Billy Joel tribute in Pennypack Park

By Shannon McDonald

Danny V’s 52nd Street Band, a Billy Joel tribute, played last night as part of Pennypack Park Summer Concert Series. The audience seemed smaller than previous years’, but the threats of rain weren’t enough to keep away the thousands of people who came out to hear the classics.

The crowd grew as the night went on, maintained by park rangers and Philadelphia Police Explorers, and more and more people got up to dance in front of the stage.

More of the recap, plus photos and video below.

This was an especially exciting performance for the band, as the group is celebrating its 15-year anniversary of honoring Billy Joel. Even more entertaining for the audience, was the lyric switching for Philadelphia; during several songs, the band inserted Philadelphia and Northeast Philly where there would normally be references to New York and New Jersey. (A Northeast Philly State of Mind, anyone?)

Sponsors walked around collecting donations and selling glo-sticks to raise funds for the parks commission and summer concert series. And though the music was

the main attraction – especially hits like Only the Good Die Young and Still Rock & Roll to me – many people passed the time playing wiffle ball and football, while others took the chance to catch up with old friends while enjoying a picnic on lawn chairs and blankets.

Danny V ended the night with an encore of Captain Jack, after a much-anticpated rendition of Piano Man. The band played about a dozen songs, with an intermission halfway through. While this is probably one of the more popular acts of the summer series, tributes to Bruce Springstein, Chicago, Eric Clapton and more are still on the way this season.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9d-jWmN7BZQ]