That was fun...

God has blessed me with some great musical experiences, but I have to say that this Sunday might have been a cake topper for me...while it was a humble little experience, I think that is what made it so great...

As the Lord would work it out, the regular band that plays this month's time slot was out of town and I got the late, pinch-hitting request to fill in...but I wanted to make it special and not just throw something together. I am always troubled when confronted with people who accept "good enough" too easily...so for this little set, I dusted off some old tunes and religious standards.

"Victory in Jesus", "I'll Fly Away", "How Great Thou Art." And I was going to play them without my guys in the band, and do a solo acoustic thing.

The main reason for Victory in Jesus was that it is the favorite song of one of our ailing saints, Fowler Hopkins who is wrestling cancer. I was not sure if he was going to be in church or not, but it didn't really matter since I wanted to do it either way.

Well after dedicating the song to Hoppy, one of the ushers, Don Sutton, ran and dialed up Hoppy on the lobby phone and held it up so he could hear it. Good thing I did not know that since it would have busted me up...anyway the set went really well...the spirit was there for sure. Don told me afterward and it really warmed my heart.

When I got home Hoppy had left a voicemail message for me thanking me and that it really lifted his spirits. And that is one of my life's greatest musical rewards. Godspeed Hoppy and you are already victorious.

Billy Joel at Nationwide Arena

Could one artist really have that many hits? What an amazing show last evening, April 20, 2008, in Columbus, Ohio, at the Nationwide Arena, home to the NHL Columbus Blue Jackets. I've followed his career almost all of my life since he represents in my mind what an artist really is...singer, songwriter, plays an instrument. I've already made some mention of Dan Fogelberg before, but this is a long list of artists that have stood the test of time and I believe it is for the above mentioned reasons! Bruce Springsteen, James Taylor, Billy Joel, Gordon Lightfoot, bands like The Eagles...probably could not get a record deal today with this Miss America approach to searching out talent...but before I go off on that tirate, back to Billy at The Wide!

I'll put as complete of a set list as I can remember at the bottom of this but what a treat to hear "Prelude/Angry Young Man" to open the show! You stepped into a time machine and it was the 1970's! He just kept banging out the hits and the obscure album tracks for over two hours with no intermissions, and a few surprises like have "Chainsaw" the guitar tech come on stage and scream out AC/DC's "Highway to Hell" and inserting "Hang on Sloopy" in the middle of "River of Souls."

The band was pretty straight forward as well. Of course Billy on piano, or as he introduced himself, Billy's Dad due to the gray and lack of hair, lead guitar, keyboards/synth, percussionionist who did vocals and some woodwinds, a dedicated woodwinds/brass player, bass and set drums. Really simple set up but tight, tight, tight.

For me the highlights were "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant", his closer "Piano Man", "My Life" and "You May Be Right". His voice stayed strong all night, and I forgot just how much of a rebel this guy was and still is! He thumbed his nose at a lot of establishments in his day, but did it in such an intelligent and entertaining way that I am not sure everyone noticed!

Well here are some of the songs I can remember, and no they are not in order!

Prelude/Angry Young Man
The Entertainer
Innocent Man
You May Be Right
Movin' Out/Anthony's Song
Allentown
Just the Way You Are
Only the Good Die Young
Scenes From an Italian Restaurant
River of Dreams
New York State of Mind
It's Still Rock and Roll to Me
She's Always a Woman
Matter of Trust
Summer, Highland Falls
We Didn't Start the Fire
Zanzibar
Don't Ask Me Why