Elton John and Billy Joel: It’s still rock and roll to me

FROM JASON’S TICKET STUB — We followed the tide of aging men and their clean-cut cougar wives Saturday night from the halls of Cleveland’s Tower City, through the Gateway tunnel, and into The Q.

Everywhere we looked, there were polo shirts.

I quipped at one point that the security guards might single me out as suspicious since I don’t have a bald spot — the one thing almost every other man in the horde had in common. I’m a walking Rogaine commercial; each of my hairs has its own head of hair.

We laughed at the expense of the nearby 50-somethings, but my joke led me to wonder silently whether as 29-year-olds we’d be relevant at this concert. After all, there were very few people under 40 in the mass of 20,000 who crowded into the arena to see Sir Elton John and Billy Joel.

We felt isolated.

That changed when the lights came up and two concert pianos rose through the floor to settle on the stage. Here were two rock gods sitting (about a football field’s length) before us, perhaps the greatest musical geniuses of their era. I had listened to their songs hundreds and hundreds of times. Nevermind that their tunes had been repackaged into greatest hits compilations by the time I was ready to understand their tales of love, loss, pain, and triumph. These two pianists were my bards.

We were perched at the front of the second-floor balcony, a long (as the picture shows) way from the action. But it almost felt like I was stage-side as Sir Elton (at 62 years old) did a risky handstand on his piano. Meanwhile, Joel (50) mixed it up with bawdy jokes and some acrobatic mic stand-twirling drills.

I got my money’s worth. It was all I could do not to mist over in nostalgic elation seeing these legends belt out Benny and the Jets, Rocket Man, We Didn’t Start the Fire, and Piano Man. But I’m a man, so I kept it all inside. I’m also stupidly puritan, so I refrained from the drunken dancing the guppies were engaged in all around the arena.

Besides, I have little to no rhythm.

I like to think that what I lack in body-movin’ I make up for in analysis. When not reveling in the light show — which was amazing — I starting comparing and contrasting John’s and Joel’s performances.

My conclusion: Billy Joel is the winner (if it were a competition).

Joel’s portfolio is more technically dynamic, building on horns and complex counter-timing and overall musicality. John instead presents very simple, heartfelt melodies built on the backs of blues riffs. Johns’ style might be more effective in reaching his audience and building their time-tested loyalty (he received far more applause), but Joels’ sounds were better.

There was also a marked difference between the way the two giants metered out their energy during the concert. Joel compacted his into tight upgrades on the studio versions, while John elongated his standards into captivating, looping jams.

Regardless of who “won,” both men’s styles are remnants of a day when popular music engaged listeners by using something called “talent,” coupled with something called “innovation.” There is a dearth of such novelties in today’s clutch of cloned-sounding FM bar chords, howling vocals, distortion, and pop-princess bubblegum crap.

I just wish that the music of these two heroes wouldn’t be relegated to the murky realms of “adult contemporary” radio. John and Joel used to be revolutionaries. They were the rebellious young rockers. In their time, they were the ones bringing a crude new noise to challenge the old “good” music.

I don’t want them to be oldies.

Music Monday: The Coral and The Refreshments

1. The Coral — Dreaming of You

Andrew thinks music needs to be overlaid with at least four technically difficult instrumental parts. He wants two guitars thrashing over top of each other, a base slapping up and down the scale in sixteenth note increments, and a drummer with four arms.

But sometimes simplicity is best, which is why I like the moody acoustic folk feel of The Coral.

Dreaming of You wraps subtle organ and horns around a driving bass in an upbeat but minor key. It works well with the “can’t live with ’em, can’t live without ’em” message of the song.

That alternating bass line is almost like a somber polka — but not quite. Throw in some tambourine and clownish biking and I’m pressing repeat on the ol’ iPod.

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2. The Refreshments — European Swallow

Fizzy Fuzzy Big and Buzzy is one of my favorite CDs of all time. The Refreshments didn’t last long, but frontman Roger Clyne still slings some of those old songs as Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers.

The band is known for its The-Eagles-meet-Three-Stooges sensibility, matching an Arizona desert-billy sound with cartoon-quality pop reverence. (If you don’t already know, The Refreshments perform the theme to King of the Hill.) And we can’t fault a band with such an obvious love of Star Trek. From Banditos:

So give your ID card to the border guard
Your alias says you Captain Jean Luc Picard
Of the United Federation of Planets
Cause they won’t speak english any ways

European Swallow is about stealing a bar floozy from her boyfriend, but it’s the pacing that’s unusual as Clyne periodically does some appropriate fast-talk. Add acoustic scratching and a little prostitution humor, and I’m spreading a big smile between my headphones.

This live version only gets better about two-thirds of the way through when Clyne slips into a Violent Femmes homage with the bridge from Kiss Off. I’ll apologize for some of the gritty sound in this concert bootleg, but it’s still one of the best live tapes floating around YouTube.