pianist-singer, who sings non-stop and heads an onstage band during the show. Movin' Out's Cavanaugh Plays Feinstein's at the Regency March 4 and 5 Billy Joel - Exclusive Track + $7.99 Catalog Album Sale - Download Now on iTunes Michael Cavanaugh, who received a Tony nomination for his performance in Billy Joel and Twyla Tharp's Movin' Out, goes it solo at Feinstein's at the Regency March 4 and 5. Cavanaugh is scheduled to offer an evening of tunes by Billy Joel, Elton John and The Beatles. Show time each night is 8:30 PM. Michael Cavanaugh made his Broadway debut in MovinÕ Out, where he played and sang the music of Billy Joel. He was also heard as the voice of Razz on the Emmy-winning children's show "The Reppies." Cavanaugh has also recently performed at the U.S. Open, The Indy 500 and the Mohegan Sun Casino. Billy Joel - Exclusive Track + $7.99 Catalog Album Sale - Download Now on iTunes