After the last Billy Joel at Madison Square Garden misadventure, my son and I headed back to Manhattan yet again to meet my daughter and see The Franchise continue his soon to be record setting run at The World’s Most Famous Arena.

Mr. Joel opened with “Miami 2017” and ran through many of the hits with a well paced set that included a guest appearance by Felix Cavaliere of The Rascals to play “Good Lovin'” and an odd turn with one of the roadies doing his best Brian Johnson impersonation on AC/DC’s “Highway to Hell” that the packed house seemed to enjoy somehow as comic relief mostly I suppose.

Billy Joel made several passing mentions of his age (66), and an impending child on the way, as he hobbled around the stage when leaving the safety of his revolving piano. 

A Billy Joel show is nothing groundbreaking; it has become like a Long Island high school reunion- an enjoyable night out, a chance to reminisce, then back to work in the morning.

The Billy Joel residency also has a built in audience of new tourists coming through New York City which will likely keep his monthly appearances at Madison Square Garden going for as long as he’s up for it.

The most amazing thing about these shows is that Mr. Joel’s music has seemed to strike a chord with many younger fans who know all of the words and sing along with Billy the Kid; there is a lot of smiling, hugging, and crowd participation throught the performance making for a happy audience by the end of the night.

Billy Joel has concerts scheduled at Madison Square Garden through December, 2015.

 It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me

GQ