When he began his Madison Square Garden residency in 2014, Billy Joel promised the shows would go on “as long as there was demand.” But after 104 straight sell-outs, Joel decided he didn’t want to end up like Jack Nicholson at the end of The Shining and become a spirit trapped in the building (you’ve always been the caretaker). On Thursday, Billy Joel played the final show of his Madison Square Garden residency, where he was joined onstage throughout the evening by his two daughters, Jimmy Fallon, and Axl Rose.
After playing the World’s Most Famous Arena once a month every month for the past decade (barring illness or a global pandemic), Joel’s residency shows had become a well-oiled machine. The lights went down to the familiar recording of Randy Newman‘s “The Natural (The End Title)” and the show kicked off with “Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway)”. The familiar run of “Pressure”, “Zanzibar”, and “Vienna” was broken up by a surprise appearance from The Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon who presented Joel with a banner marking his 150th-lifetime show at MSG, the most of any artist (as Phish fans seethed with banner envy).
“Congratulations,” Fallon said. “I love you. New York City loves you. The world loves you. You’ve given us all great memories of being here. We’re actually getting to watch you live a memory. You’re never going to forget this night here.”
The effusive talk show host’s appearance was soon overshadowed by Joel’s two youngest daughters—Della, 6, and Remy, 8—who came out to join their father on “My Life”. Joel regularly brings his daughters out at Madison Square Garden, a home away from home for the family as displayed by the montage of backstage photos later in the night that accompanied “This is the Time” (a request from Billy’s wife Alexis Roderick). He ran his second home with authority, trying to keep Della’s clapping on the beat by reminding her, “On the two and the four, honey.”
Billy Joel — “My Life” — 7/25/24
[Video: Nick Ciardiello]
It has become a tradition for friends to drop in on Joel’s Madison Square Garden residency. The long-running engagement has seen him welcome John Mayer, Paul Simon, Miley Cyrus, Bruce Springsteen, and Phish’s Trey Anastasio just last month. So ahead of the last show, there was widespread speculation on who would show up—part of what drove tickets to astronomical prices on the secondary market, with Rolling Stone finding tickets as high as $10,000 apiece. Given Joel’s decades-long status as a rock icon, it could have been anyone for the big finale, but it still came as a shock when hard rocker Axl Rose came out onstage.
Dressed in a diamond-sequenced black suit and sunglasses, Rose led the band through Wings classic “Live and Let Die” which added some semblance of reasoning to the puzzling sit-in. Rose’s presence made even more sense for the ensuing cover of AC/DC‘s “Highway to Hell”, with whom Rose toured in 2016 as a stand-in for singer Brian Johnson. Though a bit outside Joel’s pantheon of R&B-laced soft rock, “Highway to Hell” was a staple of his live concerts in the mid-2000s. He got in the spirit on Thursday, rising from his piano bench and grabbing a Fender Stratocaster to join in the fracas. Joel and Rose previously performed the song together at Dodger Stadium in 2017, though their relationship goes back to the 1980s when the Piano Man joined other artists in defending Guns N’ Roses over their controversial song “One in a Million”.
Billy Joel, Axl Rose — “Live And Let Die” (Wings), “Highway To Hell” (AC/DC) — 7/25/24
[Video: JOELFN – The Joel Fan Channel]
The rest of the show took on the shape of Joel’s typical live concerts which have packed stadiums for decades. Closing the set with favorites “Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song)”, “Only the Good Die Young”, “Scenes From an Italian Restaurant”, and “Piano Man”, the encore was hit after hit with “We Didn’t Start the Fire”, “Uptown Girl”, It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me”, and “Big Shot”. Finally, Joel went out on the highest of notes by bringing out the man with one of rock music’s highest vocal ranges as Billy and Axl closed the show with “You May Be Right”, with just a touch of Led Zeppelin‘s “Rock and Roll”.
Billy Joel, Axl Rose — “You May Be Right” — 7/25/24
[Video: JOELFN – The Joel Fan Channel]
This is by no means the end of Billy Joel’s playing days, as next month he is off to Cardiff, Wales. Throughout summer and fall, he will perform in stadiums alongside Rob Stewart and Sting on select dates. Visit his website for tickets and a full list of tour dates and scroll down for some fan-shot videos from the final night of Billy Joel’s Madison Square Garden residency.
Billy Joel — “This Is The Time” — 7/25/24
[Video: Nick Ciardiello]
Billy Joel — “Scenes From An Italian Restaurant” — 7/25/24
[Video: Nick Ciardiello]
Billy Joel — “We Didn’t Start The Fire” — 7/25/24
[Video: Nick Ciardiello]
Billy Joel — “It’s Still Rock And Roll To Me” — 7/25/24
[Video: Nick Ciardiello]
Setlist: Billy Joel | Madison Square Garden | New York, NY | 7/25/24
Set: The Natural (The End Title) (Randy Newman) [1], Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway), Pressure, The Entertainer, Zanzibar, Vienna [2], My Life [3] Start Me Up (The Rolling Stones) [4], An Innocent Man, The Downeaster “Alexa”, Don’t Ask Me Why, New York State of Mind, Allentown, This Is the Time, Live and Let Die (Wings) [5], Highway to Hell (AC/DC) [5], Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song), Only the Good Die Young, The River of Dreams, Nessun dorma (Giacomo Puccini) [6], Scenes From an Italian Restaurant, Piano Man
Encore: We Didn’t Start the Fire, Uptown Girl, It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me, Big Shot, You May Be Right [5] [7], Souvenir [1]
[1] Song played on tape
[2] Jimmy Fallon presents “Billy Joel 150: Most Lifetime Performances by Any Artist” banner
[3] w/ Della and Remy Joel
[4] Partial
[5] w/ Axl Rose
[6] Mike DelGuidice on lead vocals
[7] w/ Led Zeppelin “Rock and Roll” insert
The post Billy Joel Ends Decade-Long Madison Square Garden Residency With Axl Rose, Jimmy Fallon, And Another Banner [Videos] appeared first on L4LM.
