One more goal achieved

All my life I've wanted to see Billy Joel in concert. As a teenager I thought he was one of the greatest singers and songwriters on the planet. Twice as a teen I had tickets to his concerts only to be unable to attend for varying, heartbreaking reasons.

In 1998 he toured with Elton John, and mum and dad took Kylie and I to see the show. Sadly, it ended up being a major disappointment.


This year he toured again, and as a birthday gift (a really expensive one) I was fortunate to be able to finally see Billy Joel in a concert that I knew would not be a letdown.


Kylie and I had terrific seats. The show was brilliant. He played all of the songs that we could have wanted to hear. The highlights were "I go to extremes", "Uptown Girl" and "Scenes from an Italian restaraunt." But the night was terrific. Musically it was sensational, and the musicianship was as good as any concert I've ever seen. He connected with the audience, and everyone had a great time. He was a real person, not just some talented guy on stage singing his songs.


When we left I had two thoughts going through my mind. Firstly, it was a great night, and finally my lifelong desire to see Billy Joel at his best was satisfied. No questions at all. But secondly, I realised something that was a little disappointing. As I had listened to his CD's in the weeks leading up to the concert I had noted that the themes of many of his songs were quite adult. He was singing about things that I hadn't noticed as a teenager, but now was quite uncomfortable listening to, particularly with my children around. A member of my last stake presidency spoke about music and movies, saying we noticed the content more when we watch and listen with someone we respect or someone we want to protect. His songs were such that I wanted to not listen to many because the themes were somewhat inappropriate.


I came to the conclusion that, though he is talented, Billy Joel is a very worldly man. His music is worldly, his language is worldly, and his lyrics are worldly. And so it was ultimately a bittersweet night. I loved the show, I loved seeing him play, I really enjoyed much of the music. But now it's time to leave Billy Joel behind. He no longer has a place in my CD collection. As we push back the world, there are certain sacrifices that need to be placed on the altar. This is one more. But I have great memories of what it was.