Week of Billy Joel, Fitz and the Tantrums, and Yes.

    

      I know, I know another concert recap blog, but it's a goodun. I had some rather great adventures in the last month and a half, so now if you let me, I would like to tell you about them. This week I will be reviewing Billy Joel, Fitz and the Tantrums, and Yes live in concert.

Billy Joel 07/18/14 Wriggly Field 

     I had only been to Wriggly Field one other time, it was also for Paul McCartney concert. That concert was amazing and Wriggly was the perfect venue for another epic concert like Billy Joel. I had been listening to Billy Joel for as long as I can remember and had wanted to see him live for a very long time, so the build up to this show was intense. It was absolutely worth it, the show was amazing.

Here is Billy Joel performing Only the Good Die Young.

     Of course some things were obvious he was going to play Piano Man, he was going to make some note about it being Wriggly Field, but the rest was all up to chance. Gavin Degraw opened the show to the surprise of almost everyone in attendance. He even said, 'I am in fact not Billy Joel surprise surprise".  He did a very good job, I even knew some of his songs. Then it was finally time, the lights went out, the crowd went nuts, and out he came singing A Matter of Trust. The show was full of the greatest hits and a few deep cuts thrown in for fun. After all these years he still sounded great even singing a song he wasn't sure he could sing. "If I miss the notes then you'll know this isn't prerecorded". Even his stories were world class rock star stories. "I'm gonna use this throat spay so all my notes sound fresh. I saw Ted Nugent once, he didn't use this throat spay. I suppose it wouldn't help him much unless he sprayed it up his ass."

Here is Billy Joel performing Piano Man live.

      The show started with more b sides than hits, but that changed as soon as he came back for the encore, and blew the audience's mind. He played Uptown Girl, It's Still Rock and Roll to Me, Big Shot, You May Be Right, and Only the Good Die Young all back to back. Another one of the show's highlights was when Billy Joel brought out his roadie chainsaw to sing AC/DC's Highway to Hell. His impression of AC/DC's Brian Johnson was amazing and it was a nice change of pace for the show as a whole. The truth is that Billy Joel is in a league of his own as a musician and a performer. He is one artist that everyone should get to see live in their life. He is fun, powerful, and timeless a true classic. Nothing will ever compare to sitting in an arena of people and singing along to Piano Man as one entity. 

Fitz and the Tantrums 07/29/14 Simon Estes Riverfront Ampetheater

     I have to admit I didn't know much about Fitz and the Tantrums going into this show. I knew about their reputation as an amazing live band, and I knew The Walker. Oh I knew The Walker, almost too well. I worked at a TV station that was airing the Oscars, so when Ellen created a promo for it using  The Walker, it was cool. That is until it had aired 50 times a day for a solid three months. For a while I didn't want to hear that song ever again, but after that passed I realized how great of a song it really was. I was really excited to see them play night fall on the river, because summer in Des Moines and concerts on the river are two of my favorite things. It really shows off just how cool of a city it is. 

Here is Fitz and the Tantrums performing The Walker live.

     Watching Fitz and the Tantrums is like being the guest at a great dance party, they really do just make you have fun. I don't know how you could see their show and not have fun. What's also interesting is the chemistry between the two lead singers. When they sing together it's kind of like sexual tension live on stage. I would be shocked if they hadn't been romantically connected at one point, because they sure acted like they had. That same romantic energy was eaten up by the crowd, who was also full of couples ready to dance. They played 17 songs for an hour and a half, which included a great cover of Sweat Dreams by The Eurythmics. The band told stories and even demanded that the whole crowd, (no exceptions) go down on the ground and jumped back up. The best moments of the show came during the encore and dancing to Moneygrabber, and The Walker. This is the kind of show for all ages and music lovers of any type or genre.

Yes 08/07/14 Arvest Band Theater

     I had been a fan of Rush and Dream Theater for years so it was only a matter of time before I traced the genre for the greats, and came across Yes. They have truly an incredible legacy, with 21 albums and a career in over 4 decades. Of course with a legacy like that there are pitfalls, like multiple lineup changes. I have heard from multiple Yes fans say that there is no Yes without original singer Jon Anderson. So I looked up show reviews of the new lineup and the word was positive. I also listened to the new album which was also very good, so I was game.

Here is Yes performing Roundabout live.

     Yes had been performing full album shows for the past few tours so I wasn't surprised to see that they were doing the same again. This tour they were performing Closer to the Edge and Fragile live, as well as new material, and greatest hits. They had an opener which was good because we got there late missing the opener. When they took the stage they brought up a video screen flashing by all of the previous album covers. They opened with Closer to the edge except they played it in reverse to mix things up. It sounded great with the usual 10 minute guitar solos and breakdowns, and the new singer was excellent, with an incredibly high vocal range. Next came a couple of tracks, of course the best ones Believe Again and The Game were played. After that they went into my personal favorite Yes album Fragile, kicking things off from the start this time with Roundabout. The album finished and the band left the stage, after the Yes lettering lit back up they came back with two mega hits I've Seen All Good People, and Starship Trooper. This is a show for music lovers, the songs are long, the melodies are all over the place, and the instrument parts are insane. If you like that type of thing then check this out, I loved it.