At this Long Island show, Mike DelGuidice and Big Shot were backed by a horn section. They kicked off their set on an upbeat note with “My Life.”
“Hi, good evening how are we doing?” DelGuidice asked. “It’s a good-looking audience for a Thursday, he said. It was followed by such Billy Joel standards as “Tell Her About It” and “The Ballad Of Billy The Kid.” “Hallelujah, that’s over,” he said, following the latter tune.
DelGuidice treated the audience to an album cut from 52nd Street, “Half a Mile Away,” which Billy Joel doesn’t play live as often. He subsequently praised the horn section for their talent.
His version of the ballad “This Is The Time” was resonant and glorious, and DelGuidice and the band soared on “New York State of Mind.” He also sang his own original love ballad, “Mona Lisa,” which was sheer bliss.
He covered the Aerosmith classic rock tune “Dream On,” where he nailed the piercing high notes. “Thank you,” he said, following the warm reception.
Equally impressive were “Don’t Let The Sun Go Down on Me,” where they paid tribute to Elton John and George Michael, as well as Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love,” which ended with a drum solo from Mike Sorrentino.
The inclusion of the piano-laden “Honesty” was an added bonus. “Hey, Paramount, Salud. Cheers. God Bless you guys,” he said.
DelGuidice tipped his hat to Elton John once again with an enthralling version of “Tiny Dancer.” “That’s how you do it,” he said. Of course, no Big Shot concert is complete without a Billy Joel history lesson from Tommy Byrnes in the form of the rocking “We Didn’t Start the Fire.”
