Two old guys playing pianos

So Tuesday afternoon, C and I took a road trip to Tulsa. He purchased Elton John/Billy Joel tickets a week or two ago and since they aren't playing in Dallas this time around, it was either Tulsa or San Antonio.

The last time they came through Dallas, we were living in Holland and missed them. C particularly wanted to see Elton, as he's never seen him in concert. We saw Billy Joel alone a year or two ago and he was really good, so we knew this concert would be excellent, and it was.

I didn't bother taking a good camera since I didn't know what kind of rules they would have. Turned out they didn't care. If anything, they encouraged photos, which makes me love them more. Seeing all these old bands and performers isn't cheap and it irks me when they expect you to pay $100+ per person to see them and won't even let you take photos of the occasion. It isn't like any of us can get good photos. After every single song he did, Elton got up and turned around and waved to the audience all around. They both took some time to shake hands and sign autographs for folks in front of the stage at the end of their set and at the end of the concert. One guy from the audience even got up towards the end and proposed to his girlfriend in the stands using Elton's piano mic.

They started the show with both pianos rising onto the stage. They alternated songs from each others playlists and did 6 or so songs together, either taking turns with the lyrics or occasionally singing together. Then Elton did a solo show, with around 6 or 7songs. Rocket Man turned into the extended extended exteeeeeended version. I think that song was 10 minutes long on its own. Then Elton went off stage and Billy did his show. Elton was friendly and good-natured. Billy was positively chatty, but in a good way. Then after 7 or 8 of his songs, Elton returned and then they both played 8 or so songs, alternating again. They also took a trip through Beatlemania, doing "Birthday" and "Back in the USSR". They ended it with Billy Joel's "Piano Man". 3.5 hours of music.

I did take some very very short video with my cell phone, and, of course, the requisite crappy photos. The spotlights on them made them photograph like glowing spectres. We were seated just behind and to the right of Elton. His back was directly to us when he was playing. But we like those types of seats. We'd rather be there than too far out front. We could see their faces from where we were at. The stage had a low back to it, and their different band members rose up and down on square platforms. They each had their own band with them.

If you can see them in concert, do. It's one of the best concerts we've been to. A great big sing-along with guys who obviously love what they do. Here's some of the truly crappy vids I took. My phone limits the file size and won't let me record more than a few seconds at a time. You can find much better vids of old concert footage on youtube. (And no, my version of Quicktime doesn't let me rotate the vids. I give up. I need to go get the house ready for the social worker visit at 5pm...we have to renew our homestudy for China. They're just going to be sideways.)