Billy Joel gives fans a big surprise as he ends historic Madison Square Garden run

People thus come and go in others’ lives, meaning that life is as described by Billy Joel in “Say Goodbye to Hollywood. ” 
 
Thursday’s residency finale at Madison Square Garden easily falls into the latter since Joel took time between his 2½-hour ‘Carousel’ of hits to look back at the venue that was his salvation for fifty years. 
 
Among his roll call of memories: The first musician who performed at the new stadium that was built and officially called (new) Yankee Stadium. The bartender said that the last singer who performed at Shea Stadium before it was demolished. Probably the first American performer to ever do a full concert in the Soviet Union. Probably the most striking was 500’000 spectators at the Colosseum in Rome. 

“But out of all of them,” Joel smiled and elbowed himself on the piano table where he sat, “THIS is the best. ” 
 
The all-Thursday-night sold out affair – nearly 20 000 faithful from around the assembly filled to the rafters – was the 150 th show Joel has done at the hallowed grounds and number 104 of a 10-year-tenure Joel as King of the Garden. 
 
His mindset is still very much forward-thinking: It was refreshing that he has earlier stated that he has no thoughts of retiring. 
 
However, even if Joel likely will get back to the place that he considers ‘magical,’ his residency closing performance was clearly infused with a spirit, and the result moreover, the set list was slightly changed, the appearance of two cute daughters and two special guests. 
 
Billy Joel set list: What song performed at his last night at the Madison Square Garden? 
 
Much as imported to the audience, the first trio of lyrics held a deeper connotation of the songs. 
 
As usual, entering the stage in the dark, the 75-year-old performer and his excellent band with long-standing members began the regular opening song “Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway),” a classic New York song (New York State of Mind is liquid compared to this song), and immediately went into “Pressure,” which is the raw manifestation of Joel’s sarcastic personality. 
 
“The Entertainer” was also dripping with sarcasm tonight and the deliciously bitter Joel, one of the most successful pop / rock artists to have ever existed, performed the song with his usual fatalistic air about a singer who expects to become a nobody. 
 
Joel did not stray too far from his MSG setlists – which already have been longer than his stadium concert type and more orientated towards album tracks than hits marathons – and performed three less songs that he did in his June residency. >(“Turn the Lights Back On,” his return ballad from early this year was among the songs that got the chop. 
 
Still, the inclusion of “This is the Time” which he has played at a mere handful of shows in this decade and performed at the instance of wife Alexis most definitely left a few hacks on the throat. The 1985 song has a sad feel to it which is not surprising given the romantic dinner being served on this forlorn night. 
 
All in all, “New York State of Mind,” perhaps Joel’s most polished piece, was sung with a sandpaper vocal and the mid section of “River of Dreams” with Crystal Taliefero, a fabulous multi instrumentalist who delivered a blinder of a version of “River Deep, Mountain High,” thrilled. 
 
Of course, “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant”, a song that gradually grows on the audience with its winding path of time signatures and tonal changes, compelled fans to from the front floor to the back of the balcony to get up and sing the story of Brenda and Eddie before waving them off. 
 
When was the last concert of Billy Joel’s residency and who was he on stage with? 
 
Joel is not particularly into tricks and guests despite numerous visits by the musicians from Bruce Springsteen to Trey Anastasio to Olivia Rodrigo in the last ten years, but it would be rather peculiar not to have some of them. 
 
When Joel finished the beautiful and emotional ‘Vienna’ – and pointed out his younger brother, who lives in Vienna, in the audience – Jimmy Fallon came out with his typical cheerful bounding towards the microphones to say, ‘We all get to say that we were history makers tonight. ’ 
 
A blue curtain reading ‘150 MSG Shows’ was pulled above the stage and Joel had the sweetest look on his face as if he did not expect this gesture at all. 
 
Joel was still performing Fallon when his two daughters Della Rose aged 8 years and Remy aged 6 years hurried to their Girl Dad and hopped on his piano. When Joel went to ‘My Life,’ Della Rose went down and danced on the stage as if she was born to perform, she was clapping for the audience and teaching those standing on stage hand movements to follow the rhythm and voices of the song (her sister simply did not look amused). 
 
As she said ‘thank you Madison Square Garden,’ she said it right into the mic and left the stage and while I thought it’d be something grand or elaborate, Joel simply shook his head, smiled and said to his comrades and the women, ‘How you follow THAT?’ 
 
Well, perhaps by inviting Axl Rose dressed in a black sequined jacket and shades, to play the guitar with him on Wings’ ‘Live and Let Die’, The song familiarized to most people by Guns ‘N Roses’ 1991 cover, as well as AC/DC’‘s ‘Highway to Hell’. 
 
Rose performed some shrieks and banged some of his shuffle moves while Joel let the rock star out of him by fixing an electric guitar on. 
 
Predictably, Rose returned from the wings for the encore, “You May Be Right,” with which Joel has been ending his concerts for years, and, when not battling the sound sysyem, Rose appeared to have the time of his life bidding the audiences adieu with the band’s fiery take on Led Zeppelin’s bit “Rock and Roll. ” 
 
Billy Joel’s ‘Souvenir’, money for charity This I respect … 
 
Joel’s melancholic song “Souvenir” came playing on the house speakers as the houselights went back on again. Interestingly, the track is called “Streetlife Serenade” taken from the album released in 1974 and is fast – lasts only two minutes, philosophic, and expressively sentimental. 
 
‘And your mementos will turn to dust/ but that’s the price you pay/for every year’s a souvenir,’ sings Joel, an important message that Diamond has never for a moment in this decade has not taken touring for granted.