Haha why can't your band come play at my town! That's all they seem to play here (the likes of Brown Eyed Girl, Sweet Home Alabama, Proud Mary etc). I think bands in general have more fire and energy and come across better when they are purely playing what they want to play, rather than just what the audience wants to hear. I remember that bit in the History of The Eagles blu ray documentary where, on the night of the concert, backstage, Glenn Frey fired Randy Meisner on the spot because he refused to sing the lead on 'Take It To The Limit' one more time (*cough*). These kinds of situations can cause real division in the decision-making process for bands. There's a list on the internet somewhere of the bands that eventually refused to play their biggest hits live. 'Creep' by Radiohead for example. Nirvana stopped playing 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' near the time Kurt died. The Beastie Boys always hated 'Fight For Your Right To Party'. Same with Led Zep and 'Stairway To Heaven'. Tis a funny business!
Yeah, re. Billy Joel, one of my favourite albums of his is the 'Songs In The Attic' live album. Some of the standout tracks are Los Angelenos and Streetlife Serenader - this would be the equivalent of Macca doing say, 'To You' from Back To The Egg and 'Back Seat of My Car' from Ram - how amazing would that be! Come to think of it though.. 'Back Seat' would be pretty high to sing!
