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Mostly Movin’ Out
Chaotic merch lines, a Puccini cover, Axl Rose singing off-key. Inside Billy Joel’s final Madison Square Garden residency show.
The late-night host then cued the stagehands to raise a commemorative banner that read “Billy Joel 150 Most Lifetime Performances By Any Artist.” All 20,000 in attendance were given a mini version as we entered the arena, so check eBay in a day or two if you’d like one for yourself. Thankfully, he settled into a groove on the next track, AC/DC’s “Highway to Hell.” I’m not sure how many people who came to hear “New York State of Mind” would have wanted the Guns N Roses frontman to show up, but it’s what they got; Axl reappeared again later on, to caterwaul during the final encore of “You May Be Right.” Sure, the 150th show lacked any deep cuts (one woman told me she’d do anything to hear “You’re My Home,” while her husband interjected “nah, ‘Summer, Highland Falls,’ that’s the one”) but by the time everyone was singing along to “Piano Man” with the house lights up, no one seemed to be complaining.
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