Concert Review: Elton John / Billy Joel

Elton John + Billy Joel: Face 2 Face Tour @ Quicken & Loans Arena in Cleveland

Wow. That's all I can think of to describe this. Wow. I've seen my fair share of live shows, but I've never seen two "legends" live before. They blow everyone else out of the water.My parents were always really big fans of these two. I've been singing and dancing to their songs since I was little because my parents would always play their records and CDs in the house and on the radio. I guess you could say I'm well cultured in music because of them. When tickets went on sale back in January, my mom gave me her credit card and told me to get us some "cheap seats" for her, me, and my two sisters. I was so excited.

My sister came home from Chicago during the weekend in order to go to the show. She's going to be done with grad school in August, which is plain crazy. We left around 6:15 and made it to downtown Cleveland and park fairly quickly and painlessly. We lined up and went right into the "Q." The place is a-buzz with life due to the excitement over the miraculous last second win by the Cavs in the second game against the Magic. The show was sold out, of course. We made our way to our seats, which because of stupid ticketbastard, had to be bought separately...long story, I was frustrated and that's just how it had to be done. My mom and sisters were in one section over from me, I was right behind the stage in row 3, a very nice spot. A couple came and sat next to me. The woman asked if I was there alone and I laughed and told her my family was in the next section over. They were nice; she said she was there mainly for Billy Joel and her husband for Elton John. I was there for both of them...maybe Elton slightly more than Billy, but only slightly. They came on at 7:30 and began to rock my face.

I can't possibly list all the songs they played, but safe to say all their big hits, some oldies, and a couple Beatles covers. They first came on together and played a few songs together, alternating each other's songs. Then Elton stayed on and played for a good hour. Then Billy came on and played for another good hour. Then they both came on for an encore and played 5-6 songs, alternating once again. Billy is very chatty with the audience while Elton likes to mainly play his music, which is fine by me. By the time it was done I couldn't believe it. It felt so quick, but it had been 3 1/2 hours. (I wish all performers played that long).

I met my mom and sisters in the halls of the stadium. My mom had so much fun. She was dancing and singing and just having a ball, which I'm glad. We all did. They don't go to as many shows as I, so it was nice to get out and experience music together.After the show we were starving, so we went to IHOP near our house, and made it back home some time after 1 am. It was a wonderful night and we all really needed to get out of our house and lives for a few hours. I would love to see them again. I don't know how long they plan to tour, but I'm glad I got to see them while they're still out there doing what they do best.