First, I’ve been a long time big fan of Mr. Joel himself. And of course, being a Mets fan as well, I just had to see him send off Shea with a final concert. I expected to hear at least one Beatles song covered, being as he’s a big Beatles fan who often works in one or two covers of their songs in his concerts, and Shea being most famous for having opened the “stadium concert” era by hosting the Beatles. There was even a fan’s banner hanging from the Mezzanine level reading “PAUL IS ALL”. And sure enough, he worked in a cover of “She Loves You”.
I also knew from reviews of Wednesday night’s concert that several cameos by other stars would be in order. I saw Tony Bennett come on (to do “New York State of Mind”), and Garth Brooks (to do “Shameless”), and even Steve Tyler, who did “Walk This Way”, and Roger Daltrey (“My Generation”).
Then… To my great surprise… Sir Paul McCartney came out, to do “I Saw Her Standing There”. Wow! The crowd went wild!
After Billy’s third and final encore, the usual rendition of “Piano Man” to send off the crowd, Paul came out for an encore of his own. He spoke briefly about remembering playing at Shea so long ago, and then played what would be the last song played live at Shea Stadium: “Let It Be”.
I can top you for an amazing experience. Last night my daughter & her husband caught Wierd Al Yankovic at the Chesanning Theatre (Chesanning, MI). They loved it.
The amazing experience, though, is that my husband & I babysat our grandson (12 days old) wh they could Wierd Al. I’ll pit my grandparenting against your Billy Joel any day.
I was there as well, and came to check that someone else had started a thread.
All I can say is WOW. It was just an amazing experience overall, and quite honestly I was more blown away by the guest appearances. What really got me was seeing Paul McCartney sing “Let It Be.” I don’t know if it was exhaustion or what, but seeing a legend play his own gorgeous song right in front of me, I cried a little. I just got overwhelmed by what was happening. Fantastic evening.
I know what you mean, saramamalana. While Billy’s concert was great and worth the price of (scalped) admission, I’ve seen him live before (in Yankee Stadium in the late 80s). What gave me the chills was not only unexpectedly seeing McCartney, but to see him come out for a guest encore to bookend Shea Stadium’s musical ledger by sending it off with, of all songs, “Let It Be”. It felt a little like seeing rock history happening in front of me.
I was there last night too… so freaking amazing! The poor guy looked so hot and tired but his voice sounded great. And the band sounded really great! For those that weren’t there, in addition to the band they also had a small string and horn section.
Just a nitpick to the OP though: Billy did a cover of “Hard Day’s Night”, not “She Loves You”.
I went to the Wednesday show, which when I bought the ticket the morning it went on sale I thought was going to be the Last Play at Shea. I was sort of pissed that they added the second one two days later.
Wednesday was an amazing show, don’t get me wrong. Tony Bennett and everyone else were great as guests, and Billy Joel was rocking.
But Sir Fucking Paul McCartney, plus Daltrey, Garth Brooks and Steven Tyler. I’m just pissed that they didn’t sell Friday first and then open Wednesday.
Yeah, there were cameras everywhere, and they made an announcement that by entering the stadium we give them the right to use our likeness, etc. etc… So I’m sure there will be something released soon!
Did anyone else notice that several songs were transposed to be sung in a sliiightly lower key? It’s not a huge deal, but it’s weird on the ear when you’re expecting a song to sound a certain way.
Also, agreed, he looked like he was going to pass out at any moment. Every time he put the towel on his head, I wanted to call him Obi Wan.
Heh, yeah, I thought of Star Wars too, but I was thinking the Emperor.
And definitely about the transposed thing… but he’s been doing that for quite a while now. You just can’t expect a 60 year old rocker to hit high D-flats anymore. But hell, even on the Russian concert album from the 80s he brought in a singer to hit the high notes on a song or two.
