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It didn't take long for Billy Joel to return to the Hamptons. Less than a year after selling his oceanfront compound to Jerry Seinfeld for $32 million, the "Piano Man" and daughter Alexa were dining the other night at NV Tsunami with owner Frank Cilione, their once and future neighbor. They were celebrating closing on Billy's new place on Three Mile Harbor in East Hampton. It's not the wrong side of the tracks (there isn't a wrong side in the Hamptons anymore), but it's a lot less celebrity-centric than his former abode. And it has a private dock where Billy can keep his beautiful $400,000 fishing boat.

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"Long Islander of the Century For Music: Billy Joel" (1949 - )
By: Cynthia Blair
(January 8th, 2001)

"I am surprised and honored," Billy Joel commented about having been voted Long Islander of the Century in Music by Newsday's readers. "Each of the Long Island musicians highlighted in Newsday's column had a significant impact in their own special genre of music. I count many of them among my own musical influences."

He added, "I would like to express my gratitude for the music education programs that were supported by Long Island public school systems when I was growing up. I hope that the value of music education in public schools continues to be recognized by Long Island communities."

Joel's memorable melodies and colorful lyrics made him the second biggest-selling solo artist of all time. His steady stream of successes earned him a Grammy Legend Award and induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. A native of Hicksville, he has most recently resided in East Hampton.

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"Joel Singing L.I. Love-Triangle Blues"
By: Peter Fearon
(January 17th, 2001)

Piano Man Billy Joel, a "Survivor" hunk and a sexy Long Island news reporter are locked in a bitter love triangle, The Post has learned. Joel, who will be 52 this year, is angry and upset over the passionate relationship between reporter Trish Bergin, his former girlfriend, and "Survivor" star Dr. Sean Kenniff, a neurologist with a pierced left nipple.

Sources say a smitten Joel recently made a series of telephone calls to the beguiling television newsgal, calling for her to vote Sean off her personal island.

Joel and Bergin were hot and heavy for several months last year. "Billy isn't happy at all about Sean," said a friend of Kenniff, medical correspondent for the troubled TV news magazine "Extra."

"He has called Trish many times and talked to her about him."

The Bronx-born Joel reportedly called Kenniff a "paskunyak" - Yiddish for a contemptible person.

But 31 year-old Trish, who was still figuring out how to use a sipper cup when Joel was an award-winning recording artist, is ignoring his pleas.

Joel blew his last chance at winning the delectable Trish back from Dr. Sean, according to one source. They were briefly reconciled last September, but then Trish turned up at Joel's home unexpectedly and found the "Piano Man" in bed with an unidentified woman some 15 years older than her.

There was a brief confrontation, and Trish stormed out.

"Billy Joel has bombarded her with flowers and gifts of Dom Perignon, but she doesn't want anything to do with him anymore," said the source.

Trish was spotted by Post photographers on a dinner date with Dr. Sean at the astronomically overpriced Harry Cipriani last week. The tony Fifth Avenue eatery may have been chosen to send a message to the singer.

Bergin and Joel had enjoyed many memorable evenings there. Then, several weeks ago, Joel was spotted having lunch there with sexy actress Dina Meyer.

Trish, from Ronkonkoma, LI, started dating Joel last March. They had been set up by, of all people, Billy's original 'Uptown Girl,' ex-wife Christie Brinkley.

It was a difficult time for Joel. His relationship with Long Island artist Carolyn Beegan had ended. He had sold his 12-acre oceanfront home in East Hampton to Jerry Seinfeld for a reported $32 million, and was faced with leaving his beloved East End.

Brinkley, still concerned about her old flame, came up with the matchmaking scheme during an interview with Bergin.

Joel and Bergin knew each other because she had interviewed him several times. Brinkley knew that Joel found the newswoman attractive and that she was back in the "meet market" following a painful divorce.

Last year, Joel told The Post: "Christie called me up and said, 'Did you know she's not wearing a wedding ring?'"

Soon, bouquets of flowers began appearing at the News-12 newsroom. The relationship became intense, and the pair spent a passionate summer of love.

Last summer, Joel and Trish shared some of their feelings for each other. Joel told the Post: "I have a hard time talking about it. Every time I talk too much about any kind of relationship I'm in, it puts a hex on it."

And Trish said: "We have a really good time together, but it's, like, wait and see."

"They became very close very quickly," said a mutual friend. "The relationship did wonders for Billy's morale. It turned his summer around and got him out of the doldrums. Trish was a pick-me-up for him, a real tonic.

"But I think the relationship put Trish under a lot more pressure than she needed. It was intense and public, and she is very private. She doesn't like the attention from the gossip columns."

By September, the love affair appeared to have burned itself out.

Enter Dr. Sean.

Until the CBS "Survivor" phenomenon made national figures of Richard Hatch, Rudy Boesch, Colleen Haskell and the other Survivors, Massapequa-born Dr. Sean had been chief resident of neurology at Long Island Jewish Medical Center.

He and Trish Bergin first met when she covered a breaking news story at the hospital, a story from which Sean emerged a hero. He was one of several doctors who kept the hospital running and saved lives during a potentially catastrophic blackout.

They did not see each other again until after Dr. Sean had been made famous by "Survivor." She interviewed him again, and rumors started to circulate that they were dating.

In September, the two appeared in public for the first time, at a grand reopening bash at Studio 54. Bergin looked more beautiful than ever, and Dr. Sean looked like the cat who ate the canary.

They held hands and huddled together for most of the night at the front bar in a glittering crowd that included Matt Dillon, Kylie Bax and Russell Simmons.

By then, they had more in common than ever, since Dr. Sean had begun a new career as a TV newsman.

Even as Trish Bergin's relationship with the castaway doctor intensified, she tried to reignite her love for Billy Joel. Just days after her cozy time with Kenniff, she was spotted canoodling with Joel at the Paradise cafe in Sag Harbor.

"After she started seeing Sean, Billy Joel began pursuing her," claimed a friend of the doctor. "There were many calls from Billy Joel asking her to come back.

"Sean didn't want to get into a feud with Billy Joel. He admires Billy Joel. But it did cause some friction with Trish. They broke up for a while over it. It's pretty hard to compete with Billy Joel."

Dr. Sean said he couldn't comment about his relationship with Trish Bergin or Billy Joel's feelings about it.

"I really can't talk about this. It's a personal matter. All I can tell you is that Trish and I are good friends," he said.

A spokesperson at Columbia Records said the singer was not pursuing Bergin, who also declined to talk about her relationships.

"I really just prefer not to say anything about this," she said.

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"Anyone But Him!"
Billy Joel's sometime girl dumps him for "Survivor's" dopey Sean.
By: Amy Reiter
(January 18th, 2001)

It could have been worse. It could have been Richard Hatch.

The "New York Post" is reporting that Billy Joel has been dumped by his on-again, off-again girlfriend for...(wait for it)...Sean from "Survivor."

According to the tabloid, the "Piano Man's" ex-, Long Island news reporter Trish Bergin, has been playing castaway with the frighteningly clueless Dr. Sean Kenniff, and Joel himself is none too pleased with the turn of events.

"Billy isn't happy at all about Sean," one of Kenniff's buddies told the paper. "He has called Trish many times and talked to her about him."

But it seems Bergin isn't quite ready to extinguish the dull-witted doctor's torch just yet. Nevermind that Joel has reportedly dubbed Kenniff a "paskunyak," a Yiddish expression indicating deep disdain.

How do you say "Tell her about it" in Yiddish?

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"Joel Likes Himself The Way He Is"
Singer sees uncertain future - and loves it.
By: George Varga
(January 19th, 2001)

Billy Joel is proud of his worldwide record sales, which topped the 100 million mark in 1999, placing him alongside The Beatles. But he is concerned that many of his fans know him best for the 33 Top-40 singles he has scored since he first hit the U.S. charts in 1974 with the autobiographical "Piano Man."

"I'm not everybody's cup of tea, and I totally understand," he said.

"If I defined Billy Joel only by his Top-40 singles, I wouldn't like me, either."

Come again?

"I don't want to run away from him," Joel said, "but I don't want to be defined by that body of work - the hit singles most people know me for.

"I didn't ever think I was that Top-40 guy; I always thought a lot of my best work was on the albums. And, fortunately, I started off in an era where they played album cuts (on radio), and an artist built a career based on albums, not singles. I guess the new crop of musicians have it much harder."

Joel may indeed be a man out of time.

But being au courant in this era of synthetic teen-pop is of no concern to this five-time Grammy winner, who kicks off a monthlong North American tour tonight with Elton John at SDSU's Cox Arena.

In fact, Joel finds it liberating that his artistic persona has grown increasingly less clear since his most recent album of all-new material, 1993's "River of Dreams." Tellingly, the last song on that album was titled "Famous Last Words."

"I don't know who I am," Joel, 51, said recently from his New York home.

"And I kind of like that. Because I assume, at this age, that you're kind of stuck in who you are. And one of the great things about being this age - and, of course, having a lot of bucks! - is that I'm open to anything.

"I can be whoever I want to be. I don't even have to be the other guy I used to be. If, 10 years ago, somebody would have told me that, today, I'd be in the boat-building business, that I'd be playing classical piano, be single and dating, and that I was going to sell my (Long Island) house to Jerry Seinfeld (for $37 million), I would've laughed."

Joel chuckled heartily.

"So a lot of funny things happened, and I'm kind of enjoying them all. As far as asking, who am I? I don't know," he said.

"Am I a man in the midst of a middle-age crisis? I don't think so.

"Am I an aged rock star? Yeah, I suppose so.

"I haven't done the 'rock star' thing in eight years, and that's a couple of careers now. After eight years, you're officially out. But I am doing a tour with Elton, so I guess that means I have one foot in."

Another chuckle.

"Does that mean I have the other foot in the grave?" he asked. "I don't know. But it doesn't mean I'm still Billy Joel."

That he is touring at all comes as a happy surprise to many of his fans, since Joel announced several years ago that his days of lengthy concert treks were over.

But he is not the retiring type, even if he is content to limit himself mostly to sporadic private shows for wealthy corporations.

"They offer you an absurd amount of money to play a short set," Joel said. His sole public performance in 1999, a New Year's Eve gig at New York's Madison Square Garden, grossed $4,476,252 and yielded the recent album "2000 Years: The Millennium Concert."

"I never said I was going to retire," he continued. "I said that I'm never going to do long tours again. This (monthlong) tour with Elton is a sissy tour. Four weeks? That's not a tour - that's not even a rehearsal! - and we may do it again. But it's certainly not a marathon tour; my band used to do from nine months up to two years,
and I won't do that again."

Eternal Entertainer

Joel and John will open tonight's concert with several duets. All 13,100 seats for the show sold out in 55 minutes, even though the top tickets cost more than $200, plus service charges. Asked if he would pay that much, Joel quipped: "No, absolutely not, because I can get in for nothing."

"I'm not thrilled; I'd rather keep the prices down," he said more seriously. "I kept my tickets down to $45 until this tour. Now the $45 tickets are the nosebleed seats. But it's Elton, too, and I can't tell Elton what to charge. So it's, what do you call it? Two for the price of two?"

Joel recalled how, in the early 1970s, he used to be called "the American Elton John," a comparison inspired more by the fact both were piano-playing singer-songwriters than by their actual styles. And he sang John's praises.

"Elton is a very funny man, very self-deprecating," Joel said. "He's hysterical, actually, and has a heart the size of Texas. He's fun to work with, and such a good musician. It's often overlooked how good he is, because of all the excesses and tabloid stuff.

"When we play together, it comes down to: He's a piano player, I'm a piano player, and we duel. I'm hoping we get more of that on this tour and kick each others' shows in the (bottom)."

Joel and John are both in their 50s, though that hasn't prevented John from maintaining a steady touring and recording schedule.

But the passing of time is beginning to affect their ability to perform, as Joel readily acknowledged.

"There is a finite aspect," he said.

"Rock has a certain physicality. Both Elton and I have dropped the keys of certain songs, because we can't sing them like we did in our 20s. If you have to drop the key too many half-tones, or a couple of whole-tones, it's time to think about getting off the playing field. That's why I won't do long tours anymore. I can do short, four-
week, guerrilla tours. But longer than that, I can't."

Joel, who laughingly described himself as "an old fart," paused to ponder the future of his career and his aging fan base.

"When does a rock star become a parody and laughable?" he asked. "When he becomes an imitation of his former self; when he becomes a Las Vegas lounge crooner, someone who doesn't believe in what he's doing anymore."

Joel's performing days may be dwindling, but not his passion for music. The music that gets him fired up now isn't pop or rock, however, but classical.

Joel has been hard at work honing various compositions for solo piano and a chamber-sized ensemble. If all goes according to plan, an album will be released later this year, though Joel will be credited solely as a composer.

"People may think I've been twiddling my thumbs for seven years, but most of what I was working on was first drafts," he noted.

"It took me a long time to get to point where I thought it was good enough to be recorded. It doesn't matter if it sells (only) 500 copies. That's not the point. The idea is the point. And this needs to be played by a virtuoso concert pianist, not me. I play like a rock and roll pianist.

"Classical music to me was almost like the girl next door, my first love. Then I got infatuated with this rock temptress in torn stockings, and we ran away and had a torrid affair for 30 years. Now it's over, and we see each other for four-week intervals and make mad, passionate love. I've gone back to classical music, my first
love.... In the early '90s, I got asked to do an 'Unplugged' album. I said: 'I'm a piano player - the only way I could get more unplugged is by taking a bunch of laxatives.'"

Joel is quick to acknowledge that his new work owes an obvious debt to various classical-music icons.

"I'm sure I'll get sliced to pieces by classical critics, and probably with good reason," he said. "Because a lot of it is very derivative of Chopin and Beethoven, and there's also some Schumann and Rachmaninoff in it.

"I used to get called to task for copying Ray Charles and The Beatles, and I always admitted to it. The Beatles were the best. And why not sound like Ray Charles? I didn't want to sound like a white kid from Levittown, Long Island. Everyone is influenced by someone, and that's what great about music. It's a continuum. No one starts
from ground zero."

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"Elton John & Billy Joel's Tour Opener Serves Up The Hits"
By: George A. Paul
(January 22nd, 2001)

Concert collaborations can be downright disastrous if they're poorly conceived. But for superstars (and friends) like Elton John and Billy Joel - who first took their "Face 2 Face" stadium tour around America in 1994-95 - this sequel fit like an old glove.

So opening night jitters for the 2001 version were minimal on Friday (January 19th, 2001). The sold-out crowd at San Diego State University's Cox Arena was treated to a well-paced evening of hits and some surprise role reversals by the veteran piano men.

Joel trotted onstage to the strains of "Yankee Doodle Dandy," while John entered amid a "God Save the Queen" fanfare, decked out in a lime green jacket. They took their places at two adjoining black grand pianos and then launched the marathon 37-song, three-hour-plus show with a gorgeous "Your Song." The duo's seamless duets continued on a romantic "Just the Way You Are" and majestic "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me."

After Joel left, John kept chit-chat to a minimum and kicked off his solid set with the dynamic prog-rock epic "Funeral For A Friend/Love Lies Bleeding" - propelled by Guy Babylon's fluid keyboard work. Other highlights included rich Beach Boys-styled harmonies on "Someone Saved My Life Tonight," rollicking rocker "All The Young Girls Love Alice" and an orchestrated "Levon" (where John tacked on a boogie woogie riff). "Uptown Girl," the first foray into '80s material, featured John's brawny tenor and quick, syncopated piano work on the Joel track. (They each played a full set of their own, and tackled one of the other's songs in the process). He was truly energized on "Sad Songs (Say So Much)" and kicked over the bench to hammer out "Saturday Night's Alright (for Fighting)."

An amiable Joel, who joked about Internet fans, lawsuits, New Jersey (complete with a snatch of Bruce Springsteen's "Born To Run") and twirled a mike stand in the air, said "since this is our first show, these will be very original mistakes." His lively segment opened with "We Didn't Start the Fire."

The band took a while to warm up, but Joel proved those Broadway-meets-classical music piano chops of his were still intact on "The Ballad of Billy The Kid" and "Prelude/Angry Young Man." A first-time performance of John's "Take Me To The Pilot" was gritty, the feisty "I Go To Extremes" found him sparring with the always-amazing Crystal Talifero on backing vocals, and he really cut loose on a metal-tinged "It's Still Rock and Roll To Me."

The jubilant encore section was just as long as each of the performers' main sets. John returned in a red velvet jacket with medusa written on back and the duo literally played 'til they dropped on such barnburners as "Great Balls of Fire," the Beatles' "Come Together," "The Bitch Is Back," and "You May Be Right."

Finally, everything came full circle with two more trademark ballads: "Candle In The Wind" was a stretch for Joel, yet John brought a stunning new resonance to "Piano Man" and the audience (most of whom stayed despite the approaching midnight hour) finished it a capella. An exhilarating ride.

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"Joel, John Face Off"
By: Steve Baltin
(January 23rd, 2001)

The picturesque city of San Diego, where temperatures hover around eighty degrees year round, and the sky is a constant blue, is only a two-hour drive from Los Angeles. But four songs into the sold-out opening date of Elton John and Billy Joel's "Face 2 Face" tour, anyone who traveled the two hours to the show was experiencing the
surreal sensation they had actually journeyed a quarter-century back in time.

What happened to Elton John in the last few years, bringing one of rock's wealthiest performers back to a level of hunger and passion usually reserved for up-and-coming bands, is a mystery that can probably only be explained by The X-Files' Mulder and Scully. Whatever it was though, it returned an intensity to John's performance that even his most ardent admirers would've readily admitted he could not have achieved again before this show.

John and his band had the opening slot on this first night of the tour, though he and Joel shared the stage for the strong, though obvious, opening selections of John's "Your Song" and "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me," and Joel's "Just the Way You Are." After Joel left the stage to a standing ovation, John dug into his treasure
chest for the epic rocker "Funeral For A Friend/Love Lies Bleeding." Highlighted by John's fiery piano playing, the return of original drummer Nigel Olsson and longtime guitarist David Johnstone, the band recaptured all of the majesty and desperation the song possessed upon its 1975 release.

Following a deafening standing ovation, John got up from his piano stool and pumped his fists in acknowledgement of the enthusiastic crowd. But he wasted no time in going right back into the music for a stellar version of the ballad "Someone Saved My Life Tonight."

Even during his prime, John's flamboyance and grandiosity was often more of an attention-getter than his music. So the sparseness of this performance, which relied on no fanfare - a minimal light show as its only special effect - was a surprising direction for John. But it was a brilliant move. In this understated setting, the elegance of "Tiny Dancer" was brought to its fullest; "I'm Still Standing" returned to the bold anthem it once was; "Crocodile Rock" transformed into the zealous paean to the influence of rock & roll it originally was, and the title track to "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" showcased the soft, sad balladry of its youth.

John's set came almost exclusively from his '70s oeuvre. And while it was hit-laden, he did throw in a curve with the rabble-rousing "All the Young Girls Love Alice," an un-touted selection from "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road."

Piano devotees were not disappointed either, as John displayed some nimble finger-work during a boogie-woogie solo in the midst of "Levon," as well as at the end of the crowd favorite "Rocket Man."

By the time John exited the stage to another standing ovation he had left what seemed an almost impossible act to follow, which was exactly what Joel had to overcome. To his credit, Joel also exhibited shrewd decision-making acumen by taking a very different route than John. Joel stayed away from his biggest hits early, a wise move as catalog vs. catalog he simply can't match up to John.

Digging into the archives for such early staples as "The Ballad of Billy The Kid" had mixed results at best for Joel. While he did rebound nicely from a mid-set lull with the showy rocker "Only The Good Die Young," his pacing was off all night. The between-songs banter, amusing at times, just foolish at others (as when he placed heavy emphasis on the word "Cox" three times during an early monologue) was just part of the problem. Every time he seemed ready to go in for the kill, and this crowd was more than waiting for it, he let up. A rousing "It's Still Rock and Roll To Me" was hindered by a seemingly infinite intro that allowed Joel to play with his mic repeatedly, a la Roger Daltrey. Unfortunately by the ninth time he knocked the mic stand back and forth, the momentum from "Only The Good Die Young" had primarily disappeared. He did save his best for last, with the enjoyable sing-a-long "Scenes From An Italian Restaurant."

The encore found both performers "face to face" again, but their time on stage together lacked the surprises or sincerity of the individual highlights. Even covers of the Beatles' "Come Together" and "A Hard Day's Night" seemed obvious. Both men are well-known Beatles admirers, but the two songs in a row felt like a ploy for a
cheap pop. But John and Joel, each a venerable act loved by millions, have at times appeared willing to do anything for those cheap pops, just so long as the applause doesn't die down. In San Diego it didn't. And for at least one of these veterans, he had the satisfaction of knowing that applause was well-earned on this night.

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"Piano Men Collaborate On Their Hits"
By: Patrick MacDonald
(January 25th, 2001)

The two most famous piano men in rock brought their history-making tour to the Pacific Northwest last night for a sold-out show at the Tacoma Dome.

The two superstars did much more than just share a bill - they actually collaborated, sharing the stage at the beginning and end of the show and singing one another's songs in their sets.

After a few opening songs together, with one singing the other's hit songs, Elton John took the first set, backed by a band that included some of his longtime bandmates.

Resplendent in a yellow suit and wearing brown-tinted sunglasses and one long dangling earring, he was more subdued than in his '70s heyday, although he did rock out in songs like "Crocodile Rock" and "Saturday Night's Alright (for Fighting)."

But much of the show was pretty mellow. It almost had the feeling of a recital. And without the glitter and spectacle he's known for, you could appreciate the songs for their fine lyrics and engaging arrangements. Among the songs that were most effective were "Levon," "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" and "Sad Songs (Say So Much)."

Among the members of his excellent six-piece band were longtime drummer Nigel Olsson and singer-guitarist Davey Johnstone.

The stage was large, with John in front playing a big grand piano. Two large, round video screens were behind him showing close-ups of his flying fingers on the keyboard and his expressive face. He seemed to be having a good time, especially when he could watch people dancing near the edge of the stage.

Perhaps the most telling song of his set was the anthemic "I'm Still Standing," and the whole concert proved that he sure was. He came back at the end of the show and sang some seven songs with Joel. Each artist played about 90 minutes and emphasized familiar hits. Very few obscure songs were in either set. This was the kind of show in which the audience could sing along with every song.

Joel had an even bigger band, an eight-piece, which included his esteemed drummer Liberty DeVitto and saxophonist Mark Rivera. With the capacity crowd of about 22,000, the "Tacoma Dome crawl" on Interstate 5, which develops for every sold-out show, was worse than ever. Even though the concert started 15 minutes late, fans kept streaming in for the first hour.

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"Elton John and Billy Joel Continue Their Tour With Lots of Energy"
By: Stephan Heimbecher
(January 25th, 2001)

Maybe it was the presence of Bill Gates (who kept passing by our seats during the show) that made Elton's teleprompter crash and left him messing up the words during "Sad Songs (Say So Much)" at Tacoma Dome on January 24th, 2001. Or Elton mixed up the lyrics as a result of too much routine caused by playing the same songs every night.

While Elton performed the exact same set for the third time in a row, Billy Joel threw in a surprise song again: In San Diego he played "The Ballad of Billy The Kid," Vancouver got "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)," and the Tacoma audience was blessed with a fabulous version of "New York State Of Mind." Maybe someone should remind Elton that there are a lot more songs in his repertoire than "Tiny Dancer," "Rocket Man," or "I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues."

Elton re-discovered "All The Young Girls Love Alice" for this tour, and his voice is just perfect on "Just The Way You Are." But when it comes to him performing a Billy Joel song as part of his set, he picked "Uptown Girl" again while Billy rehearsed a new Elton cover, "Take Me To The Pilot."

Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining. The two piano men performed another awesome almost 4-hour show at the Tacoma Dome. But sometimes I just wonder whether Elton is too busy touring and has no time left to rehearse (new) songs for his many concerts.

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"Billy Joel, Elton John Concert Elates Fans"
Long show features many hit songs.
By: Ernest A. Jasmin
(January 26th, 2001)

It was a boxed live set. No, it was two boxed sets.

Actually it was "Face 2 Face" - Elton John and Billy Joel in concert before a sellout crowd Wednesday night at the Tacoma Dome. Over the course of nearly four hours, the two piano icons ran through a lengthy set list of many of the catchiest pop songs of the '70s and '80s.

Around 7:45pm a pair of pianos rose from the stage. Joel marched in, stage right, in a conservative black suit, to the tune "Yankee Doodle Dandy." John emerged from the opposite end of the stage, wearing a bright yellow suit, a dangling earring and sunglasses. They did the obligatory salute and hug and got right down to business.

Backed by a team of musicians, the duo remained on stage together for the night's first three songs: John's "Your Song," Joel's late '70s hit "Just The Way You Are" and John's majestic "Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Me."

Then Joel exited, as did his piano, leaving John to play a 13-song set that included "Rocket Man," "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road," "Sad Songs (Say So Much)," "I'm Still Standing," "Crocodile Rock" and his rendition of Joel's '80s hit "Uptown Girl."

Britain's highest-paid performer wrapped up his set with "Saturday Night's Alright (for Fighting)."

John sounded as good live as he does on CD, but Joel exhibited better crowd rapport and appeared to be having a lot more fun. During his set, he hammed it up with dramatic pauses, exuberant gestures and cocky vocal embellishment. He joked with fans, danced and, at his most manic, pounded the keys with his butt at the end of "I Go to Extremes."

Joel began with "Prelude/Angry Young Man" and "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)" before addressing the crowd. He recalled the first venue he ever played in Puget Sound - a Seattle blues club called the Fresh Air Tavern - and reflected on the city's blues scene. "It was a good blues town - a lot of good bands," he said. "It's not really blues, but this is our version." He then launched into the melancholy "New York State of Mind."

Sure, "Face 2 Face" was a showcase of piano giants, but nine songs into his set, the piano man strapped on a guitar. "Thank you. Thank you very much," he said in his best faux-Elvis voice before launching into a campy rendition of The King's "Don't Be Cruel."

He then rounded out his set with "We Didn't Start the Fire," "It's Still Rock and Roll To Me" and a song he dedicated
to "all the bad girls" in the audience: "Only The Good Die Young."

For many performers, the two encores - 10 songs in all - would have been a complete concert unto itself. John's piano once again rose from under the stage and both performers re-emerged - John in a black suit with a rainbow burst print. The two teamed up for several songs, including Joel's "My Life" and John's "The Bitch Is Back" and "I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues"; the Beatles' "A Hard Day's Night" and "Come Together"; and Jerry Lee Lewis' piano standard "Great Balls of Fire."

The second encore - during which John performed in a bright magenta coat and slacks - consisted of John's "Candle In The Wind" and Joel's harmonica-driven hit from 1973, "Piano Man."

One of the concert's most magical moments occurred during the latter, as the two stopped singing and let the sea of baby boomers do the honors. Sing us a song, you're the piano man. Sing us a song tonight...

Fans seemed to think they had gotten their money's worth - even at up to $175 a pop. "I'd see it again in a minute," said Rochelle Klingele of Bonney Lake, who paid $85 for her ticket and claimed she would have spent up to $200.

Jeff and Jenny Adam of Gig Harbor saw the duo when they performed together in 1995." It was just as good if not better," Jenny said of Wednesday's concert.

"It was excellent," Jeff agreed. "They worked well off of each other. They're still kickin' after all these years."

Kelly Cleveland gave the show a stronger endorsement. "I've been going to concerts for 30 years. It's the best concert I've ever seen," she said.

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"John and Joel - Two Tough Acts"
Elton John's songcraft and Billy Joel's showmanship add up as equals.
By: Marty Hughley
(January 27th, 2001)

Over the course of Billy Joel's career, there have been those who have questioned whether he's as tough as he's made himself out to be.

When he appeared as a stone-throwing leather jacketed menace on the cover of 1980's "Glass Houses," doubters dismissed it as a pose. When he engaged in bitter exchanges with critics, or got angry enough to start throwing his piano bench around during his late-'80s tour of the Soviet Union, detractors said he was merely being petulant.

But Joel proved his toughness in a big way on Friday night at the Rose Garden arena.

He got up on stage to play a set, right after Elton John.

The two veteran pop megastars are a little more than a week into their current "Face 2 Face Tour," and though they've wheeled out this tandem road show twice before (in the United States in 1994 and 1995, then internationally in 1998), this was their first joint appearance in Portland. The mostly middle-age crowd that filled the Rose Garden to capacity clearly was enamored of both artists, and offered warmly appreciative ovations throughout the three-and-a-half-hour show.

And yet Joel clearly was overshadowed, outmatched when it came to one of the most basic aspects of the show - the songs.

After the two took the stage together for opening duets on John's "Your Song" and "Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Me" and Joel's "Just the Way You Are," John took over to dig into his treasure chest of hit after indelibly memorable hit. The darkly dramatic ballad "Someone Saved My Life Tonight" was followed by the American bicentennial momento (and tribute to the Philly soul sound of Gamble & Huff) "Philadelphia Freedom." The space-age ennui
of "Rocket Man" led to the swelling romanticism of "Tiny Dancer," then into "Levon" and "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road," each melody sounding somehow more gracefully inev´ itable than the one before. Even the songs that never made the singles charts (the progressive-rock opus "Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding," the lesbian-themed rocker "All the Young Girls Love Alice") had the feel of classics.

Focused instead of flashy, he made every song count. And he spared us the mushy contrivances of his 1990s Disney-movie theme songs.

During a brief moment after John finished with "Saturday Night's Alright (for Fighting)," Joel returned with his band and began his set with "We Didn't Start the Fire." Not exactly a masterpiece of melodic craft.

Joel's no slouch - as he proved with such fine songs as "Scenes From An Italian Restaurant," and his most convincing rocker "Big Shot" - but overall his writing is more prosaic than that of his British counterpart. But Joel made up for this disadvantage by performing with a relaxed confidence and flair, singing with greater range and flexibility than John (once a great singer) can now muster, and working the stage with relish.

John, in his set, gave a suitably fun treatment to Joel's doo-wop pastiche "Uptown Girl," but Joel positively attacked the early John gem "Take Me to the Pilot." And really, it was those role reversals and several encore duets - including "Great Balls of Fire" and the Beatles' "Come Together" - that made the night special.

"Bennie and the Jets," John's deathlessly catchy tribute to a fictional bubble-gum glam-rock group, may have been the high point of the night, winding up with a spirited piano duel in which Elton leaned toward boogie-woogie and Billy toward baroque.

In the end, the show was about two great pop talents coming together. Deciding who was better would be - in a word - tough.

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"Q & A With Billy Joel"
By: Aidin Vaziri
(January 28th, 2001)

"I'm 50 years-old. It's the millennium. I just got inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. How am I going to top that? Where do I go from here? The moon?" That was how Billy Joel, now 51, announced his retirement from pop music tours just two years ago. It didn't take him long to change his mind. This week, the singer returns to the Bay Area on a co-headlining tour with fellow piano man Elton John. The sold-out show plays Wednesday at Sacramento's Arco Arena, Friday at the Oakland Arena and Sunday at the San Jose Arena. Soft rock hits will be in abundance.

Q: Um, weren't you supposed to retire?

A: I never said I wasn't going to play anymore. I don't know where
that came from.

Q: Probably on the account of you said it.

A: No, I said I wasn't going to play long, grueling tours. When I'd go out on the road for my own tours, we'd stay out for nine months to two years. That's a long tour. The last time we did that was the last tour we did. I said I'm not going to tour like that. I don't know why people thought I was retiring. This is a sissy tour. This is four weeks. This isn't even a rehearsal. By the time we get good we're going to have to stop. This is like a Madonna tour. It's not even a Billy Joel tour. It's a Billy and Elton tour, so I'm only doing half the work onstage.

Q: So you do half the work for all the money.

A: More money!

Q: How much more?

A: You want to give people a reason to hate my guts more? I'm making more money. It's one of those equations where 1 plus 1 equals 10. It doesn't make sense. It's like Simon and Garfunkel. If they go out together, they'll sell out stadiums. But Paul Simon goes out on his own and he sells theaters. Now, who's the talent in the group? Paul
Simon wrote all the songs, played the music. Garfunkel just stands there and sounds like a vanilla ice cream cone. But them together, it's the big kahuna.

Q: Why does Billy Joel need more money?

A: That's a good question.

Q: Doesn't it all go to the ex-wives anyway?

A: Hopefully, they got as much as they're going to get. But there were some ex-managers who cleaned my clock pretty good. So we're still filling in the hole that they dug. Although, after I sold my house to Jerry Seinfeld, we kind of evened up the score there. You know, it's not just for the money. If it was,

then I would stay out on the road and do long tours. This is kind of just to keep my hand in.

Q: Do you think you're all into classical music now because you're having a midlife crisis?

A: That might be part of the reason I'm writing the music I'm writing now. There's a certain longing in it. There's a certain desire for a romantic relationship. There's a certain sadness because things didn't go the way I wanted them to go. I find this to be a great source of inspiration. Nothing turned out the way I thought it would. That made me a completely new person. I'm probably writing music now for the same reason I started writing songs when I was 14 - to meet women.

Q: You're back doing that again?

A: I never left that. It's always about that. People assume I'm writing for an audience or a record company. No way! I'm writing because I want to move a woman. This is the first time I'm on the road and have no home. I'm not married. And I don't even have a girlfriend. I don't know what I am. This is going to be very interesting. No home, no life, no girlfriend. The only thing tethering me to the Earth is my daughter, otherwise I would just float away.

Q: Do you meet a lot of women when you're on the road?

A: You know, we have a policy: We don't sell the first couple of rows of our shows. I got really sick and tired of the scalpers always getting the best tickets and selling to the fat cats who pay stupid money, sit in the front row with their gold chains and wives with beehive hairdos. They don't move because they paid a thousand dollars, so they just sit there like an oil painting. So we hold the tickets for the front rows, and we give the tickets to the roadies, who go to the worst seats in the house and give those people the front-row seats. Now, most of the roadies are guys, so who do you think most of those tickets go to? Cute girls. So we're looking down, and we're seeing all these cute girls jumping up and down. It turns the show into a whole new dynamic. It's like sex.

Q: How does Elton John feel about this policy?

A: When we started touring with Elton, we explained this to him, and he thought it was a great idea. One night I saw a little lightbulb go off over his head. The next night, in all the seats in front of him were these good-looking young guys. And his show got better.

Q: So you might both be married again by the end of this tour.

A: I doubt it, but I never say never.

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"Piano Men: Elton John and Billy Joel - Face 2 Face"
By: Bruce Dancis
(January 29th, 2001)

When Elton John and Billy Joel set up their dueling pianos on the Arco Arena stage Wednesday night as part of their "Face 2 Face" 2001 tour, fans will be cheering the second and third biggest-selling solo artists of all time, respectively. (According to the Recording Industry Association of America, they trail only Garth Brooks, and rank ahead of Barbra Streisand, Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson.)

John and Joel have a lot in common besides their superstar status, as the following tongue-in-cheek chart reveals. Here's a comparative look at their lives, their songs and their lyrics.

Their Lives:
EJ: Born Reginald Kenneth Dwight, March 25th, 1947, in Pinner, Middlesex, England.
BJ: Born William Martin Joel, May 9th, 1949, in Hicksville, NY (according to most sources; however, Joel's Sony Records web-site lists his place of birth as the Bronx, NY).

EJ: Joined first band, the Corvettes (later changed to Bluesology), in 1961.
BJ: Joined first band, the Echoes, in 1964.

EJ: Released first single, "Come Back Baby," as a member of Bluesology, 1965.
BJ: Released first album, "The Hassles," as a member of the Hassles, 1967.

EJ: Played piano in a hotel bar in London, 1963.
BJ: Played piano in a lounge in Los Angeles, 1972.

EJ: Sartorially known for the outlandish glasses covering his eyes.
BJ: Sartorially known for his outlandish eyes.

EJ: Became chairman of the Watford Football Club, 1977.
BJ: Sang national anthem at Super Bowl XXIII, 1989.

EJ: Scored first U.S. No. 1 album, "Honky Chateau," 1972.
BJ: Scored first U.S. No. 1 album, "52nd Street," 1978.

EJ: Announced he was retiring from live performing, 1977.
BJ: Announced he was retiring from live performing, 1999.

EJ: Toured the Soviet Union, 1979.
BJ: Toured the Soviet Union, 1987.

EJ: Formerly married to studio engineer Renate Blauel.
BJ: Formerly married to model Christie Brinkley.

EJ: Covered the Beatles' "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds," 1974.
BJ: Covered the Beatles' "Back In The USSR," 1987.

EJ: Shared the stage at New York's Madison Square Garden with John Lennon to perform "I Saw Her Standing There," 1974.
BJ: Shared the stage at New York's Central Park with Garth Brooks to perform "Ain't Goin' Down ('Til The Sun Comes Up)" and "You May Be Right," 1997.

EJ: Performed on the AIDS benefit single, "That's What Friends Are For," 1985.
BJ: Performed on the hunger benefit single, "We Are the World," 1985.

EJ: Wrote songs for the Disney animated feature "The Lion King," 1994.
BJ: Wrote songs for the Disney animated feature "Oliver & Company," 1988.

EJ: Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by Axl Rose, 1994.
BJ: Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by Ray Charles, 1999.

Their Songs & Albums:
EJ: "Don't Shoot Me, I'm Only the Piano Player"
BJ: "Piano Man"

EJ: "Candle In The Wind"
BJ: "Say Goodbye To Hollywood"

EJ: "The Bitch Is Back"
BJ: "Just the Way You Are"

EJ: "Philadelphia Freedom"
BJ: "Allentown"

EJ: "Belfast"
BJ: "Goodnight Saigon"

EJ: "Burn Down the Mission"
BJ: "We Didn't Start the Fire"

EJ: "Something About the Way You Look Tonight"
BJ: "Tell Her About It"

EJ: "Saturday Night's Alright (for Fighting)"
BJ: "Only the Good Die Young"

EJ: "Don't Go Breaking My Heart"
BJ: "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)"

Their Lyrics:
(Most of Elton John's lyrics were written by his songwriting partner, Bernie Taupin.)

EJ: "I remember when rock was young"
BJ: "It's still rock and roll to me"

EJ: "You almost had your hooks in me, didn't you dear/You nearly had me roped and tied/Altar-bound, hypnotized"
BJ: "I don't care what you say anymore, this is my life/Go ahead with your own life and leave me alone"

EJ: "Sorry seems to be the hardest word"
BJ: "Honesty is such a lonely word"

EJ: "She's got electric boots, a mohair suit"
BJ: "They were all impressed with your Halston dress"

EJ: "You can't plant me in your penthouse/I'm going back to my plough"
BJ: "I'm in love with an uptown girl/You know I've seen her in her uptown world"

EJ: "Blue jean baby, LA lady"
BJ: "Los Angelenos all come from somewhere"

EJ: "My own seeds shall be sown in New York City"
BJ: "I'm in a New York state of mind"

EJ: "I've had my face in a mirror for 24 hours/Staring at a line of white powder"
BJ: "You had the Dom Perignon in your hand/And the spoon up your nose"

EJ: "We lose direction/No stone unturned/No tears to damn you/When jealousy burns"
BJ: "But if you look for truthfulness/You might just as well be blind/It always seems to be so hard to give"

EJ: "Take my word, I'm a madman don't you know"
BJ: "You may be right/I may be crazy/But it just may be a lunatic you're looking for"

The Best and Worst of Elton John and Billy Joel:
Elton John and Billy Joel have nine Grammy Awards and 24 gold record albums between them in the United States alone, testimony to their talent and the large number of fans who've supported them through the years. They have such large catalogs of great songs that it's hard to select a favorite.

But John and Joel have also generated their share of detractors during their long careers, and each has released some songs that are, well, not up to their usual standards. It's true that even Lennon and McCartney, after all, wrote "Mr. Moonlight" for the Beatles. But Joel and John's bad songs are real stinkers, in the view of some.

So while we thought it would be interesting to have five pop music critics select their favorite songs by Elton John and Billy Joel, we also wanted to learn their least favorite. So here's The Bee's critics' list of faves and naves. How do these personal selections compare to your own?

Elton John Faves:
"Sacrifice" (1989): Elton's simple but gorgeous melody and moving vocal treatment of Bernie Taupin's more eloquent than usual lyrics tell the sad story of a marriage or relationship falling apart, with "two hearts living in two separate worlds." It's a song for those who have both loved and lost, to whom jealousy, deceit, temptation, negativity and mutual misunderstanding are subjects that carry real pain. Cold, cold heart, indeed. It's Elton's most grown-up song.

"Levon" (1971): On their own, Bernie Taupin's vivid lyrics are moving enough: There's Levon, "born a pauper to a pawn" and proud to have pushed his way into a more comfortable life; and there's his son, Jesus, wanting to "take a balloon and go sailing/While Levon, Levon slowly dies." But the words are given even more impact by John's
soaring melody and dramatic arrangement, making for a most powerful emotional punch.

"Saturday Night's Alright (for Fighting)" (1973): Not only was this song fit for a majestic cover by the Who in 1991, but it's also the only Elton John tune that didn't sound ridiculous with a speed-metal treatment. The song's stentorian guitar riffs and angsty lyrical bite weren't lost on rockers Flotsam & Jetsam in a 1988 cover. But even
without that band's steroidish approach to "Saturday Night's Alright (for Fighting)," this wily ode to weekend hijinks and rabble-rousing still kicks in all the right places.

"I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues" (1983): This song - about lovers separated by time and circumstance - is about as sentimental and nostalgic as they come. But with its timeless melody and sweet, stirring narrative ("Just stare into space/Picture my face in your hands..."), it is sentiment and nostalgia distilled into their purest forms.

"Bennie and the Jets" (1973): Unlike the '50s pastiche of "Crocodile Rock," "Bennie and the Jets" is utterly singular, its loping gait and echo-laden sound clearly owing to the past, but feeling at the time to be utterly contemporary. It still sounds fresh and even daring in its shaky, atmospheric mix.

Billy Joel Faves:
"You May Be Right" (1980): Bang on the ivories, you're the piano man. While ballads comprise some of Billy Joel's biggest hits, this song captures Joel's rock and roll prowess and a whole lot of "oomph." Lyrically, the song features Joel at his angst-filled best and helps set the tone for his excellent 1980 album, "Glass Houses." Coupled with a big beat and rollicking chorus, "You May Be Right" has a whole lot of bite.

"Only the Good Die Young" (1977): Lots of Billy Joel's songs have 'tude to spare, and this in-her-face taunting of his Catholic girlfriend over her prudery and narrow-mindedness finds Joel at his most audacious. He spits out his impassioned vocal on top of a particularly bouncy rock and roll beat, with a little bit of chuka-chuka reggae rhythm guitar and wailing sax thrown in - all the better to make his point that "I'd rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints/Sinners are much more fun."

"Allentown" (1982): Here, Joel sheds his soft-boiled "Piano Man" trappings and goes for the emotional jugular with a simple, understated song that pays tribute to a small, financially depressed, working-class town in Pennsylvania.

"The Longest Time" (1983): Because Joel isn't really an innovator, but a fan, his best stuff alludes to his musical past, and for that reason his 1983 album "An Innocent Man" is his best. And the album's best song is also its most retro, the Four Seasons' homage "The Longest Time," which is sweet and smart at the same time.

"Scenes From An Italian Restaurant" (1977): One of Joel's most masterful story songs, "Scenes..." tells the tale of two young lovers who figured they were on top of the world before reality set in - and, ultimately, the divorce papers were signed. It's a rich and riveting song that somehow seems to feature more character development in 7-½ minutes than most two-hour Hollywood epics, and it manages to make us long for a sequel, wherein we find out what's actually happened with Brenda and Eddie in the two dozen years since their most humbling homecoming.

Elton John Naves:
"Candle in the Wind '97" (1997): Here, Elton John takes what was already a mawkish tribute to a fallen star (Marilyn Monroe) and refashions it into a gooey, sticky, icky homage to the late Princess Diana. No doubt that John was truly moved by the passing of his dear friend, the "people's princess," but the song was also unquestionably
formulated - with its ripe sentiment and Hallmark card lyrics - to capitalize on a global grief. That this version of the song was rewritten and recorded just days after Diana's 1997 death and went on to become one of the top-selling singles of all times somehow only cheapens it further.

"Circle of Life" (1994): It's almost too easy to dismiss this cloying "Lion King" soundtrack entry for being so simple yet overblown - especially with the Disney formula calling for songs that are accessible with a majestic lift. But when you consider that even some discerning Disney fans found this hit a bit unsophisticated while delivering a tad too much dramatic sweep, well, we've circled this collaboration with Tim Rice as one of our least favorite entries in Elton's strikingly deep songbook.

"Crocodile Rock" (1973): Ironically, another pastiche is my least favorite Elton song. It wasn't cool when Sha-Na-Na did it, it wasn't cool when Robert Gordon did it, and it sure wasn't cool when Elton tried to revive the '50s pop-rock of Danny and the Juniors, et al. "Me and Suzie had so much fun"? Puh-leeze.

"I'm Still Standing" (1983): The antithesis of "Saturday Night's Alright (for Fighting)." Sure, John may have survived the 1970s despite any number of ridiculous outfits and a nasty cocaine haze. But was it necessary to proclaim his tenacity with a tune that sounds like a Wham! outtake? The song's synthesizer warblings and "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" backbeat are hopelessly stuck in the '80s like a pair of parachute pants. Sir Elton's legacy deserves better than this royally dated song.

"Step Into Christmas" (1973): There's a good reason why Elton's December 1973 single hasn't entered the ranks of the great rock and roll Christmas songs, along with, say, "Merry Christmas Baby," "Blue Christmas," and "Baby Please Come Home for Christmas." That's because it's an utterly forgettable piece of bubble gum rock, featuring a
throwaway melody (an Elton rarity), a strange little Bach-meets-the-Beach-Boys interlude and banal Taupin lyrics that require Elton to promise fans, "If we can help to entertain you/Oh we will find the ways."

Billy Joel Naves:
"Piano Man" (1973): The "Stairway to Heaven" of piano pop, this song suffers badly because of its mere ubiquity at dive-ish drinking establishments everywhere. The first few dozen times we heard it, we probably enjoyed it and maybe even mouthed the words. But the last time a college kid walked up to the jukebox and decided to play us a
memory, we were truly tempted to pull the plug. Sorry, but you can only be in the mood for this very same melody so many times.

"We Didn't Start the Fire" (1989): Perhaps a quickie high school diploma could be granted to folks who can memorize the lyrics of "We Didn't Start the Fire." Here's but a wee sample of Joel's crash course in modern history and pop culture: "Einstein, James Dean, Brooklyn's got a winning team, Davy Crockett, Peter Pan, Elvis Presley, Disneyland." Too bad this brand of encyclopedia-rock had previously been delivered to less annoying effect in R.E.M.'s "It's the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)." Joel's "Cliff's Notes" approach to world events is ultimately overwrought, and by the end of this list-happy tune, Joel isn't the only one who's exclaiming, "I can't take it anymore!"

"Uptown Girl" (1983): "An Innocent Man" - Billy Joel's early '80s foray into '50s-flavored soft rock - produced mixed results. This particular track, about a low-rent, downtown kind of guy who has the hots for a beautiful, worldly rich girl (played by his then-girlfriend and soon-to-be-wife Christie Brinkley), exemplifies many rock narrative cliches at their worst.

"Goodnight Saigon" (1982): A rousing closer to Joel's ambitious concept album "The Nylon Curtain," "Goodnight Saigon" is utterly pretentious and overblown. Its ponderous verses find him meditating on American soldiers in Vietnam, and are adequate, but the chorus is ridiculous as it balloons into a beer-drinking singalong ("And we
would all go down together"), the tone of which would better fit the certainties - not to mention the music - of World War II.

"Prelude/Angry Young Man" (1976): After a rather pointless and show-offy classical piano "Prelude," Joel gets on to his mean-spirited business of putting down an activist. "I once believed in noble causes, too/I had my pointless point of view/And life went on no matter who was wrong or right," he sings in a voice that sounds so pinched, forced and uptight that I wouldn't be surprised if the latter-day Joel, who in recent years has taken part in protests
against homelessness, unemployment and the degradation of the environment, repudiated this smug paean to political complacency.

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"John, Joel 'Come Together' Delightfully"
By: Scott Iwasaki
(January 29th, 2001)

When the Knight and Yank get together, the world is a better place.

New Yorker Billy Joel and England's own Sir Elton John played the Delta Center Monday night and called for everyone in attendance to "Come Together."

The piano players paid homage to - and capitalized on - their main musical influence, the Beatles, playing "Come Together" and "A Hard Day's Night." And the sold-out audience flipped its lid.

But there was more.

To open the show, John and Joel sat at their respective black grand pianos and sang a couple of duets, including John's "Your Song" and Joel's "Just the Way You Are."

John's band emerged as the self-proclaimed "Captain Fantastic" launched into his set, which included heartfelt renditions of "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me," "Someone Saved My Life Tonight," and "Rocket Man."

Acoustically, the production mix was well-balanced and crisp. And the light show structures reached to the middle of the arena.

"Philadelphia Freedom," "All the Young Girls Love Alice," and "I'm Still Standing" were some of the rock hits of the early set. As for ballads, there were "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road," "Tiny Dancer" and "Levon."

After riotous takes on "Crocodile Rock" and "Saturday's Alright (for Fighting,") the band wound up the show and let Joel take center stage.

Known as the "Piano Man" to his fans, Joel cut loose with "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)," "Prelude/Angry Young Man" and "The River of Dreams." Not one to let his ballads slide, Joel then launched into "New York State of Mind" (after shooting the breeze about the Super Bowl), "Scenes From An Italian Restaurant" and the touching "Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel)."

Joel did his finest Elvis impression with "Don't Be Cruel" and "Suspicious Minds," before his own "We Didn't Start the
Fire," "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me" and "Only the Good Die Young."

Joel and John re-emerged for a rocking encore that included "My Life," "I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues," "The Bitch Is Back," "You May Be Right," "Bennie and the Jets," the aforementioned Beatles tunes and Jerry Lee Lewis' "Great Balls of Fire."

It was one hit after the other. And the two musicians and their bands played like there was no tomorrow. But all good things must end, and the two piano rockers concluded the show with trademark tunes - "Candle In The Wind" and "Piano Man," respectively.

While John was more refined in his playing - the perfect English gentleman - Joel took the part of the rebellious tough guy. Both played hard and mugged for the video cameras, using their styles to complement each other, which is what makes their "Face 2 Face" tour work.

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