With more than 30 years of hits respectively, it must be kind of daunting for Elton John and Billy Joel to figure out a set list. The simple answer would be a predictable greatest hits show, but that would be too predictable.
The two Rock 'n Roll Hall of Famers played the oldies, the goodies and a few overlooked gems when they sat down at their pianos Saturday night at the Fargodome.
Even when they played the expected numbers, there were some surprises.
Who thought the pair would open with ballads? Swapping verses on John's first hit, 1970's "Your Song" and Joel's first big hit, '77's, "Just the Way You Are," they could've just as easily been dedications to each other as peers or odes to their fans. It would've made for a great finale, but it was a beautiful opener.
They continued alternating songs, following with "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" and "My Life" before Joel exited the stage just 20 minutes into the show, setting up a solo segment for John.
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If there was a theme to the night, it seemed to be "I Love the '70s." With no new records to promote, each artist opened up the vaults. John didn't really touch the '80s until "I'm Still Standing" toward the end of his solo set.
John's voice has changed quite a bit through the years. Instead of easily singing falsetto, he's now deeper, richer and more soulful, which showed on "Levon.". Perhaps with that in mind, he asked for the crowd to help out by singing along "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" and let them take the chorus for "Crocodile Rock." The video screens were well-used then as cameras panned the crowd for dancing singers.
He could've used help again hitting the high notes on "Rocket Man," but he quickly adjusted.
The first direct address to the crowd was John saying he wasn't sure the show would happen, a reference to this spring's floods. (The musicians gave 2,000 tickets to members of local police and fire departments and National Guard troops who helped in the flood fight.)
"I'm so glad everything turned out well for you guys," he said before. He followed with "Burn down the Mission" and "Madman across the Water."
He returned to better known songs, dedicating "Tiny Dancer" to the ladies. What a sweetheart.
With the piano men attached to their grands, it was up to the guitarist to be the roaming, strutting showman, flicking picks into the crowd in John's set, while Joel also featured his horn section and percussionists.
John's guitarist was great, but his synthesizer player made the intro to "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting," sound like Laura Branigan's "Gloria."
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While John is quite the showman, he was shown up by Joel, who opened his set with intense oldies, "Angry Young Man" and "Movin' Out."
Joel's set was loose it seemed as comfortable playing in front of the roughly 20,000 in attendance as he would've in a club 30-some years ago. Even though he appeared to be fighting a cold (he joked about having swine flu) he turned in an impassioned and electrifying set.
Joel was more engaging with the crowd more, joking about how young the crowd was ("You were all zygotes and embryos") during his into to the very '70s-sounding "Zanzibar." He even made the hissing and popping sounds in "Allentown."
He also referred to the flood, suggesting Fargo could appreciate "River of Dreams," which featured a bluesy interlude with a reference to sandbagging and the line "Fargo, You're My Home.
Joel also stuck to a mostly '70s and early '80s set list with classics like "Don't Ask Me Why," "She's Always a Woman to Me" and "Italian Restaurant."
Joel left the piano to strap on a guitar for the history lesson that is "We Didn't Start the Fire," while corresponding images from the lyrics flashed on the screen above the stage. He even did an impressive bit of microphone stand twirling during "It's Still Rock 'n Roll to Me."
And both of these guys can still rock it after more than 30 years.
The Forum and the Herald are both Forum Communications Co. newspapers.
