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Singer-songwriter Billy Joel is probably most famous for his frequently airplayed hit Piano Man, about a fellow who bemoans his life as a bar entertainer and the steady stream of characters that inhabit the typical tavern. The term has come to be associated not only with Joel but also in reference to Ben Folds in an edgier way (I doubt Joel would throw a piano bench at the keys, for instance). While Joel’s style is more along pop lines, Folds’ is anywhere from balladeer to irreverently raucous. Despite their differences in style, Ben still credits Billy for helping to blaze the piano-pop path.
If you’re still in doubt about the similarities and differences between the two, you’ll have a chance for a consecutive comparison on New Year’s Eve. Billy Joel headlines his first show in New York in five years on New Year’s Eve, December 31, 2013 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, and Ben Folds Five will open for him. Joel is coming off a short European tour and is expected to hit a few additional US dates after the Brooklyn show. “We’re not going to play all hits tonight…we want to mix in some other stuff we haven’t done in a long time,” he told an audience recently in Huntington on his native Long Island, so if you’re nostalgic for the rarer Joel tunes, this might be the show for you. And with Ben, Darren and Robert getting you on your feet, it’ll be an evening to remember.
Tickets go on sale November 9 through Billy Joel’s Ticketmaster schedule.
Related news articles: New York Daily News – Rolling Stone
