The Last Play at Shea

Billy Joel “Last Play @ Shea” Friday July, 18.2008

Pre-game Show:

A great night often includes unexpected surprises, and tonight was no different. For starters, just seeing Shea set up this way. I’ve been here for over 100 night games, and the park never looked this way before. The stage, in mid-centerfield, butting up against the outfield wall and extending past the 378 marks from left center to right center, looked great. With Citi Field looming right behind the stage, looking like a real star with the same can’t miss lineage that Seaver, Strawberry and Wright had.

Without the spotlights illuminating the field, without the light shining from the place, it felt like I was viewing Shea at its wake. Which isn’t too far off the mark because this was more that a concert. It felt like saying goodbye to a dear family friend that’s been a fixture for 6-8 months a year for 40 + years, like a snowbird who goes away for the winter. But if this was gonna be a wake - it felt like what I’ve heard Irish wakes are like, hoisting a toast to the depart(ing) in song.

Waiting with anticipation since:
- the morning tickets went on sale when I had 10 browsers open and couldn’t come up with any before they sold out n 48 minutes
- parking at the Hall of Science next to precursors of what Shea will be in a couple of years – the Titan II and Atlas rockets - reminders of a previous generation
- hearing from a security guard that Paul and maybe Ringo and “others” were in the building

Starting Lineup:

The Star Spangled Banner
Miami 2017
Angry Young Man
My Life
The Entertainer
Summer, Highland Falls
Zanzibar
Allentown
Ballad of Billy the Kid
NY State of Mind (w Tony Bennett)
I left my Heart in San Francisco (chorus only)
Root Beer Rag (instrumental)
Goodnight Saigon
Don’t Ask Me Why
Keepin the Faith
The Downeaster “Alexa”
This Night (Dedicated to Little Anthony)
Movin’ Out
Under the Boardwalk/Innocent Man (Spanish Harlem)
Shameless (Garth Brooks)
She’s Always a Woman
Captain Jack
Goodnight, My Angel
River of Dreams
A Hard Day's Night
Walk This Way (Steven Tyler)
We Didn’t Start the Fire
It’s Still Rock N Roll to Me
My Generation (w Roger Daltrey)
You May Be Right

Encore
Scenes from an Italian Restaurant
Only the Good Die Young

2nd Encore
I Saw Her Standing There (w Paul McCartney)
Piano Man
Let It Be (Paul McCartney)

The Happy Recap – highlights:

The Star Spangled Banner – Joel lead off perfectly with a piano accompanied version, and on queue, the crowd started to scream at end - and didn’t let up for 3 hours.

Miami 2017 – all those NY references to a pumped up NY crowd right after the Star Spangled banner – with great fiery lighting!

Summer, Highland Falls – still just a wonderful song that doesn’t sound dated. In a recent Sunday Times article, he considered this (along with Vienna) his best work. It also mirrors where he said he is in his life, focusing more on contentment, less on highs & lows (which might be one of the reasons he hasn’t released any new popular work in 15 years – think Richard Pryor syndrome).

Zanzibar – used this as a vehicle to show Met clips. Perfect timing on the Rose/Harrelson fight scene!

New York State of Mind - with Tony Bennett – nuff said.

Goodnight Saigon – imagine the chorus with stage spots lighting members of the NYPD/FD and all military services in color dress singing “and we will all go down together”. Bringing tears to my eyes as I write this now. Followed by chants of “USA, USA” from the crowd sounding like one voice. There are no words to describe this. Sharing this kind of moment in unison with 60,000 people, all singing the same words at the same time. It’s that mob mentality where in addition to being yourself, you’re simultaneously part of something greater and more intense for a few moments in time, an amazing part of the human condition if you’re lucky enough to be a part of it.

Innocent Man – Solid and Soulful. Probably my 2nd favorite song of his after Summer, Highland Falls.

Shameless (Garth Brooks) – Written by Billy Joel, who performed it at Brooks’ free Central Park concert over 10 years ago - before Brooks’ two spring training stints in Port St. Lucie. Plus he wore his Spring training jersey (blue, number 1 of you’re keeping score at home) and cap.

Captain Jack – seminal song on the soundtrack of my life after my Dad was killed “they just found your father in the swimming pool – and I guess you won’t be going back to school for a while”. Brings me back to nights at Cunningham park in my Dad’s Fury III – haven’t rekindled those memories (with reason) in about a hundred years.

Hard Day’s Night – so here we go, after about an hour and a half of an amazing concert, we start to make history. It rocked just like you thought it would.

Walk This Way (Steven Tyler) - I find Aerosmith to be a poor man’s version of the Stones. From a concert strategy perspective, Tyler pinch hitting gave Joel a blow without bringing the intensity down - and the other 59,999 in the crowd loved it.

We Didn’t Start the Fire – The 6 story screens on both sides of the stage were in perfect sync with everyone/thing mentioned in the song!

My Generation (w Roger Daltrey) –The Who played Shea in 82 – so totally fitting, with Billy breaking a guitar a la Townsend at the end (“much easier to do than with a piano” he was quoted as saying after the show ;-)

Scenes From an Italian Restaurant – 60,000 in full throttle for every word.

Only The Good Die Young – Guinness Book of World Record for most people twisting simultaneously!

I Saw Her Standing There (w Paul McCartney)- So here you go, after 2+ hours, Paul comes out and we're a part of history. The whole crowd gave falsetto Woos after “I couldn’t dance with another”! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fPfB06P7Us

Piano Man – Oktoberfest at Shea – everyone swaying arm in arm!

Let It Be – Joel ceded the piano to Paul McCartney, unselfishly and rightfully so for the perfect song to end the serenade to 44 years at Shea. You can’t argue with the fact that this place has been a concrete pit with more frustrating moments than anyone cares to remember. But for all the slow motion train wrecks, even more than the two Series wins, we can easily conjure up cherished memories of our fathers and youth gone by. Shea may be a concrete pit – but it’s been our concrete pit.

Amazin’ Anecdotes:

Definitely one of the 5 most memorable shows I’ve ever been to, to a great extent because it was more than a concert. It was also great seeing the park packed. I wouldn’t want to imagine that this was the last time the place would sellout. Has it ever held more than the 60,000 that were here tonight? There were 53,275 at Shea for the Beatles.

Box Score:

Game time Temperature: 84, humid, no breeze
Time of the Game: 3 hours (8:45 – 11:45)
Location: Mezzanine Sec 26 (Left Field) Row K Seat 17