Billy Joel
Wrigley Field
Chicago, Illinois
July 18, 2014

Source: Church Audio CA-11 cards => UGLY pre-amp => Tascam DR-2D (24/44.1)
Transfer: DR-2D => WAV => Magix Audio Cleaning Lab => WAV => FLAC (level 8, dither to 16-bit)

Location: Field section B, Row 14

Setlist:

Disc one (60:03):
(1) A Matter of Trust (4:39)
(2) Pressure (6:06)
(3) Your Song (tease) (0:53)
(4) Anthony's Song (Movin' Out) (4:42)
(5) An Innocent Man (6:09)
(6) Take Me Out To The Ballgame (0:42)
(7) The Entertainer (4:03)
(8) Banter (1:20)
(9) Vienna (4:13)
(10) Zanzibar (5:52)
(11) New York State of Mind (7:41)
(12) Sometimes A Fantasy (4:23)
(13) Miami 2017 (Seen The Lights Go Out On Broadway) (5:12)
(14) Allentown (4:02)

Disc two (63:27):
(1) She's Always a Woman (3:57)
(2) My Life (6:35)
(3) Highway To Hell (4:13)
(4) Don't Ask Me Why (3:47)
(5) Scenes From An Italian Restaurant (8:04)
(6) The River of Dreams [incl. My Kind of Town] (6:31)
(7) Piano Man (6:09)
(8) Encore break (2:49)
(9) Uptown Girl (3:14)
(10) It's Still Rock and Roll To Me (3:47)
(11) Big Shot (4:42)
(12) You May Be Right (4:55)
(13) Only The Good Die Young (4:39)

Note: There are no fades applied, so you can split the files anywhere you want (if you choose to burn to CD at all).

Md5 signature file is included. Sorry, no artwork (feel free to make some)

Comments:

Enjoyable though fairly predictable show by Billy Joel at the annual summer party at Wrigley Field; unlike last year's Pearl Jam show (which attracted hardcore fans from around the world, and resulted in a very respectful and enthusiastic audience), it seems like these Wrigley dates are becoming an excuse for concert newbies to drink beer on the field and socialize with friends. For every knowledgeable fan in attendance (at least where I was sitting), there were five attendees who were there only because they remember their parents playing "We Didn't Start The Fire" during childhood ... the talking, texting, and other distractions were ridiculous considering the $150 ticket price.

I was in a great spot for recording -- directly in line with the angled speaker on stage left, and the dynamics and mix are near-perfect for a stadium show (at least, given the gear I was using), but this recording is plagued with the low-level drone of chatty neighbors during many of the quiet parts. If you can will yourself to ignore the noise, I think this is a really good recording.

In terms of performance, Billy has definitely lost a step over the last 30 years but the setlist had just about everything I was looking for and his vocals sounded good. I was a bit surprised by the number of "deep tracks" in the early part of the set given the festival setting, but overall a nice mix of warhorses and obscurities.

Hopefully there will be other sources posted where the taper(s) got luckier than I did and had quiet neighbors. In the meantime, I think this is worth grabbing if you are a Billy Joel fan and/or attended the show.

Feel free to do what you like with this recording (cross-post it anywhere you wish, but don't sell it). Mp3 samples are included in the comments.