One thing every good birthday celebration needs is music, so it’s no wonder a concert is planned for the Carrier Dome’s 25th anniversary. But the Dome isn’t just any building; it’s the most recognizable structure in Central New York and arguably one of the more famous athletic structures in the country. Therefore, its birthday celebration is guaranteed to be spectacular with a performance from rock legend Billy Joel.

Joel, or ‘The Piano Man,’ is bringing his nation-wide ‘My Lives’ tour to Syracuse tomorrow night for a sold-out performance in the Dome. He will be playing to a crowd of nearly 39,000 people, comprised of Syracuse University, the local community and surrounding cities.

Joel has become a large presence in many aspects of SU this year. In September, he gave the College of Visual and Performing Arts $320,000 for music fellowships and will be the keynote speaker at the university’s commencement ceremony in May.

Joel and his agency, AEG New York, have had a very good relationship with SU for many years now, said Patrick Campbell, senior associate athletic director.

‘This is Billy’s year for Syracuse,’ Campbell said. ‘We have a pretty good relationship with the agency and Billy, and he wanted to play here. Actually it was Billy’s idea, really. He’s a friend of Syracuse.’

The concert at the Dome is the peak of its yearlong birthday celebration. While the actual birth date of the building is September 20th, the celebration continued with special occurrences at different sporting events throughout the year, and will culminate with this concert, Campbell said.

The tour is Joel’s first solo tour in seven years. He has played at SU many times before, most recently performing with Elton John on the ‘Face to Face’ tour in 2001.

Joel’s last solo show at SU was during his world tour in 1998, when ticket prices were $39.50. He decided to keep the same price to celebrate the Dome’s birthday and his first solo show here in a while, Campbell said.

‘(Joel) has played here several times, so we were a little unsure of what the response would be, and it’s been better than we ever thought it would be,’ Campbell said. ‘(It’s a) faster sellout than we have ever had.’

The extreme popularity of Joel has a lot to do with his ability to span generations and interest different people from all walks of life, said Cristina Parvu, publicist for AEG.

‘The community is often times very separated from the SU campus … but these types of concerts bring people onto the campus for a fun event,’ Parvu said. ‘It’s always great to have the two communities mix and enjoy the music and have such a fun time together. It’s an all-round good time for everyone.’

Parvu is a 2004 political science and international relations major graduate of SU. She was at the university for Joel’s last performance in the Dome and said it was very entertaining. This show should be equally fun for anyone going, Parvu said.

Some people, like Caroline Vajos, a junior biology major, know first-hand about Joel’s ability to interest people of all ages. She is attending the show with her boyfriend and her boyfriend’s grandmother, both of whom are equally excited about the show.

‘He falls in that genre of music that if people gave it a chance they would find it pleasing. For younger people, it’s good music to listen to and to older people, it has lyrics they can appreciate,’ Vajos said. ‘I think parents would be very excited if they came home and put on Billy Joel instead of rap and the shit that’s on the radio.’

Others are just excited about going to the show with friends. Derrick Chafin, a freshman advertising major, is going to the concert with 15 other people, and said he knows many people who are doing the same thing.

‘I think it’s going to be really entertaining. It’s completely sold out, so it’s going to be a crap-load of people,’ Chafin said.

It’s not just students from SU interested in the show. With Joel’s other shows, the closest in New York City and Philadelphia and more than four hours away from Syracuse, students around the area are coming here for the show.

‘I’m a huge Billy Joel fan, and they were really cheap tickets. I’ve been looking forward to it even since I got (them) in late December, early January,’ said Marc Cicola, a sophomore history major at Ithaca College. ‘But on a Saturday, I would travel four or five hours (to see him), as long as I didn’t have to travel back that night.’

The show has been in planning since around this time last year, Campbell said. The Dome has a school rule that all concerts must occur on the weekend, and that all events have must be scheduled around football and basketball season. This made it difficult to schedule and the concert took a long time to arrange, Campbell said.

Another factor hindering Dome shows is the fact that, when setting up a stage, nothing can be hung from the ceiling due to weight constraints. This means that a cover must be laid on the turf, a specific stage must be rented and constructed with cranes and electronics have to be put into place. The whole process takes about three days and nights and about 150 workers, both students and professionals, said Pete Sala, associate director of athletics for faculty at the Carrier Dome.

‘The reason it’s so hard to do shows is because a lot of the big bands aren’t touring, but for the ones that are, the Carrier Dome is an outside venue,’ Sala said. ‘In order to play here, someone has to (pay for everything), when they can go up the road and play at Rich Stadium (in Buffalo) to play for 9,000 people at the same cost. The structuring of how everything is done between the building and the band and the promoter, but (Campbell) has done a hell of a job trying to get bands in here. It’s very tough.’

Overall, all the promoters of the show are very excited for the show and think it will be a great finale to the celebration of the Dome’s birth.

‘It’s a success already. Any time you sell out, it’s a great thing,’ Campbell said. ‘The reviews on this tour have been awesome, and it’s going to be a really super show.’

Published on March 23, 2006 at 12:00 pm