Billy Joel smiled humbly as a large orange banner with a number 7 and his name dropped from the top of the stage.

The Piano Man rocked his 7th show at the Carrier Dome — a near sell-out — on Friday night, making him the leader of most performances played at the venue.

Movie soundtrack or theme park-like music could be heard blasting from the speakers, signifying the legend that was about to embark on the stage following opener Gavin DeGraw. Joel played on his rotating piano for most of the two-hour performance, but opened his set by strutting on the stage with a red electric guitar in hand and singing “A Matter of Trust.”

He sang hits such as “Piano Man,” “New York State of Mind” and “The River of Dreams” for the more than 37,000 people in the stadium, but kept his show personal the entire night. Joel made the crowd continuously laugh by commenting on the weather, and asking them to all inhale at once to see if they could deflate the Dome.

“This winter sucks,” Joel said later in his performance as he played “Let it Snow” on the piano. “If I hear that song one more time I’m going to kill somebody.”

Twice during his set, Joel let the audience decide what they wanted to hear. He offered the crowd a choice between two songs and played whatever they screamed the loudest for.

Joel’s first show in the Dome was in 1990. When TK99’s radio personality Glenn “Gomez” Adams asked the audience how many had attended, a large crowd yelled and raised their hands in response.

Joel, who has been in the music business for more than 50 years, reflected on the smaller shows he played in upstate New York when he was first starting out as an artist. The most popular city was Albany, and received the best response from the audience.

Lori Light said she has seen Joel several times before, but her first time was when she was a sophomore at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. It was 1977, and Joel was just starting out. She said she came to see him in Syracuse because she had never seen a show in the Dome, and it was an excuse to visit her son, a freshman at SU.

“He was just a piano man back then. Now he has a bit of a repertoire, a bit more pop,” Light said. “I like the older stuff better. I love the old stuff. But he was still good tonight, and he’s just pretty universal.”

The night was a mix of Joel’s number one hits and old tunes. Concertgoers jumped along to “Uptown Girl,” which Joel dedicated to his “second ex” Christie Brinkley, and swayed to “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant” as drawn artwork of Italy flashed across the giant screens behind Joel.

A crowd favorite moment of the night was when Joel brought out his “guitar roadie,” Chainsaw. The older man wearing a black T-shirt and shorts stole the show with a rendition of AC/DC’s “Highway to Hell.” Joel strummed his red guitar and hopped around on stage while he let Chainsaw have his moment, until the guest star dropped the microphone, walked off the stage and pumped his fist in the air, looking satisfied with himself and the crowd.

As soon as Joel put on his harmonica and sat down at his piano, the audience knew what was coming, and phones were thrown in the air to begin recording. The classic sound of “Piano Man” started, and the crowd nearly overpowered Joel by singing his lyrics word for word. After the song ended, the legend left the stage, only to be called back with chants of “Billy Joel” and people lighting up their phones in protest of the night ending early.

Joel came back for a four-song encore, beginning with “It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me.” He took his microphone and sang half of the song near the audience on the floor, grabbing eager hands as he walked back and fourth. Once he returned to the stage, Joel started playing tricks with his microphone stand by spinning it in the air and throwing it around with his band members.

Joel ended the night with “Only the Good Die Young,” during which audience members danced in the aisles with strangers until the house lights came up.

Mia Matthews, a 14-year-old freshman at Nottingham High School, ran from her seat on the floor to dance in the aisle with her best friend, Hannah Moore. Matthews said she grew up listening to Billy Joel because of her parents, and seeing him for the first time live was surreal.

Said Matthews: “He’s a legend. He’s so iconic. Just being able to see him live at our age is so amazing. Our kids won’t be able to see him live, like we are, so it’s so cool.”

Published on March 20, 2015 at 11:59 pm

Contact Jackie: jmfrere@syr.edu | @jackie_frere