Easing Off the Bridge: Billy Joel still going strong

After a year of refraining from performances of live music, as is the Jewish tradition following the loss of a parent, we went last night to see Billy Joel at Madison Square Garden. This is the third time we have gone during his almost five years of monthly concerts at MSG; I wrote about the other two in May of 2015 and in January of 2017. He was a bit under the weather last night but is still very much going strong. He says he will continue these monthly shows as long as they keep selling out, and there is no sign of that ending any time soon.

A special highlight last night was that he was joined on stage by Joe Perry of Aerosmith, who sang “Walk This Way.” Another highlight, something he has apparently done at a number of his shows but not the ones we had seen, was a performance by Mike DelGuidice, musician, multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter, best known as rhythm guitarist and vocalist for Billy Joel's band, of Nessum Dorma, the Puccini aria from Turandot.

As I prepared to write this, I was taken aback to read that, according to multiple media reports, Aerosmith’s Joe Perry was rushed to the hospital after his performance with Billy Joel last night, according to multiple media reports. The 68-year-old guitarist collapsed in his dressing room just after he finished “Walk This Way.” After paramedics worked on him for 40 minutes, he was taken to a local hospital. According to a statement from Mr. Perry’s representative, he remains in the hospital where he is alert and responsive," but "will be unable to appear today at Rock and Roll Fantasy Camp in Florida and apologizes to those attending." “Perry is expected to return to the road later this month,” the statement from Perry’s rep concludes.

Billy Joel and Joe Perry pose backstage at Madison Square Garden on November 10, 2018 in New York City.

Here is the full set list from last night’s concert:

Big Shot

My Life

Vienna

The Entertainer

Zanzibar

The Downeaster Alexa

Goodnight Saigon

Allentown

Walk on the Wild Side (Lou Reed cover) (with Elliot Murphy)

Don’t Ask Me Why

New York State of Mind

Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song)

She’s Always a Woman

The River of Dreams

Walk This Way (Aerosmith cover) (with Joe Pery)

Bohemian Rhapsody (Queen cover, partial)

Only the Good Die Young

Nessun dorma (Giacomo Puccini cover by Mike DelGuidice)

Scenes from an Italian Restaurant

Piano Man

(encores)

We Didn’t Start the Fire

Uptown Girl

It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me

You May be Right

Looking back, I see that at after the last two concerts I posted my personal favorite Billy Joel song, “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant.” So today I am going to post “We Didn’t Start the Fire,” his summary of world history from 1949 to 1989. I wonder if he is planning to update the song at some point.

We Didn’t Start the Fire Billy Joel

Harry Truman, Doris Day, Red China, Johnnie Ray
South Pacific, Walter Winchell, Joe DiMaggio
Joe McCarthy, Richard Nixon, Studebaker, television
North Korea, South Korea, Marilyn Monroe
Rosenbergs, H-bomb, Sugar Ray, Panmunjom
Brando, "The King and I" and "The Catcher in the Rye"
Eisenhower, vaccine, England's got a new queen
Marciano, Liberace, Santayana goodbye