WWTBAM Bored

Well, now I think I am sufficiently recovered from Friday night's big concert to give a report. (My friend and I missed the last NJ Transit train by 15 minutes, so we had to spend the night -- well, 3 1/2 hours of it -- in Penn Station and didn't get home until about 6:45 AM yesterday. I don't sleep well in train stations.)

Shea Stadium was absolutely packed for its last-ever concert. It was uncomfortable at times, especially in the dense crowds leaving afterward for the subway (it took us half an hour to go a few hundred feet). It was also quite humid, and I felt like I stuck to everything, including the narrow, hard plastic seats. It was hot enough for Mr. Joel himself to take a wet towel and wear it on his head for a couple of songs. He reminded me a bit of Obi-Wan Kenobi when he did that.

Anyway, I'll get right to it -- the concert was fantastic. Even from our nosebleed seats in the stratosphere we enjoyed it immensely. He began with the song I wanted him most to play, "Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway)." Lots and lots of raucous cheering as the lyrics went from borough to borough; he even altered a line to refer to the Mets and Shea Stadium, but I couldn't make out exactly what it was.

He sang many of his greatest hits, of course -- "You May Be Right," "Only the Good Die Young," "Captain Jack," "Movin' Out," and lots of others. Most of the songs were transposed down a bit, but he was still in excellent voice for a 59-year-old, and he still has plenty of high notes, though not enough to sing "Uptown Girl." He had a chorus of what seemed to be Marines and NYPD officers singing on "Goodnight Saigon," and the crowd started chanting, "USA! "USA!" like it was the Olympics or something.

He had several guest stars, the first of whom was Tony Bennett, duetting with Joel on "New York State of Mind," which was fantastic -- in his 80s, Bennett's got plenty of high notes, too! Billy also duetted with Garth Brooks on the latter's song "Shameless" (which I didn't know at all). Other guest stars also sang their own songs, including Steven Tyler ("Walk This Way") and Roger Daltrey ("My Generation"). After the latter song, Billy smashed a guitar. LOL

There were many references to the Beatles, who of course gave the first concert at Shea over 40 years ago. Billy wore a sheriff's badge that he said was from Ringo Starr's outfit from way back then. He sang a Beatles song or two as a tribute. But the best tribute of all was having Paul McCartney himself on stage! He sang "I Saw Her Standing There" while playing guitar. Billy brought him back after singing the obligatory closer "Piano Man," and Sir Paul sat down at the piano to bring down the house with "Let It Be." A perfect way to round out Shea's concert history.

In all, a wonderful evening I will never forget. And I even got to see a Beatle live, even if from where I sat, he was about the size of -- well, a beetle.

This sounds like a great concert, though it would have to be, to mean sleeping in the subway overnight!

"Shameless" is on the Storm Front album, later remade by Garth Brooks. I thought Brooks' "To Make You Feel My Love" from the movie "Hope Floats" was written by Billy Joel (he did perform it), but it is by Bob Dylan.

wow, wow, wow - that's an amazing show! Well, this will be an experience you'll remember forever with a smile. Plus the guests! You musta felt like you'd died and gone to heaven. Did he sing my favorite -"Scenes from an Italian Restaurant?"
When we saw BJ several years ago he never sang "Piano Man!" Can you imagine? Figure he must have burned out on it; glad he came to his senses for the lucky ones that nite.

He may have avoided "Uptown Girl" so as not to get Christie Brinkley's name in the papers...again.

Haven't they blown that ^#@^& dump to smithereens yet?

Thanks for the review - and I'm making special note of the names of the guest stars in case I'm asked anything about the concert this Friday.

You missing the last train to NJ and having to spend 3+ hours in Penn Station for the first train reminded me that that exact same thing happened to me when I went to see Steve Goodman and John Prine at I believe was the Paladium, I remember running 15 blocks or so at around 2-3 am hoping to catch the last train to L.I. were I was staying with my sister and missing it just as it was pulling away - a station worker thought it was very funny, but we were not amused - had to spend the rest of the night in those extremely comfy chairs in Penn Station - but it was worth it.

Sounds like a fantastic night and one that you will always remember!

---Jay (Fore!)

I hate you.

Okay, so it's more like envy. I was in LI on Thursday and Friday, and my b-i-l thought he had seen the ultimate Billy Joel show when he played the Garden, so he didn't get tickets to the Shea ones. So we read the reports in Newsday with our tongues hanging out. Those sounded like some shows!

My b-i-l should have guessed a cast of supporting characters would have shown, since the time we saw him play Nassau with Elton John and he let his DENTIST come out and sing a Tony Bennett song. I'd have loved to seen the real Tony instead....

minimetoo26 wrote:My b-i-l should have guessed a cast of supporting characters would have shown, since the time we saw him play Nassau with Elton John and he let his DENTIST come out and sing a Tony Bennett song. I'd have loved to seen the real Tony instead....

Are you implying that my singing's bad? Let me give you a root canal or two while I sing "I Left My Heart in San Francisco"....

minimetoo26 wrote: ... the time we saw him play Nassau with Elton John he let his DENTIST come out and sing a Tony Bennett song...

Dentists can be so inspirational - was he holding a pitchfork?

Second Chance wrote:

minimetoo26 wrote: ... the time we saw him play Nassau with Elton John he let his DENTIST come out and sing a Tony Bennett song...

Dentists can be so inspirational - was he holding a pitchfork?

Shouldn't that be hermillion's line?

So yet another trivia question along the line of hermillion's million $ question - what episode of what classic TV show featured said painting and why were the characters upset to learn that the painting was 'Good' - also whose painting got ruined and how did they get the painting in the first place.

Extra hint below:

Spoiler

If you see my response to Julie in the famous names thread I talk about kittens/lions - interesting the part of the answer to this trivia question has to do with someones production company making that same substitution mainly because of their initials being so close another set of famous initials.

---Jay (I hope it is not the hoofbeats of those horses bringing on the end of times that I hear in the distance)[/spoiler]

frogman042 wrote: ---Jay (I hope it is not the hoofbeats of those horses bringing on the end of times that I hear in the distance)

No - that is the Pony Express finally delivering your Official Rules.

Good mail ponies are hard to find nowadays, y'know...

AlphaDummy wrote:

frogman042 wrote: ---Jay (I hope it is not the hoofbeats of those horses bringing on the end of times that I hear in the distance)

No - that is the Pony Express finally delivering your Official Rules.

Good mail ponies are hard to find nowadays, y'know...

They might be one and the same - a pack of lips now?

Only 2 mail days left and still haven't gotten the rules - I was told it was mailed last week.

---Jay (Hoping I have the fortitude and not the 4 to 2 of mighty Casey (4 days to go - 2 days till I leave for the big apple))

frogman042 wrote:

Second Chance wrote:

minimetoo26 wrote: ... the time we saw him play Nassau with Elton John he let his DENTIST come out and sing a Tony Bennett song...

Dentists can be so inspirational - was he holding a pitchfork?

Shouldn't that be hermillion's line?

So yet another trivia question along the line of hermillion's million $ question - what episode of what classic TV show featured said painting and why were the characters upset to learn that the painting was 'Good' - also whose painting got ruined and how did they get the painting in the first place.

Extra hint below:

Spoiler

If you see my response to Julie in the famous names thread I talk about kittens/lions - interesting the part of the answer to this trivia question has to do with someones production company making that same substitution mainly because of their initials being so close another set of famous initials.

---Jay (I hope it is not the hoofbeats of those horses bringing on the end of times that I hear in the distance)[/spoiler]

Spoiler

And they messed up their original Artanis in the the process!

frogman042 wrote:

Second Chance wrote:

minimetoo26 wrote: ... the time we saw him play Nassau with Elton John he let his DENTIST come out and sing a Tony Bennett song...

Dentists can be so inspirational - was he holding a pitchfork?

Shouldn't that be hermillion's line?

So yet another trivia question along the line of hermillion's million $ question - what episode of what classic TV show featured said painting and why were the characters upset to learn that the painting was 'Good' - also whose painting got ruined and how did they get the painting in the first place.

Extra hint below:

Spoiler

If you see my response to Julie in the famous names thread I talk about kittens/lions - interesting the part of the answer to this trivia question has to do with someones production company making that same substitution mainly because of their initials being so close another set of famous initials.

---Jay (I hope it is not the hoofbeats of those horses bringing on the end of times that I hear in the distance)[/spoiler]

i am so confused BUT:

Spoiler

could you, somewhere in all that, be referring to the Dick Van Dyke episode -- Wood/Good - that they picked up at an auction thinking it was one and turned out to be the other?<chuckle>?

frogman042 wrote:So yet another trivia question along the line of hermillion's million $ question - what episode of what classic TV show featured said painting and why were the characters upset to learn that the painting was 'Good' - also whose painting got ruined and how did they get the painting in the first place.

Extra hint below:

Spoiler

If you see my response to Julie in the famous names thread I talk about kittens/lions - interesting the part of the answer to this trivia question has to do with someones production company making that same substitution mainly because of their initials being so close another set of famous initials.

---Jay (I hope it is not the hoofbeats of those horses bringing on the end of times that I hear in the distance)[/spoiler]

Spoiler

Dick Van Dyke Show - Rob accidentally buys the painting at an auction while coming up with ideas for a comedy sketch where someone "accidentally" bids on an item. Rob spots an eye under a chip from the art, rubs away the actual painting to find a smiling version of the Grant Wood, calls in Howard Morris as an art expert to evaluate. He says it's a Good painting - "Good. Nathaniel Good." The actual painting was by Artanis - read it backwards - and would have been worth something. The Good? Not so good.

Go ahead, hit me again with a Dick Van Dyke Show question!

He did indeed play "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant." It was a crowd favorite, naturally. "Piano Man" was BJ's last song, and I think it's been that way on other concerts in this tour. (I can definitely imagine he'd have burned out on it in the past, though, but for this concert it was pretty much obligatory, I think. FWIW it's not my favorite song of his by a long shot.) As for not singing "Uptown Girl," I'm pretty sure he's on record in many places saying that he simply can't manage the high range and that's why he doesn't sing it. He did, however, sing "Innocent Man."

As for WWTBAM-trivia possibilities, I think the most likely thing to come up would be Paul McCartney closing the last concert with "Let It Be." (That and maybe the duet with Tony Bennett.) But what do I know?

One thing I forgot to mention in my original report was that two or three times, BJ referred to the lack of respect some people had for his music. Most memorably, he said at one point, "If anyone ever gives you a hard time for liking Billy Joel music, I've got something for you to say: EAT ME!" I thought Pea would like that.

gsabc wrote:

frogman042 wrote:So yet another trivia question along the line of hermillion's million $ question - what episode of what classic TV show featured said painting and why were the characters upset to learn that the painting was 'Good' - also whose painting got ruined and how did they get the painting in the first place.

Extra hint below:

Spoiler

If you see my response to Julie in the famous names thread I talk about kittens/lions - interesting the part of the answer to this trivia question has to do with someones production company making that same substitution mainly because of their initials being so close another set of famous initials.

---Jay (I hope it is not the hoofbeats of those horses bringing on the end of times that I hear in the distance)[/spoiler]

Spoiler

Dick Van Dyke Show - Rob accidentally buys the painting at an auction while coming up with ideas for a comedy sketch where someone "accidentally" bids on an item. Rob spots an eye under a chip from the art, rubs away the actual painting to find a smiling version of the Grant Wood, calls in Howard Morris as an art expert to evaluate. He says it's a Good painting - "Good. Nathaniel Good." The actual painting was by Artanis - read it backwards - and would have been worth something. The Good? Not so good.

Go ahead, hit me again with a Dick Van Dyke Show question!

Man, you are good - and if I ever get a package addressed to you I promise not to let curiosity get to me.

BTW, are you up for a little Richard Deacon trivia?

Name the movie he was in in which his unsolicited neighborly advice leads to the prankster's star's descent into horror?

How about the movie in which he finds out what he thinks to be a simple glass of water hard to swallow?

Finally, he was also in this classic movie that contained one of my favorite movie lines of all time: "I never knew fear until I kissed Becky. "

---Jay (Four he's a jolly good fella)

JBillyGirl wrote:One thing I forgot to mention in my original report was that two or three times, BJ referred to the lack of respect some people had for his music. Most memorably, he said at one point, "If anyone ever gives you a hard time for liking Billy Joel music, I've got something for you to say: EAT ME!" I thought Pea would like that.

Now that's hilarious. Pea! Are you out there???

Ha!! I totally forgot about...

Here's Fanny! wrote:

Spoiler

And they messed up their original Artanis in the the process!

Spoiler

Oh yeah, the "Artanis" painting on the top, that ended up being the funniest part about it. Good memory, guys. Now what was the Artanis painting of- was it a clown? Or am I mixing this up with Red Skelton ?!

So much going on for one thread - i, for one, am exhausted!:lol: