“Sing us a song, you’re the piano man, Sing us a song tonight, Well, we’re all in the mood for a melody and you’ve got us feelin’ alright.”
If you are like me instead of reading that, you sang it in your head. I have loved Billy Joel forever. His songs are the ones you know by heart, the ones that remind you of nights you can’t remember with friends you will never forget. I had one of those nights recently when the Piano Man played a concert at Minute Maid Park in Houston. The show was amazing even if the venue, as a concert location, left a lot to be desired.
Joel, who is the United States’ fourth best-selling solo artist of all time and the 11th best-selling recording artist of all time, played to an enraptured audience for the better part of two and a half hours. The playlist included all of his greatest hits, some of his lesser-known songs and even a few spectacular covers.
Looking back on his dynamic performance, it is hard to believe that the handsome, talented and energetic singer is 73 years old and released his first album, “Cold Spring Harbor,” which includes one of my favorite songs, “She’s Got a Way,” back in 1971. I found it even more remarkable that his last studio album, “River of Dreams,” was released right at 29 years ago on Aug. 10, 1993, and even after all this time, he can not only fill stadiums but also mesmerize fans — yours truly included.
Truly a talent for the ages, Billy Joel has the unique distinction of not only personally writing but also producing 33 top 40 hits over his 20-year creation career.
The concert was a bucket list show for me and as we sang and swayed the night away, I realized that the actual Piano Man had me “feelin’ alright.”
It was an amazing show and night — one I will never forget.
While in Houston, we stayed at one of my long time favorite hotels, the Hilton Americas. It is wonderful, and the location could not be more perfect. Located right between the George R. Brown Convention Center and the Toyota Center, it is also walking distance from Minute Maid Park and Discovery Green. If you find yourself staying in the area, I highly recommend it.
The rooms are sumptuous, the restaurant is lovely and the lobby bar, which is the true star of the show, with its glittering golden mural of the world, is not to be missed.
Before we headed home, we brunched at the iconic Brennan’s in Midtown, feasting on spicy oyster gumbo, buttery Gulf fish borgne and the decedent banana bread French toast. The meal was so satisfyingly heavy, the surroundings so lovely, the service so superb and the company so charming, I could easily have settled in at the cozy bar and watched college football for the rest of the day.
But alas, it was not to be, so instead I headed home to whip up a meal literally out of Joel’s own kitchen. Billy Joel’s uptown marinated skirt steak was featured in the 2004 cookbook “Star Palate: Celebrity Cookbook for a Cure.” This skirt steak is quick to make, packs a flavorful punch and tastes even better if you have Uptown Girl playing while you grill it.
