Today was a special day. Friday the 13th and lucky for me: New York.
Breakfast of strawberry pancakes at Pershing Square, a walk along the High Line, stopping off for gelato twice, 'A Quiet Place' mid afternoon (and I stayed awake), dinner in a lovely Italian restaurant, where our elderly Greek waiter looked after us well with an extra coffee on the house and told us 'No hurry for the table back' as he knew we were heading to see Billy Joel at the Madison Square Garden, even though the place was hoachin.
It was special because this is the furthest I've ever travelled to attend a concert and the first time I've set foot in MSG. First time seeing Billy Joel.
The venue is like the Hydro but on steroids, with an extra tier wafered under the roof. We were fortunate to have floor level seats but not together as, by the time I received my holiday dates, the gig was nearly sold out. Billy Joel is one of my wife's favourite performers so she would have been happy with any seat but this was the best compromise to avoid having to pay the best part of a grand to sit together.
He started at 8.20, finished at 10.50 with just a little two-minute break. No support act. This was his 51st monthly gig in residence and he makes every one different, asking the audience to choose which songs to play, throwing in covers like Superstition, Kashmir and Voodoo Child, and hitting us with his classics (even a rendition of Nessun Dorma, although it was his guitarist that sung). The sound was perfect, his voice gruff but still capable of belting out the higher numbers, the band really tight.
The enthusiastic, mainly home audience loved him, singing, swaying and dancing along. The age range was wide, from pensioners to millennial dating couples, and I didn't see anyone drunk. It felt like a community whose common purpose was to appreciate a master craftsman share his legacy.
Treat one ticked off the special birthday year list.
Setlist
Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)
The Entertainer
Superstition
Vienna (fan vote over "Just the Way You Are")
Zanzibar (fan vote over “Stiletto” followed by 'Born Under a Bad Sign' snippet;)
She's Got a Way (fan vote over “Everybody Loves You Now")
Big Man on Mulberry Street
The Longest Time (fan vote over “An Innocent Man”)
Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway) (fan vote over “Summer, Highland Falls” & "Say Goodbye to Hollywood")
Allentown (followed by 'Voodoo Child' (Jimi Hendrix) snippet)
Stop in Nevada
New York State of Mind
Sleeping With the Television On
Don't Ask Me Why
Until the Night
My Life
She's Always a Woman
The River of Dreams
Nessun Dorma (Giacomo Puccini cover) (lead vocals by Mike DelGuidice)
Scenes From an Italian Restaurant
Piano Man (preceded by 'Fool in the Rain' and 'Kashmir' (Led Zeppelin) snippets)
Encore:
We Didn't Start the Fire
Uptown Girl
It's Still Rock and Roll to Me
Big Shot
You May Be Right (with "Rock and Roll" (Led Zeppelin) snippet)
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