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Billy Joel's Last Play at SheaPiano Man Delivers Last Concerts at New York Mets' Shea StadiumDubbed "Last Play at Shea," Billy Joel delivered two well-received concerts at New York's Shea Stadium on July 16th and 18th to commemorate its upcoming closure.
Billy Joel’s performances at the home stadium of the New York Mets baseball team - which featured surprise guests such as Tony Bennett, John Mellencamp, John Mayer, Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler and, most notably, Sir Paul McCartney - honor the place Shea Stadium holds in Rock history. Shea Stadium is set to be demolished after this season but perhaps the Mets new home being built next door, Citi Field, will carry the torch. A History at Shea StadiumShea Stadium was first opened in 1964 as the home field for the two-year-old National League team the New York Mets. By 1965 the stadium made history when the Beatles, with Paul McCartney, became the first band to hold a concert at such a large sporting arena. It is not known how many of the screaming fans actually heard that show but over the years other key Rock acts played at Shea Stadium including the Beatles again in 1966, The Who in 1982, the Rolling Stones in 1989 and Bruce Springsteen in 2003. With three-hour shows on both nights, Billy Joel brought that portion of Shea Stadium’s legacy to a historic close. He also confirmed his love for his “home base” of New York City and the 60,000+ fans at each sold-out show sent the love right back at him. Last Concerts at Shea StadiumIt is hard to be critical of Billy Joel at such a watershed event but musically speaking he was not always at the top of his game. He has retired from regular, large-scale performing and on the final evening it showed in his vocals and in the pacing of the set. (It was great to hear unexpected gem “Zanzibar” from 1978’s 52nd Street but its jazz improv tone was not served well by the large setting and few, if any, younger listeners connected with it). Yet, Billy Joel, clearly gave a great effort and the show was enjoyable. And, the audience was very forgiving; most knew the lyrics and sang along loudly, especially on the classics “Scenes From An Italian Restaurant” and “Piano Man.” Not every hit was played and The Stranger, which was just re-released in a 30th Anniversary edition, was most favored but Billy Joel did present a good sampling of his catalog. He also shared the stage with top-notch guest stars. The first show gave time to Don Henley, John Mellencamp, John Mayer and Tony Bennett. The second show trumped it with a return from Tony Bennett along with new turns from Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler, The Who’s Roger Daltry, Garth Brooks and, as the capstone, Sir Paul McCartney, who has come full circle in his own Shea Stadium experience. Paul McCartney performed “I Saw Her Standing There” at the end of the first encore and then closed the show at the piano singing “Let It Be.” Billy Joel’s “Last Play At Shea” will not soon be forgotten and it is expected that a CD and/or DVD release will eventually emerge. As of July 22nd concert attendees only can go online to download a free song from The Stranger recorded live at “Last Play At Shea.” Special codes were provided to every ticketholder on laminated, faux “backstage passes.”
The copyright of the article Billy Joel's Last Play at Shea in Pop Music is owned by Robert Mineo. Permission to republish Billy Joel's Last Play at Shea in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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