Billy Joel Last Play At Shea

The second thing you need to know about me other than I am obsessed with photography, a neat freak and could kiss my son all day long is that I am over the moon about Billy Joel. I don't mean that I am a meager fan, I am talking stalker love here. I think it all started because my brother is 8, yes eight, years older then me and since I followed every move he made through his adolescence I obviously listened to the music he did as well. Good thing his taste was things like the Beatles, Michael Jackson ( the days of Thriller and billy Jean) and Billy Joel. He had tons of cassette tapes and one bad ass record player. I think my real love started for him when I watched the video tape of Live in Leningrad USSR concert, it showed him with his family and behind the scenes of the concert, it showed Billy going berserk for lighting the audience and dancing like a wild man on top of his piano.   Anyhow as far back as I can recall I have loved Billy Joel. I have seen him in concert numerous times, twice during the same tour, it was his first farewell concert and I wanted to soak up as much live billy as I could so I dragged my non interested friends to Gainesville to see him and then 2 weeks later took my then boyfriend (now husband) to the Tampa show. I think I cried both times when I heard the first rumblings of Angry Young Man on the ivories as the light shined and he appeared on the stage. Dorky you say, I think not. So Mike now knows lots of lyrics by default and if someone mentions billy Joel he turns to me to make sure the details are accurate. I did not appreciate the Saturday Night Live skit about his drinking issues and yet I adored Howard Stern for the recent interview on Sirius XM ( if you didn't hear it you can find it on YouTube- well worth the hour). And yes I am a member of his fan club, Facebook friend and insiders emails.

I once took my mom to see him in Tampa where I was finally able to get floor seats and get close enough to see up close and personal and some brunette in the front row went up and kissed him! How dare she I thought- it should be  me! turns out it was his soon to be bride current ex wife number 3 , Katie Lee. My heart was broken for about five seconds, and then he started to play Vienna,  I had never heard him play it live in concert before and it is one of my all time favorite songs of his. He was forgiven by the girl in the 12th row. 

The reason for the post is that Billy was the last person to play at legendary Shea stadium. The place where the Beatles made girls swoon in 1965 and the Mets started to play in 1962 was tore down in 2009. Billy knowing that this iconic place held so much magic created an epic line up of fellow musicians and rocked the house one final time. I am so ashamed of myself and best friend Lee for not getting our act together and seeing, this in my mind, historic event. The concert was filmed and is being released today with another bigger release in another week. I cannot wait to at least watch it and pretend I was there.  Billy's songs are my go to albums- there is a great song for no matter what mood you are in.