"To forget about life for a while."
That crowd wasn't only from Mid-Iowa. Music fans from Nebraska, Missouri, Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana and Kansas were all a part of the 14,000-plus crowd who sang part of "Piano Man" as Joel and John listened.
"Sing us a song, you're the piano man. Sing us a song tonight. For we're all in the mood for a melody, and you've got us feeling all right."
That song and those words ended an enthusiastic, high-energy three-and-a-half hour performance that had fat old men and college coeds dancing in the aisles side-by-side.
"It was unbelievable," said Jeanne Skutnick of Omaha, Neb. "There are not words that can describe that ending. We all said what we were feeling. I cannot believe how great that was."
The tone was evident from the outset. Joel, with swagger and confidence in his step, came on stage to the music of "Yankee Doodle Dandy." John strolled on stage in an all-pink suit with matching shoes.
As both entered the concert, the flags of the United States and the United Kingdom were shown on a screen hanging above the stage.
"This is a really good building to play in," John told the crowd. "It is so intimate. We are going to have a party tonight."
Those words came true as late in the performance Joel showed his dance moves on top of the two pianos that faced each other at the front of the stage. John at one point lay on his piano.
As for the highlights of the show, the duo played three songs together to open the show and five to close.
John then roused the crowd with favorites such as "Rocket Man" and "I Guess That's Why They Call it the Blues."
He also played some songs off his newest album, including the first single, "I Want Love."
Joel led the crowd with such tunes as "River of Dreams," "Only the Good Die Young," "An Innocent Man" and "New York State of Mind."
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