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VIDEOS & DVDs (Concerts)

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This is the trailer for the DVD concert, Live At Shea Stadium.  Click here for more information about this concert.

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Billy Joel Tonight (1977)
In 1977. during the Turnstiles tour, Billy filmed two nights of performances held at Connecticut College.  This was before The Stranger had been released, and shows Billy performing some of his earlier songs.  The video was released by Time Life Video but has long been out of print, and hard to find.   Four of the songs recorded at these concerts were put on a promotional album entitled Souvenir, which also had studio versions of some songs.  Both the concert video and the Souvenir LP have become collector's items.

Out of print

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Billy Joel:  Live at The Old Grey Whistle Test (UK) (1978)
Billy' toured Europe for The Stranger tour, and two of his concerts were broadcast on television.  The first was his appearance on the popular television program, the UK's The Old Grey Whistle Test, which featured many up and coming artists of the day.  This TV concert lasted about an hour and was never released on video or DVD until Columbia came out with the 30th Anniversary Edition of The Stranger (boxed set) in 2008.

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Live at Musikladen (1978)
A day after his performance on the UK's The Old Grey Whistle Test, Billy gave another television concert on German television, "Live at Musikladen" (also called "Live at the Beat Club").  Unlike the UK program, however, Billy's performance on German television was never officially released on video or DVD.

Not released

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Live in Houston (1979)
Billy's concert in Houston at the Summit in 1979, during the 52nd Street tour, was recorded but never officially released on video.  It's too bad because he previews some of the songs that would later appear on Glass Houses, and gives an energetic, kinetic performance before an enthusiastic audience.  Clips from this footage were used in an interview/profile on the ABC news program 20/20, but the DVD of the program is incomplete.  This is the concert I would like to see released on DVD.  (Update:  A master was uploaded to YouTube, thanks Robert Prisament).

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Billy Joel:  Live from Long Island (1982)
Recorded on New Year's Eve 1982, and released in 1983, Billy Joel's Live From Long Island is probably  his best all-around concert video.  The video captures Billy's raw energy and fun interplay with his band, and Billy is at his prime.  It was released on VHS and laserdisc, but never on DVD.  The show was also broadcast on HBO.  The video is not a complete concert, only 14 of 22 songs performed are on the video.  I forced my friends to watch this a million times in high school, I hope they have forgiven me.  Several of the songs from the concert can be found on YouTube, including a YouTube playlist.

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Live at Wembley:  Piano Man to An Innocent Man (1984)
Billy's 1983 album An Innocent Man was a huge smash in the UK, and one of his concerts at London's Wembley Stadium was broadcast live on the BBC.  Unfortunately, It was never released on video or DVD in the US.  You can, however, see clips from the concert on YouTube.

Not released

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Billy Joel: Live from Leningrad (1987) (released 1991)
Billy's historic concerts in Leningrad and Moscow  were broadcast in the USSR as well as in the US on cable television.  Songs from both concerts were put on "Live from Leningrad" but there are only 11 songs (the Japanese version has a few others).   A very interesting documentary, A Matter of Trust, was also made about the tour (see below).  Both videos are worth purchasing but are only available VHS.  They were released in 1991.   Over twenty years later, a more complete DVD of the Russian concerts was released in 2014 as A Matter of Trust: The Bridge to Russia.  Scroll down below.

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Billy Joel: Live at Yankee Stadium (1990)
This could have been the perfect Billy Joel concert video.  It had all the right elements.  Billy was cruising on the  enormous success of the Storm Front album and tour, he was in his hometown, and he and the band gave a spirited performance (particularly Crystal Taliefero), however, the video is hindered by the dizzying and unnecessary cuts and obtuse camera angles.  Still, it's a good concert video overall, but just tries too hard with the camera effects.  The video was done by Jon Small, renowned music videographer and a close friend of Billy since The Hassles.  Small has done Billy's other concert videos too, including the impressive Live at Shea Stadium concert.  But the camera cuts in Live at Yankee Stadium were too distracting.

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Billy Joel: Live from the River of Dreams (1994)
Billy's 1994 concert in Frankfurt, Germany was broadcast in Europe, and Disney also re-broadcast it in the US on pay-per-view.  The DVD was not released, however, until 2005's boxed set My Lives, though it is available now as a stand-alone DVD.  Billy and his band give a good performance, but sound a bit tired, no doubt because of the long touring schedule.  Billy does a rousing version of The Beatles' "A Hard Day's Night," a nod to their early success in German clubs.

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Face to Face:  Billy Joel and Elton John (1998)
Billy and Elton John have been touring on-and-off together since 1994 in their highly successful Face to Face tours.  In 1998, their concert in Tokyo was broadcast on Japanese television.  That show is apparently the only Face to Face concert that has been televised.  In 2001, HBO was set to broadcast the piano men's concert in Vienna, but Billy got sick and the concert and others were cancelled.  They still go out on tour together, one hopes that one of their concerts will be properly recorded and made available on DVD.  It is on YouTube here.  Update:  The Face to Face tour ended in 2010.

Not released

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America: A Tribute to Heroes and The Concert for NYC (2001)
In the wake of 9/11, rock and pop performers from across the country and world gave two special benefit concerts.  The first was America: A Tribute to Heroes.  Billy performed "New York State of Mind," of course.  

The second was "The Concert for New York City," in which Billy performed both "New York State of Mind" and "Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out On Broadway)" which was in some ways eerily prophetic.  As a native New Yorker and someone whose songs are tied so directly to the City, Billy's performances were particularly poignant and applauded.

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Billy Joel at Tokyo Dome (2006)
Billy's music has always been popular in Japan.  He performed in Tokyo after releasing the boxed set My Lives, and the concert was televised in Japan.  I believe a DVD was released in Japan, and is available for sale outside the U.S.  Billy gives a great performance as usual and this is a high quality DVD production.  This was the same tour that resulted in Billy's live album 12 Gardens, so the set is similar to that album.

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Billy Joel at The Colosseum (Roma) (2006)
In 2006, Billy also gave a free concert in Rome with The Colosseum as a backdrop.  Bryan Adams opened for him.  It was estimated that almost 500,000 people saw the concert. 

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Live at Shea Stadium (2008) (released 2011)
Billy closed out Shea Stadium in 2008 with two sold-out concerts featuring his New York-based hits and special guest stars including Tony Bennett, John Mayer, Garth Brooks, and, of course, Paul McCartney who ended the concert with "Let It Be."  Billy does a great job, though musically I like the Tokyo Dome performance better.  This DVD is not to be confused with "Last Play at Shea" which is a documentary about Shea Stadium, Billy Joel, and the concert (see below).

See the Live at Shea Stadium page for information on how to order.

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12-12-12 Concert for Sandy Relief (2012) 12-12-12: The Concert for Sandy Relief was a benefit concert that took place on December 12, 2012, at Madison Square Garden in New York City.  The concert was held in response to Hurricane Sandy, which devastated portions of Northeastern United States, the Caribbean and the Mid-Atlantic in late October 2012.  Billy Joel took part and performed three songs, "Miami 2017," "Movin' Out," and "You May Be Right." 

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Billy Joel: A Matter of Trust: The Bridge To Russia 
(concert in 1987) (released 2014)
In 2014, Sony Legacy released a new version of Billy's historic concerts in Leningrad and Moscow as "A Matter of Trust: The Bridge to Russia."  The concert CDs feature eleven previously  unreleased songs, and the concert DVD featured seven new songs and a bonus song, which were not available on the Kohuept CD (1987) or Live from Leningrad video (1991).  A new documentary about the trip was also aired on Showtime and released on DVD too, which contained footage from the previous documentary (also entitled "A Matter of Trust") from 1991.   See more information here.

One can also see some Billy  Joel concerts and live performances on YouTube too.  Click here for a list.

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