Piano man waving on a yellow brick road

So, my awesome sister Caroline (Care-ole-in), well, she had a birthday back in November. And for her birthday, she received a lovely gift from our parents: eight tickets to the Elton John and Billy Joel concert. With no pressure at all from any of her siblings, Caroline invited us to go with her. When Billy Joel got sick, the concert was postponed so we had to wait. But guess what was Friday night? Oh, just an amazing show of iconic talent. The Delta Center was bursting with fans and we were probably the youngest people there by about 20 years...even Jonathan, who's pretty old. My parents fit right in, though.

My dad said the last time he saw Sir Elton Hercules John (chosen name) was when he was in high school and Elton John came to the Huntsman Center. And my uncle Pat apparently came home from a concert at Kingsbury Hall one night raving about an amazing pianist he saw there who turned out to be...drum roll, please...Mr. William Martin Joel (real name).

So these guys are old, but they're definitely still alive and kicking. Elton John jumped on the piano bench, Billy Joel danced with his microphone. They complement each other well.

Sunday dinner had us talking about how fun the concert was, which somehow led to a discussion about Beyonce and her Single Ladies music video. My parents find that video to be highly offensive and inappropriate. Surprise, surprise. We tried to explain again, that Beyonce's dance moves in that video are really quite mild compared to many things we see every day, even living here in our conservative Mormon culture. But my parents wouldn't buy it. They think we're being corrupted. When my parents were young, the Beatles were, you know, sort of popular, I guess. One year the Beatles came to Utah, to Lagoon and my mom really wanted to get a ride out to see them. I don't think that ever worked out for her because, as my dad put it, "the city fathers" thought the Beatles were a bad influence and would corrupt the youth of Salt Lake City. Interesting trend...

Anyway, the most amazing thing about the Billy Joel/Elton John concert was what my dad mentioned afterward. These guys played for three hours and I lost track of how many songs they played, but every single one of them was a hit that we all sang along to. If that doesn't make them both a couple of the biggest icons and legends in American pop culture, then my name isn't Rose and Holly is 6'1".