Alexa Ray Joel Plays the Arlington Cinema & Drafthouse

Recommended Beverage to go with this show:

eh, have a coke out of respect. Alexa's not yet 21.

"The Cinema Drafthouse has music?" That's the first question, generally followed by "Alexa is how old?!" Yes, the Cinema & Drafthouse now has weekly live music. And Alexa Ray is 20 and has a band.

Quite honestly, I hadn't heard her music before but, like many, showed up because she's the daughter of my musical god, Billy Joel. (and yes, she looks more like him and not like her supermodel mom and, in fact, she's beautiful). Clearly, she also inherited some of her dad's musical genes. A talented singer and pianist, Alexa admitted on stage that she, and not her dad, writes all of her own material.

Trained in classical piano, Alexa's songs cross several genres, a fusion of jazzy pop-rock and soul. They're songs about coming of age, reflections on love ("Sapphire Night"), bitterness, and the insecurities of the teen years. She seems to have grasped quite a few life lessons at this young age; her music is youthful and mature all at once. And her voice is sweet and pure.

Some of Alexa's songs seem to be simply about finding her way in the world, from the haunting "Resistance" to the rebellious "The Revolution Song," which she dedicated to anyone who gets frustrated with authority, be it parents or the boss.

After the show, I stopped by to introduce myself. I told her I was from Brooklyn and that my first concert ever was seeing her father at MSG in December 1986, the month she was born. She politely corrected me and said she was born December 1985 and that she was 20. Suddenly I felt old and began to rethink having an alcoholic beverage.