As the title of this post suggests, yes, I was lucky enough to see Billy Joel perform–I mean, “answer questions”–at Bailey Hall this past Friday night. Clad in a Cornell sweatshirt and baseball cap, Billy proved that he was still the master of the grand piano even if his voice isn’t what it used to be. Though Billy did spend most of the time talking, I did get to hear “Piano Man” and “Only the Good Die Young,” along with a special performance of Paul Simon’s “Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard” and “Still Crazy After All These Years.”

Since I’m a college student (obviously), I found Billy’s life story very interesting.  Although he’s now the happy owner of several honorary degrees, Billy was a high-school dropout who spent most of his pre-twenties life working in bands. While I’m glad Billy’s career worked out so well, his past worries me a little. Say I secretly still want to be a musician: am I wasting my time learning about Ragnarok and rococo as an undergrad when I could be making my way onto the folk scene instead?

You'll have to mentally insert Billy Joel onto this empty stage yourself: we weren't allowed to take pictures or record video once the concert actually started.

Fortunately, I have no plans of leaving Cornell and standing on a street corner playing guitar with my hat out for some time–my a cappella group has satisfied all my music-making urges for now. I mentioned on Friday that <3 was booked to appear at the Johnson, and I’m now proud to say that everything went (surprisingly) smoothly.

As <3 singer Tara wrote in an email to the Risley Hall list-serv, “Our debut mini concert of non-denominational winter songs is sure to put a joyful spin on your ideas of unrequited love and dying in frozen Canadian waters.” The program included “Winter Winds” by Mumford & Sons, “Frozen in Frobisher Bay” by Canadian folksinger James Gordon, and “Winter Song” by Ingrid Michaelson & Sara Bareilles.

If that sounds like your cup of tea (and you’ll need a cup of tea after listening to these chilly songs), you’re in luck, blog-readers! Here’s some of the highlights of our performance.

a video

Nerdy never sounded so good!

What’s next for <3? Well, the other ladies and I will be meeting sometime this week to discuss the very exciting future of our ensemble, and since I’m such a shameless self-promoter, rest assured that I’ll discuss every detail of our rise to greatness (or something) on this blog.