When a Australian roadie with a gut the size of a cement sack and the nickname ‘Chainsaw’ came on to the stage and tore through AC/DC’s Highway to Hell, thousands of fans in AsiaWorld-Arena jumped to their feet and fist-punched through the entire throat-burning musical riot. It was the most enthusiastic response of the night up until that point. Which is strange because it was supposed to be Billy Joel – the pugnacious rock’n’roll superstar – dominating attention.

By that stage, Joel had already ripped through note-perfect renditions of many of his hits, most notably My Life (second off the rank), New York State of Mind, Just the Way You Are, Innocent Man, and River of Dreams. For most, Joel was seated at his mini-grand piano – set low so the crowd could get a good view of the man who has been riding the pop charts since 1973 – and, unlike Elton John who came months before him, he wasn’t shy about chatting to the crowd between songs.

“This is a song I wrote for my first ex-wife,” he said, before feigning regret, hanging his head, and belting out Just the Way You Are. “And then we got divorced,” he quipped after the song.

New Yorker Joel, apparently past a difficult point in his life marked by alcoholism, seemed at ease on stage, enjoying the fawning attention of a crowd that grew up with this music (“Billy for President!” was a refrain heard more than once during the show). When he stood for songs such as It’s Still Rock’n’Roll To Me and You May Be Right, he showed off his acrobatic abilities with the microphone stand, twirling and flipping it metres into the air. Away from the mic, he played for the crowd with faux karate moves, perhaps not realising just how much he was showing his age.

The crowd didn’t care, demanded an encore, got three, and ably subbed in for Joel in the last chorus of Piano Man – the undisputed highlight of the night. It was a rousing finish to a workman-like show, short on razzle dazzle (there wasn’t even a big screen; Uptown Girl was another notable absence) but rich in nostalgia. Joel slipped away into the Hong Kong night at 10.34pm, leaving the audience with warm smiles and a one-hour wait for the train back to town.

Hamish McKenzie

Angry Young Men

My Life

Honestly

Zanzibar

New York State of Mind

Allentown

I Got To Extremes

Pressure

Just The Way You Are

Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song)

Innocent Man

Keeping The Faith

She’s Always A Woman

Don't Ask Me Why

River Of Dreams

Highway To Hell (by Chainsaw the roadie)

We Didn’t Start The Fire

Big Shot

It’s Still Rock And Roll To Me

You May Be Right

Encore

Scenes From An Italian Restaurant

Only the good Die Young

Piano Man