John & Joel, Dave Matthews Band Headline 2010 Wrigley Concerts

By Marcus Gilmer in Miscellaneous on Feb 10, 2010 4:40PM

The 2010 Wrigley Field concerts have been announced and there are some familiar faces. Elton John and Billy Joel, who brought their piano pop to Wrigley last year for a pair of shows, are coming back while, much to the joy of Wrigleyville's frat boy/broseph population, Dave Matthews Band will bring their bland brand of pop-rock to the historic stadium. The John & Joel show will happen on Wednesday July 7 (during a Cubs' West Coast road trip) while DMB will play two shows: a Friday and Saturday night in September (either the 10th and 11th or 17th and 18th). Ald. Tom Tunney (44th) is expected to introduce an "exception" to the Cubs' night game ordinance to the council to allow for the three shows; it's not known whether or not the Cubs will have to give up one of their night games in exchange for holding the shows.

Tunney told the Sun-Times, "There are certainly naysayers. There have been naysayers about doing any concerts. But the majority of the community thinks the concerts, so long as they're regulated and few and far between, provide benefits to the community. It's great for business in the neighborhood. It also provides real, first-rate entertainment at the park." Meanwhile, the Southport Neighbors Association, who has previously put up a fight against these night-time shows, is mellowing a bit on their stance.

As in past years, the shows will almost certainly sell out, not that anyone sitting in the bleachers would notice the difference anyway.