Xcel Energy Center Show Recap with Photos

I think the Xcel Energy Center is trying something new with concert fans. A friend of mine went to the Elton John Billy Joel show on Tuesday night and said he had a great time and imagine his surprise when on Wednesday he got a “Thank You” email from the Xcel Energy Center, Billy Joel and Elton John including a link to “exclusive photos.” My friend sent me the link since he knows I write an Xcel Energy Center blog.

I must say the Thank You email is an interesting marketing idea, but I get irritated with all my incoming emails the way it is, I would choose to unsubscribe in a heartbeat and the exclusive photos weren’t any more special than the pictures in the Pioneer Press.

I didn’t make it to Elton John Billy Joel show, but plenty of other people did. The sold-out crowd was reported as 19,960 –that’s a lot of people and a lot of dollar signs for Elton and Billy especially since each St Paul concert ticket was $150 or more!

Here's a photo from the "exclusive" link:

Elton John Billy Joel Tour Stop

The hottest news at the Xcel Energy Center these days is the Elton John Billy Joel tour stop on Tuesday, May 5th. They are calling it their Face 2 Face tour and word on the street is that Elton John and Billy Joel will open the show with a string of duets, playing matching pianos that are facing each other. The stage will be mostly open so there is seating all around, but they aren’t officially calling it a center stage set-up. Elton and Billy will then each do their own sets and finally finish the night “Face 2 Face” dueling it out on their pianos.

It’s a hot concert ticket in St Paul and local ticket brokers like Ticket King are charging $1,000 per ticket for 3rd row on the main floor and $400 per ticket for 10th row on the main floor. The better deal is the lower level tickets that start at less than $200 per ticket. I bet the Xcel Energy Center was glad to have snagged this hot act for 2009!