I really am not sure where to start on this one! It was the chance of a lifetime to see the one and only Billy Joel in his backyard… aka the 9^th show this year at MSG. He said it best when he was performing – one of the best shows I’ve ever seen by the way… He sang “The Entertainer” where he talks about this specific section of the song:  Exact lyrics:  But if I go cold I won’t get sold – I’ll get put in the back in the discount rack – Like another can of beans….

His comment was to the effect of – “yeah, right” (his version had some 4 letter language – so we will leave it the way I heard it… LOL)

Well – I can tell you the rest of us (all 20K of us) would say “yeah, right” as well – he hasn’t had a new song in decades and you know what – that is totally fine by us!!!  When you can sell out 12 shows in MSG (the next 3 are totally sold out, even for single seats – trust me I checked) – and I’m telling you everyone in the arena sang every word to every song… I have to say not too many artists can say that. Am I’m saying he sold out the ‘entire’ place… even the seats behind the stage! I’ve never seen anything like it – well maybe a few artists can still sell out like that, but it was one of the best concerts by far ever. He even has t-shirts printed up for each ‘date’. I go the one that was specifically for September 17^th!!!! Yippee…

For him to stop singing and hear us all sing ‘his’ songs – and trust me when I say it was loud and frankly we sounded pretty awesome. Though I’m sure he’s a little bit used to it – you could tell he was still stymied by the fact that he ‘still’ can capture and hold an audience for over 2 hours of hit after hit after hit.

I have been lucky enough to see him 4 times (twice with Elton John in the Face-to-Face tours back a few years ago) and also in Phoenix this past year – June 1^st to be precise in Phoenix. The very next day I was like – hmmmmm where else will he be and how much are the tickets… and I have to say I feel like the luckiest person alive! I found a floor seats for let’s just say – around $250. The view was awesome and truly a great experience. Met some great people and have decided to add a few more days to visit my birthplace (Long Island) – so it’s turning into a vacation of a lifetime! The point I’m making here is I went on line just to see if there are any seats left in the last 3 shows and they are all completely sold out. Comparable seats close to where I saw are going for around $1,000 bucks – give or take, but it appears that if you haven’t bought your ticket – you are screwed…

Oh yeah – I have to promote a DVD he did a while back… Called “Last Play at Shea” – if you are a Billy fan at all – you have to watch this. It is all about the last concert played there before Shea was town down. It is a very cool story of the stadium and the bands that have played there as well as the final concert by Billy Joel. It’s a must see!

Billy – please tour in 2015 & and beyond – you truly are The Entertainer (Cheesy but I couldn’t resist – he is I tell ya, he is the entertainer!)

Side note – I really loved Gavin DeGraw – I’ve seen him several times in concert and for him to go from a few thousand at a show to opening for Billy Joel and a sellout series of concerts no less (website says MSG holds 20K for concerts) – he’s been the opener even on the road for this year’s tours and I think he held his own. He was very engaging with the audience and he actually came out into the audience and got the crowd going and I have to admit I was very excited (yes, just like a teenager) when he walked right past me… way cool.

Venue details – MSG (Madison Square Garden) – for the true hard core concert goer this venue simply has to be on your list. It’s a very classy clean venue with a location that you just can’t beat. I took the train into the venue – I mean you get off the train and head right up the stairs that literally stop directly under MSG. You are right there!!!