Billy Joel in Portland

This weekend, visitors to the Moda Center would have had the pleasure of seeing musical legend Billy Joel. As part of his Piano Man On The Road tour, Joel dropped in to the city of Portland to take part in a truly mesmeric concert.

In this concert, he played many of his classic songs. From the upbeat charm of ‘Uptown Girl’ to ‘New York State of Mind’ he played the majority of the favourites, with a few of the more particular numbers thrown in there for good measure.

Even at his age, Joel still takes to the stage and utterly mesmerises the audience. His poetic charm and his stunning creative capacity is one that will not cease to amaze. On the stage, he had the entire crowd eating out the palm of his hand. Everyone around me seemed to be utterly enthralled; indeed, one woman was on the verge of tears. She told me she’d waited a long time to see Joel, and had travelled some distance for this tour.

I think, given her emotional state, she was very much satisfied with the journey. Many people I spoke to seemed to be there as an early Christmas present, and as he blasted out the likes of “We Didn’t Start the Fire” I got a true glimpse of why so many fans, many much older than me but also many younger, were so captivated by this man.

Truly Spectacular

The concert was a massive hit, and follows on from his massive success across the world. Despite advancing years and the fact that he plays such a regular series of concerts at the likes of Madison Square Gardens, Joel maintained a rich enthusiasm and energy for the music and kept going the whole night

If you are a Joel fan and you were in the vicinity of the gig and you never came along, you missed out. His classics are still worth listening to after all these years. With his still charismatic charm and incredible technique, Joel can still hold an audience in the palm of his hand. On the 8th, he certainly had the Moda Center in his command.

A truly outstanding experience, and one that anyone who loves Joel should look to try and take part in at one stage in their lives; one of the most enthralling concert experiences I’ve had the pleasure of taking in for some time.