The Nylon Curtain Tour was a 1982 concert tour of the United States and Canada by singer-songwriter Billy Joel, to support the release of his eighth studio album, The Nylon Curtain. It followed a motorcycle accident earlier that year in which Joel's hands had been injured, and also the divorce from his first wife and manager, Elizabeth Weber.
Background
Production of The Nylon Curtain had begun in the fall of 1981, but was delayed for several months after Joel was involved in a serious motorcycle accident. On April 15, 1982, he hit and was flipped over a car which had run a red light at an intersection on Long Island, crushing the bone in his left thumb and dislocating the other wrist. The album was released towards the end of September, when tentative plans were being made for a corresponding tour. These were confirmed by news agency UPI the following month.
The tour began in Salt Lake City on October 24, 1982, and ended just over two months later with a New Year's Eve concert at Madison Square Garden in New York. Dates were added as the tour progressed, since Joel had still not recovered fully from his injuries and wasn't sure how playing long sets would affect him. The concert in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania on December 27, for example, was not confirmed until less than a month beforehand.
This was the first tour following the departure of Richie Cannata on saxophone and keyboards. He was replaced with Mark Rivera (who still performs with Joel, as of 2024) and David LeBolt (who was dismissed after the Bridge Tour in 1987).
Joel's first video special, Live from Long Island, was recorded on December 29 at the penultimate stop of the tour, the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. This was first broadcast on HBO on July 24, 1983, before being released on VHS. At the following year's Grammy Awards, it was nominated for the Best Video Album.
After the tour, it was reported that Joel said he was "leaving the radarscope" to get some rest, and had told his aides not to disturb him under any circumstances.
Tour dates DateCityCountryVenueNorth America Leg October 24, 1982 Salt Lake City United States Salt PalaceOctober 26, 1982 Tempe ASU Activity CenterOctober 28, 1982 Denver McNichols Sports ArenaOctober 30, 1982 Kansas City Kemper ArenaNovember 1, 1982 Saint Paul St. Paul Civic Center November 3, 1982 St. Louis CheckerdomeNovember 4, 1982 Rosemont Rosemont HorizonNovember 6, 1982 Cincinnati Riverfront ColiseumNovember 7, 1982 Richfield Richfield ColiseumNovember 9, 1982 Toronto Canada Maple Leaf GardensNovember 10, 1982 Detroit United States Joe Louis ArenaNovember 11, 1982 Pittsburgh Civic ArenaNovember 13, 1982 Buffalo Buffalo Memorial AuditoriumNovember 15, 1982 Landover Capital CentreNovember 17, 1982 Worcester The CentrumNovember 19, 1982 Hartford Hartford Civic CenterNovember 20, 1982 Philadelphia The SpectrumNovember 22, 1982 Greensboro Greensboro ColiseumNovember 24, 1982 Atlanta Omni ColiseumNovember 25, 1982 St. Petersburg Bayfront CenterNovember 27, 1982 Pembroke Pines Hollywood SportatoriumNovember 28, 1982 Jacksonville Jacksonville ColiseumNovember 30, 1982 Memphis Mid-South ColiseumDecember 2, 1982 Austin Frank Erwin CenterDecember 3, 1982 Dallas Reunion ArenaDecember 5, 1982 Houston The SummitDecember 9, 1982 Portland Portland Memorial ColiseumDecember 12, 1982 Oakland Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum ArenaDecember 14, 1982 Inglewood The ForumDecember 17, 1982 Vancouver Canada Pacific ColiseumDecember 20, 1982 Edmonton Northlands ColiseumDecember 26, 1982 East Rutherford United States Brendan Byrne ArenaDecember 27, 1982 Bethlehem Stabler ArenaDecember 29, 1982 Uniondale Nassau Veterans Memorial ColiseumDecember 31, 1982 New York City Madison Square Garden
Setlist This setlist is from the December 29 show at Nassau Coliseum. It does not represent all the dates throughout the tour.
"Chain Gang" (Opening Music) "Allentown" "My Life" "Prelude/Angry Young Man" "Piano Man" "Don't Ask Me Why" "The Stranger" "Scandinavian Skies" "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)" "She's Always a Woman" "Pressure" "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant" "Just The Way You Are" "Goodnight Saigon" "Stiletto" "Until the Night" "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me" "Sometimes a Fantasy" "Big Shot" "You May Be Right" "Only the Good Die Young" "Souvenir"
Personnel Billy Joel – lead vocals, piano, keyboards, harmonica Mark Rivera – saxophone, flute, clarinet, vocals, percussion, keyboards, rhythm guitar Doug Stegmeyer – bass guitar, vocals David Brown – lead guitar, vocals Russell Javors – rhythm guitar, vocals David Lebolt – keyboards Liberty DeVitto – drums, percussion
References
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