And here's some tips from Shoshana's Build My Audience blog from the other side of the music world (in several senses):
"Last night I was fortunate to see Billy Joel in concert at the Pepsi Center in Denver. Being a huge fan with the majority of his albums, I am kicking myself for not going to a concert sooner. I am glad I was finally able to witness how great he was with his audience engagement! Here is a list of some of the fun he had with the audience:
· Audience choice moments - He gauged by applause which song out of two choices the audience wanted to hear next. He did this twice during the concert. Of course my pick was not the popular choice, since I wanted to hear the lesser known of the two choices, but the audience in general loved being engaged in this fashion!
· Of course he let us take over on Piano Man for one of the choruses.
· He shook hands with many of the people in the front row and signed two on the spot autographs. Lucky folks!
· He was quick with a joke...
· He talked conversationally the entire time. We, the audience, was part of the conversation!
· He pulled in Colorado references all the time. Of course he played Billy the Kid: "Well, he started with a bank in Colorado."
· The cameramen captured some fantastic audience footage. The audience sincerely loved every minute!
· The set list drew from all aspects of his career which catered to the different generations of the audience.
· The quality of the musicians, background media set, etc. was top notch!"