RE: Jon Bream, I have, over the years, suspected that he never attended the shows. He’s had errors about what songs were played and in what order, and when I’ve questioned them, there has never been a retraction or admission that he wasn’t there. He hates every show. My favorite example is that when The Who played here in ‘79 or ‘80 (a fantastic, long show with some rarely played songs and the debut of Kenney Jones on drums), I was trying desperately to get backstage. Bream, who was speaking with a representative of the band, was asked “What did you think about the show?” He replied “They sure left out some hits!!” It isn’t worth reading any review he writes, unless you just want to find out what songs were played — or in the case of The Who, what wasn’t!

I am continually amazed at the armchair arrogance of the those that want to be critical after experiencing a performance like this. Elton John and Billy Joel are not one-hit wonders, and comments like “his band being on auto pilot”, “finally finding a groove”, “aka Hello Gold Brick Road”, and finally, a self imposed op/ed on Billy Joel’s current marriage suggest that the reviewer should look for work at TMZ, the National Enquier, or Entertainment Tonight, instead of offering us his lame musical opinions.

Elton John and Billy Joel are musical icons, whose musical contributions are literally woven into, and are part of, the fabric of american culture. Very few musicians can compete with thier musical resumes. They have been performing thier music since the 70’s, and are among the most talented musicians ever.

Get off your high horse, and appreciate how lucky you are to have the opportunity to experience their musical contributions. If you can’t do that, let someone else use your ticket next time!