When you watch the Billy Joel special on the A&E; channel this Sunday night, you probably won't witness the rock legend break out into a rousing chorus of "You can kiss my ass, let's go smoke some grass" when the television crew's lighting fuse blows out.
You probably won't see the five-time Grammy winner make pelvic thrusts towards the piano as pianist Richard Joo reaches a climactic moment in the first movement of Joel's three-part suite, either.
But last night, hundreds of lucky students, had the chance to experience the Piano Man -- talented, talkative and rowdy as ever -- up close and personal, with only roaming cameramen occasionally blocking their view.
Joel performed to a packed house at Irvine Auditorium as part of a taping for A&E.; Tickets were highly coveted for the event; out of a lottery for which around 5,000 PennCard holders applied, just over 400 managed to win a pair of tickets to the event.
Before the show, producers from the A&E; television network recorded applause from the audience. But when Joel appeared, the crowd's enthusiastic standing ovation, complete with hoots, hollers and whistles, was entirely genuine.
Joel's show, "Questions, Answers and a Little Music," had an interactive format, allowing him to perform his music, field questions from the audience and discuss his experiences to help young artists interested in pursuing music as a career.
"I got the information now, and I want to pass it on," said Joel, explaining his frustration when he wrote to the Beatles as a teenager for advice and received only a promotional packet.
Joel, after greeting the audience, went straight to one of the two grand pianos onstage and kicked off his show with his song "Summer, Highland Falls."
Joo, in a black, ankle-length tuxedo jacket, performed several selections from Joel's recently released classical album, Fantasies and Delusions.
"People say, 'If he wrote them, why can't he play them?'" Joel said. "I wrote them, but I play them like shit... [Joo] can play the stuff with nuance."
Joo not only performed Joel's classical compositions, but also "Uptown Girl" in the style of Mozart and an excerpt from the second movement of Beethoven's "Pathetique" sonata, showing the similarity between it and Joel's "This Night."
"The influence of classical music [on Joel's popular music] isn't always apparent, but it is to me," Joo said.
Guided by questions from the audience, Joel covered a variety of topics and, when appropriate, gave the audience a taste of songs such as "Allentown," "Only the Good Die Young," "Say Goodbye to Hollywood" and "Scenes From An Italian Restaurant."
Joel discussed writing a song, possibly a requiem, dedicated to the events of Sept. 11.
"If I can't do it well, I'm not going to do it," Joel said. "But it's been on my mind. In fact, it never leaves my mind.... I have a theme in my head, but it's not ready yet."
He also talked about whether musical talent was innate or learned.
"Just like you're born heterosexual or homosexual, you're born to be an artist," he said. "That's the way it is... There's something genetic, something inherited, something congenital. There's an amount of insanity in there, too."
Joel discussed the serendipity of the musical process, explaining that the characteristic chord in the introduction of "Allentown" was originally a mistake.
"Only you can louse something up in your own unique, wonderful way," he said. "Make mistakes, use them and make them your own."
Having his initially unsuccessful single "Only the Good Die Young" banned by church officials was also fortuitous, boosting his song to the top of the charts.
"Talent is good, but getting your record banned is even better," he said.
Joel not only gave advice, but also discussed turning points in his own career.
One was his first gig at a church dance attended by his high school crush Virginia Callahan, the inspiration behind "Only the Good Die Young."
"I'm going to sing and have Virginia Callahan like me and I'm going to get paid for it," he recalled thinking at the time. "I'm going to love my life. I'm going to make out with it."
Another life-altering experience came when he realized he could make a living with music.
"It was an epiphany, just being able to support myself," he said. "It has nothing to do with charts or hit records or gold or platinum."
Joel described how his relationship with classical music has changed with age.
At a young age, "I saw classical music as the girl next door," he said. "She was sweet, had a great personality... but I wasn't sexually aroused by her. Then the rock 'n' roll temptress came along and I fell in love with her... but 35 years later, the girl next door grew up, and she'd gotten hot."
Joel ended his show with a show-stopping rendition of "Piano Man" and a duet with Joo from his new album.
However, three and a half hours wasn't enough for the audience. The crowd called Joel back for an encore -- the lullaby that he wrote for his daughter -- with a standing ovation even noisier than the one that greeted him.
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