So somehow, last night I ended up going to see Billy Joel and Elton John perform together at Conseco Fieldhouse in downtown Indianapolis. Not a concert I really would have sought out on my own, but when Allison told me she was looking for tickets, it piqued my interest and I decided to join her, along with Shane. I’m definitely glad I did.

In spite of our effort to get tickets the minute they went on sale, the best seats we were able to get were behind the stage. This turned out to be not such a bad thing, though, as our seats were actually mostly *above* the stage, and we were much closer than those who purchased tickets in the center, but quite a ways back from the stage. Or in Valparaiso, as Billy Joel put it.

The two “piano men” opened by playing together to a sold-out crowd on two grand pianos that lifted up out of the floor of the stage (answering the question I’m sure others had about where the pianos were when we got there). They were joined by six musicians set up in separate panels behind them, playing various instruments such as drums or keyboard. Each of the panels opened to show these instruments and musicians coming out of the floor as well.

I’m guessing that a lot of you may be like me in the fact that you actually know a lot of Billy Joel or Elton John songs, but you don’t know that you know them. The duo came together on a few songs to start off with, such as “Just the Way You Are” and then each took their turn wowing the audience on their own. It was fun to see both musicians who have obviously been entertaining audiences for years enjoying themselves and creating such a fun, comfortable connection with their audience. I doubt there was a single person in the crowd who didn’t feel perfectly relaxed and at ease watching and listening to them.

While we determined that Sir Elton John may actually be the bigger star, Billy Joel definitely rocked the place with his set as well, not only on the spinning (yes, it spun!) piano, but also with his guitar on “We Didn’t Start the Fire” (which I can’t help but hear as “Ryan started the fire” after that episode of The Office) and his microphone antics to the tune of “It’s Still Rock ‘n’ Roll to Me”.

The two ended the night playing together again – the last two songs on which they ditched their accompanying musicians and pleased the crowd with “Candle in the Wind” and, of course, “Piano Man”.

While, like I said, this wasn’t a show I probably would’ve chosen on my own, I’m very glad I gave it a second thought. It was well worth the dollars to see two piano legends perform in front of an admiring audience that just can’t help but sing along.