I'm Retired! Now what?

June 19, 2026

When I started my freshman year in college way back in 1982, I had this terrible roommate who really had no business being in college.  His attempt at higher learning was as bad as his attempt at growing a beard, and the kid spent the entire semester drinking, smoking, and getting stoned.  Indeed, he was a roommate I wouldn’t wish on anyone, but there was a great advantage to a roommate like him, and that was the fact that he was rarely ever in our dorm room.  So with no one to talk to I turned to the same buddy who got me through high school and that was music.

Back then I only had a little clock radio (which I still have) to hear my tunes, and for that particular semester, the local radio station was playing a song called Steppin’ Out every chance it got.  I discovered that this song was being performed by the English new wave, pop, jazz star Joe Jackson.  Much to my delight, the kid in the room next to mine named Danny had Jackson’s Night and Day album which carried that song.  Being the cool guy that Danny was, he recorded it for me on a TDK cassette tape.  Since then I’ve been a bit of a Joe Jackson fan!

I’ve seen Joe Jackson a couple of times over the last ten years or so, and both times he played in the old Majestic Theater.  An old Dallas, movie theater that was built back in 1921!  So when I saw that he was returning to Dallas to play the same place, I bought a ticket to see my old college buddy…musically speaking, that is.  And here’s my review of the concert.

Joe Jackson plays the Majestic Theater in Dallas, Texas June 17, 2026

The Majestic Theater was alive with piano tunes Wednesday night.  No, it wasn’t a Chopin recital.  It was a Joe Jackson concert!  Joe Jackson was bringing 45 years of pop, new wave, rock, jazz or anything else I can copy from his Wikipedia page!  First of all, I love going to the Majestic Theater and would sit through a rendition of the musical Cats played by actual cats at the downtown Dallas venue.  The fact that the people who bought the seats directly in front of me had decided to blow the show off for the evening didn’t hurt matters either.

This was the third time I’d seen Jackson play at the Majestic, and like the other shows, he started things simple, just Joe and his piano.  Just Joe and his piano playing one of his biggest songs, and as he played through the classic IS SHE REALLY GOING OUT WITH HIM, he sang the words, “Look over there,” which gave all of us fans the opportunity to shout out, “Where?”  And as the song goes, “Here comes Jeanie with her new boyfriend.”  But that was just the beginning of the show, and when Joe’s band took the stage things got a bit more lively as he reached back to the 1979 song SUNDAY PAPERS and on to a few songs from 2026!

“Happy pride month!” Jackson called out before launching into the song FABULOUSLY ABSOLUTE.  Personally, I could have cared less what month it was, because as the band cranked out the opening to STEPPIN’ OUT, all I could think of was listening to that tune, tucked away in my little college dorm room during my first semester at Oklahoma State, way back in 1982.  I almost got a little teary eyed as that tune brought back some memories.  That wasn’t the only dip into the 80’s though, and as Jackson played BE MYNUMBER TWO, I quickly came to the conclusion that this probably wasn’t a song that anyone should sing to their significant other.

The crowd really went a bit crazy when Joe played the intro to REAL MEN, which my wife still claims came from a musical.  I’m not sure about that, but Joe certainly gave a demonstration of his piano chops while showing that he could dazzle us with the mellow stuff and then break into some crazy, jazz keyboard work for the song TARGET.  Such was a song that really let his band step into the spotlight for a bit.  Then they drifted right back as Joe gave us a long explanation to what the song END OF THE PIER was all about while claiming that he wouldn’t have to dish out such an account to those in his English homeland.  Apparently, we yanks aren’t up on all the British slang.

However, he didn’t have to explain who David Bowie was when he and the band dove into a cover of Bowie’s SCARY MONSTERS.  He also didn’t have to explain the song YOU CAN’T GET WHAT YOU WANT (TIL YOU KNOW WHAT YOU WANT).  Yea, that one is pretty self-explanatory.  As the band members left the stage one by one, Jackson was left alone on the stage just as he had started.  A sole dude playing a piano to MY HOMETOWN, and that seemed to suit everyone just fine.