This entry is a few months overdue, but come on: It’s Billy Joel and Elton John, and at my favorite baseball stadium – how could I possibly let it go?

The famous Wrigley Field marquee.

I got tickets for this concert the day they went on sale and was subsequently super excited for months. I even planned our annual trip to Chicago (whose primary purpose is usually the Cubs) around it, so it was a good thing the Cubs were in town for at least one home game while Todd and I were in the city.

So . . . did the concert live up to the hype? I loved it, but I’m hesitant to say yes. Billy Joel has continued to put on an entertaining show over the years, perhaps to the detriment of his health — his doctor ordered him to cancel some performances soon after this one to recover from exhaustion — and this performance was no exception. He played with the mic stand, swatted animatedly at flies, told lame jokes and, as usual, incorporated some local flavor (he played “Aloha ‘Oe” on the piano and did some Elvis impersonations when in Honolulu; in Chicago, he sang a few refrains from “My Kind of Town”). He engaged the audience. He was there, and he clearly appreciated the crowd.

Billy Joel at Wrigley Field.

Sir Elton, on the other hand . . . I don’t know what it is, maybe he just had something else on his mind that day. He did his thing, but he wasn’t what you would describe as energetic. He smiled . . . once in a while. Maybe he could’ve used a break, too. I’d like to think it was just an off day for him, but in his comment on my previous post, Bill makes a similar observation about a performance he saw elsewhere.

Elton John at Wrigley Field.

But don’t get me wrong: Showmanship aside, I can’t complain about the quality of the music. Billy Joel and Elton John are questionably the last of the prolific songwriters/musicians — you’d be hard-pressed to find an artist now with so many hits. And when they play each other’s songs together? Wow.

Elton John and Billy Joel at Wrigley Field. Early evening was very hazy!

Then there was the added bonus of the venue: Every once in a while, you just had to look around and think to yourself, “I’m watching two of the most popular musicians ever at one of the oldest ballparks in the country.” Say what you want about the Cubs (no, don’t), but Wrigley Field is, well, Wrigley Field. The Yankees can build a new stadium without blinking an eye, but the day the Cubs abandon or rebuild Wrigley . . . it’s inevitable, given the shape the park is in, but I can’t even think about it.

The crowd on the lower level.

Overall: Totally worth it. I’d do it again in a instant.

Bonus 1: Someone started singing “Bear Down, Chicago Bears” while the crowd cascaded down the ramps from the upper deck after the concert. Hilarious. Too bad not enough of the rest of the crowd picked up on it.

Bonus 2: Todd and I, as Cubs fans, had years-old experience in skillfully exiting Wrigleyville without a scratch, in a more than reasonable amount of time, once the show was over. Laugh all you like, but the same couldn’t be said for many a whiny concertgoer we encountered on the way out!