Randy Newman at Carnegie Hall

In a nutshell: He fed my soul for more than two hours.
His lyrics are so smart and funny and sharp, so there was a lot of laughter. And his serious songs are deeply moving, impressionistic and extremely poignant.
It was him and his piano, unencumbered by a band, which really helps the act of listening to the words and appreciating his talent for melody.
The audience was composed mainly of people his age, some of them with children. Man, younger people should get into Randy Newman, it's unlikely they've heard anything with this class, wit and grace.
He started out the evening with "It's Money That I love" ("a good song to play tonight", he said). And he built up from there, playing his greatest hits like "Short People" and "Rednecks", 'Sail Away", and even the song from Toy Story, together with material from his new album and other recent great songs. He alternated between the ironic stuff and the gorgeous, haunting, serious stuff, all the while saying extremely funny things. I love this man.
This is a case in which the standing ovation is totally deserved.