I have been to many concerts in my life. My first was Huey Lewis and the News, and I have also seen the Eurythmics, Elton John, Rod Stewart, Prince, Edgar Winter, Genesis, The Allman Brothers, Wilson Phillips, Papa Roach, Alien Ant Farm – and Richard Marx at separate concerts…

…and now I can say that I saw Tony Bennett, Garth Brooks, Aerosmith, The Who, The Beatles – and Billy Joel – all in the same night.

Friday night July 18th at Shea Stadium, Billy Joel played, “The Last Play At Shea,” which was the last concert ever to be played at New York’s Shea Stadium before its demolished and replaced by Citi Field – and in front of nearly 65,000 people – he brought down the house himself.

For three hours, Billy played the hits that made him the rock legend that he is – and even though I have seen him in concert well over a dozen times – dating as far back as 1990 – I was as excited to see him that night as if I saw him for the very first time.

You name it, he played it. Scenes From An Italian Restaurant, The Downeaster Alexa, This Night, Goodnight Saigon, My Life, Big Shot, The Entertainer, Miami 2017, Keeping The Faith, Everybody Loves You Now, Root Beer Rag, The Ballad Of Billy The Kid, She’s Always A Woman To Me, Angry Young Man, Summer Highland Falls, Allentown, An Innocent Man…

…and, of course, Piano Man.

What amazed me was not only Billy’s amazing performance, but the fact that he had so many celebrity guests. Tony Bennett sang New York State Of Mind, Garth Brooks sang Shameless, and the other aforementioned guests played their own hits. The Who played We Won’t Get Fooled Again, Aerosmith played Walk This Way, and – in a total tribute to The Beatles – Paul McCartney played Let It Be to close the show after Piano Man – making The Beatles the first and last band to play at Shea – something I thought was a total show of respect to Sir Paul on Billy’s part.

You would think that seeing the same artist play the same songs over and over again so many times would get boring – but not to me when it comes to seeing a Billy Joel concert. When he did 12 Gardens, which was his last tour at the world’s most famous arena – I saw one of those dozen concerts – but would have bought tickets to each and every one of them if I could have. Billy puts on an incredible show and combined with the excitement and involvement of the tens of thousands of people who are there with you and singing along just as you are – the arena or stadium comes alive – and its like nothing I have ever experienced.

I had a feeling that The Beatles would be there, and I knew about Tony Bennett from the concert two days earlier, but I was shocked when I saw Garth Brooks – and completely blown away when I saw Aerosmith and The Who. I never in a million years thought they would be there – but what a way to bid farewell to the home of the New York Mets’ current home stadium – and welcome Citi Field, which is scheduled to open in time for the 2009 baseball season.

I think it is so cool that I can now say that I, being a native New Yorker, have seen Billy Joel at both of my hometown stadiums. I can also say that I was at the 2000 Millennium Concert at MSG, where he welcomed Y2K by tearing the roof off of the Garden – and I can say with all certainty that “The Last Play At Shea” will definitely not be the last Billy Joel concert I ever see in my life. Seeing “The Piano Man” in concert is one of the most enjoyable experiences I look forward to. If you have never seen a Billy Joel concert in your life – then you do not know what you are missing. I highly recommend spending an evening listening to a true artist tell you his over 30-year story through words and music, while thousands upon thousands of people sing along.

Two Shea Billy, Two Shea.