A&E
February l8, 1999
11
Top
Weekend
Movies
1. Message In a
Bottle
2. Payback
3. My Favorite
Martian
4. She's All That
5. Blast From the
Past
6. Shakespeare
In Love
7. Saving
Private Ryan
8. Rushmore
9. Patch Adams
10. Varsity Blues
'Piano Man' moves audience
Lauren Bigge
The Pendulum
Hundreds of ecstatic fans be
gin to cheer as the lights dim in
Winston-Salem’s LJVM Coliseum.
Suddenly a white hot spotlight
beams down on the Piano Man,
who is sitting at his instrument. The
legend begins to work his magic on
the audience. La
dies and gentle
men, it’s Billy Joel.
Joel enthusi
astically launches
straight into some
of his older popu
lar hits, including
“You May Be
Right” and “Don’t
Ask Me Why”
from the 1980
“Glass Houses” al
bum as well as
“Movin’ Out
(Anthony’s Song)”
from 1977’s “The
Stranger.” As the
spotlight colors
change with the
mood and beat of
the music, he goes
on to sing “Allen
town,” “She’s Got
A Way,” and “The
Stranger” followed
by “Pressure,” “Innocent Man,” and
“My Life.”
Joel, at age 50, shows his au
dience that the passing of years has
not diminished his talent in the least.
Though he has been around since
the early 70’s, Joel still has as much
energy on stage as any young per
former today. He tossed the micro
phone stand around like a cheer
leader with a baton, pretended.to be
attacked by a stuffed animal as he
began to sing “I Go To Extremes,”
kicked the piano stool across the
stage and ran his rear end along the
ivories...and that was before the
concert was half over.
Joel also entertained the fans
with some personal stories about
his songs. “The Stranger” was writ
ten for his first ex-wife and “Inno
cent Man” was for his second ex-
wife. “And So It Goes” was written
for the time he dated Elle
MacPherson. He giggled at that
point, telling the audience that
“Christy [Brinkley, Joel’s second
ex-wife] thinks the song is for her.”
He joked with the fans about the
danger of taking advice about love
from the messages in his music,
considering his track record with
women. Joel continued his antics
with renditions of James Taylor’s
“Carolina” and Elvis Presley’s
“Love Me Tender.” Joel made up
his own lyrics when he forgot the
words to the other artists songs.
The Piano Man also made it
clear to the crowd that he takes his
music very seriously. His tribute to
the soldiers from Vietnam War,
“Good Night Saigon,” is quite sen
sitive and touching. During this
particular concert, the song began
with the infamous simulation of a
helicopter, followed by the appear
ance of Vietnam survivors arm-in-
arm on stage and lighters resem
bling candles in various sections of
the darkened Coliseum. Joel and
his band threw themselves into the
song until the
very end, when
the bright spot
light swept
around the au
dience like a
helicopter
search light.
H o w -
ever, fans did
not leave the
concert feeling
depressed.
Joel picked
things up again
with some of
his most fa
mous hits, such
as “The River
of Dreams,”
“We Didn’t
Start the Fire,”
ani “It’s Still
Rock and Roll
to Me.” The
Coliseum then
welled up with the sounds of hun
dreds of voices as the audience
joined Joel in singing “Scenes from
an Italian Restaurant.”
Joel finished off his fabu
lous sold-out show with audience
favorites “Only the Good Die
Young” and finally “Piano Man.”
His devoted fans clapped and
screamed with such enthusiasm that
the entire Coliseum shook. The
Piano Man aimed the microphone
at the audience and let them finish
his signature song for him. I think
we, the audience, will remember
the finale for years to come.
WSOE's 89.3 Top Ten
1. Ben lee "Cigarettes Will KHl You"
2. Jimmy Eat World "For Me This Is
Heaven"
3.3 Colors Red "Beautiful Day"
4. An! DiFranco"Virtue"
5. Placebo "Without You Fm Nothing"
6. Collective Soul "Heavy"
7. The Cardigans "My Favorite Game"
8. Sparklehorse "Sick of Goodbye'
9. Sebadoh "Flame"
10.MxPx "Never Learn"
NOW HEAR THIS!
CDR
Feb. 23
B.C.
Bewitched
Blondie
Goldie
TLC
ases
March 2
oundog
pey McIntyre
oug Powell
Bailter Space
y/here
'A 'A A
It's JAt
On Jour
March 1: Stabbing
Westward, Greensboro
Colisetim Complex,
Greensboro
March 6; B’*^Witched, Dean
Smith Center, Chapel Hill
March 6: Better Than Ezra,
Tremont Music Hall,
Charlotte
March 6; Better Than Ezra,
Tremont Music Hall
March 13; Rod Stewart,
Greensboro Coliseum
Complex
March 17; Black Crowes,
Greensboro Coliseum
Complex
On Staae
Feb. 20; Spring "^Gospel
Extravaganza" Whitley A,
Feb. 23: Vietnam In Film:
^'Green Berets" Whitley A
On Screen
West End Cinema
(538-9900)
Payback
Varsity Blues
. Prince of Egypt
A Civil Action
Life Is Beautiful
Stepmom
Shakespeare In Love
Message In A Bottle
A Bug's Life
The Faculty
Patch Adams
You've Got Mail
Simply Irresistable
My Favorite Martian
She's All That
Blast From the Past