Joel/john Still Jumping

In what has become the most successful touring package of all time, Billy Joel and Elton John have completed yet another run, this time of 34 arena dates that grossed about $65.7 million. The tour wrapped Oct. 13 at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, N.Y.

Born as a stadium tour of Australia, Japan, and North America in 1994, Joel/John has developed into a boomer franchise for arenas, averaging about $2 million per night at the box office. The co-headlining trek—which began playing arenas in 1999 —features top-notch but unobtrusive production elements, gross-boosting 360-degree seating, and the kind of well-heeled demographic that makes arena managers and promoters alike salivate.

"We're thrilled," says Howard Rose of the Howard Rose Agency, booking agent for John. "This show is very audience-friendly. The buildings have loved us being there, and I think the audiences have loved us being there."

Indeed, this co-headlining trek has been one of the few bulletproof entities in an unstable touring marketplace. "This tour was the first real big test after 9/11 and has proved to be one of the ultimate shows that the buildings and communities want," says Dennis Arfa, president of Artists Group International and Joel's booking agent. "These artists work very well together. This is one of the few times that one plus one equals five."

They also equal big box office. Concert-goers have not balked at tickets priced $35-$85, with gold-circle ducats in the $175 range. "We charge the same for the arena shows as we did the stadium shows in 1994, except for the gold-circle seats," Arfa says. "And the most expensive seats sell first, from Greensboro [N.C.] to Syracuse [N.Y.]."

The Joel/John tour, promoted in each market by Clear Channel Entertainment in 2002, is that rare touring entity capable of sitting down in a market for multiples, resulting in some grosses that are nothing short of remarkable. The $13 million from six sellouts at the First Union Center in Philadelphia is destined to be the year's top concert engagement, and the duo also notched record-setting runs in several other markets.

"We broke the state records in Pennsylvania, Florida, Massachusetts, and Connecticut for the biggest concert grosses ever in those states," Arfa says. "We sold out three Office Depot Centers [in Sunrise, Fla.], six First Union Centers, five FleetCenters [in Boston], and four Hartfords [Conn., with $6.8 million], on top of nine New York-area shows."

The six-night play in Boston—which spanned nearly two weeks (Feb. 13-24)—worked on every level, according to First Union Center GM John Page. "It was a great audience, we knew what to expect, and we had a lot of repeat customers," Page says. "It was an unbelievable event for us. We just kept selling shows. We knew they could both sell on their own, so it was just a matter of finding out what they could do together—and it turns out it was six."

Likewise, the five sellouts at the FleetCenter took in close to $10 million. "I think this is one of the best shows in the business," FleetCenter president/CEO Richard Krezwick says. "Where else can you sit down and see 100 hits performed by two of the biggest names in the music business? We sent 20,000 people a night home happy."

Krezwick is not surprised that the tour rang up five sellouts in Boston. "I pushed to have a sixth added, and I believe we could have sold it out, as well. Now we're hoping for a return engagement."

Krezwick may get his wish. Arfa and Rose say discussions are under way for Joel and John to go out together again in 2003, beginning in February. Arfa says, "This was our fourth straight year, and we still haven't played all the arenas in North America."

Rose adds, "We're still putting it together, but we're looking at doing 30 dates. We're trying to give audiences what they want."