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One Night Only
Live at Intuit Dome
October 20, 2024 Review by Jimmy Alvarez
It was supposed to be just another Friday night in L.A. under the lights and south of Sunset Boulevard. Instead, what we saw was the masses arriving to see where song meets the stars on the corner of Century and Prairie at Inglewood’s new Intuit Dome. It was billed as One Night Only; It should have been billed one night you’ll never forget.
The date was October 12th and this was the most diverse crowd at a show like this I had seen in recent memory. Everyone standing in line was there to see the shiniest light in a venue full of stars, the Piano Man – Billy Joel.
This would be the first time at Inuit Dome for many of the concertgoers. I overheard everyone excited about the show and the arena while I stopped at Mickey Ds on the corner. The one by Sullivan Street, across from the medical center.
It was a trip back to the days of entertainers. You know, bands from the ’70s like Earth, Wind & Fire, or Led Zeppelin. The bands you would talk about for a lifetime. Yeah, this was destined to be one of those shows.
INTUIT DOME
Inglewood, California
October 12, 2024
As you walked into this majestic edifice, it was the attention to detail that caught everyone’s eye.
From the Clipper rig outside the doors, the enormous video board as you step into the venue. The seats were new, and were as comfortable as they come.
The sound system was incredible, and the ambiance was second to none.
For this show, the crowd rolled in quickly or as quickly as they could. We would all tell that seat weren’t complete filled, which was odd for a sold-out show for the 18,000 souls that would be attending. About 20 minutes after the schedule start time, the lights dimmed and the roar of the crowd was near deafening.
Out from the rotating black piano was Billy Joel, and the crowd took it up a notch once they saw his face.
We would all be in for a treat as Joel would be covering music from his epic catalog of great albums, Piano Man, Streetlife Serenade, Turnstiles, The Stranger, 52nd Street, Glass Houses, The Nylon Curtain, An Innocent Man, The Bridge, Storm Front and River of Dreams. Our sonic journey blasted off with “Miami 2017 (Seen the Light Go Out on Broadway.”
As the crowd settled in, Joel took us on a magic carpet ride with “Pressure,” “Good Time Bad Times,” and “an older song” as he put it with “Vienna.“
At his first opportunity, Joel thanks the crowd for coming out and apologized for the later start. He said he was told traffic was very bad coming in and wanted to give fans a chance to get in, “L.A. traffic,” got a large laugh.
What everyone loved about Joel was the stories he told between songs. In a very Springsteen-esque style, he heard stories between songs. What was going on in the world, or in Joel’s world when he wrote or recorded certain songs. As he told his stories, you could her a pin dropped as everyone paid the utmost attention to every word. The next set of songs included “The Mexican Connection,” “Root Beer Rag,” and “The “Entertainer.”
In between the next set of songs, Joel joked about his age, and how old some of the songs were, and how we didn’t have to worry about him playing new stuff nobody knew; that drew a large laugh from the crowd. He pointed to the horns and they slid into “Zanzibar.”
Then, as the song ended, he said he was asked to come out from behind the piano for this one. As he stood in front of the mic the band started a riff to the Rolling Stones, “Start Me Up.” He said “Don’t worry, I’m not Mick Jagger” Then he broke into a Jagger dance, and started to sing the song, and it sounded great!
As you would imagine, he only sang snippet of the song, then took us on the journey we will all remember, he joked about not being able to hit the high notes, but he would try. The bassline kicked in, and the snap of the fingers took us to “An Innocent Man.”
Then, a treat for all, he brought out the band to the front of the stage, and said he was very lucky to have band that could sing. They went into a Capela version of “The Lion Sleeps Tonight,” and then segued into “The Longest Time.”
Other great moments included Joh Mayer coming out to join Joel in “This is the Time.” If that wasn’t enough, the next set of hits included “Don’ Ask Me Why,” “Allentown,” and one of my personal favorites, “Say Goodbye to Hollywood,” followed by “New York State of Mind.”
Since it was a night full of starts, out came Gun s ‘n Roses front-man Axl Rose as the duo crooned out, Wings cover, “Live and Let Die.” Then, the old-timers lost their minds to “Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song)” and “My Life.” Joel’s daughter Della Rose joined him for that one. He wasn’t done appealing to the older demographic as he belted out “Only the Good Die Young” followed by “River of Dreams.”
What amazed e was how well the entire crowd was familiar with his body of work. The “younger” crowd didn’t lose a step and sang along to other Joel classics, “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant,” and when we herd the harmonica to “Piano Man,” you could have sworn L.A. was having a seismic event. Joel came out from behind the piano, took a bow along with the rest of the band, and they said goodnight.
We know that wasn’t where this story ends, of course the band came back out for an encore. Immediately, everyone stood to “We Didn’t Start the Fire,” followed by another seismic event to “Uptown Girl.” The crowd was up and screaming like they were at a hard-core punk show, that’s how much they love this guy.
As we knew the end was near, everyone got into “It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me” then “Big Shot.” As you would think the crowd couldn’t get louder, Joel gave us a wink and the warmest smile and closed with “You May be Right.”
As Joel thanked everyone for coming out, he waved goodbye and everyone cheered on the Piano Man. What a night for music and memories; All courtesy of Billy Joel.
In the end, Joel has comes a very long way since he was a kid in the Bronx. What his fans love most about him is that he has that same love for music that we came to know when he wore a younger mans clothes.
The tour continues, catch this legend if you have a chance. It will be a life event for sure.
TO FOLLOW
SID 241020 | TRACI TURNER | EDITOR
