I’m in a Long Island state of mind.
Two of that area’s most prominent natives shared the Madison Square Garden spotlight Thursday when Billy Joel welcomed Jerry Seinfeld to the stage during the 100th concert of his monthly residency at the iconic venue.
“I am from Long Island, like Billy is from Long Island,” Seinfeld told the crowd of the suburban New York upbringing shared by the comedian and Piano Man. “He captured how we all feel living in this particular part of the world. Long Island. New York. He’s like the companion that we’ve gone through our whole lives with. His music is our best friend for our whole life."
That's why, once a month for much of the last decade, the regular crowd has shuffled in to see Joel perform the same hits under the same roof. Each of those 100 shows has been a sell out -- as have every other Joel concert at the Garden since his first on Dec. 14, 1978 for a total of 146 and counting.
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"100 sellouts in a row. Congratulations, Billy,” Seinfeld said while presenting a banner to commemorate the milestone. “Most lifetime performances by any artist. You can die now.”
Thursday's concert differed from all the others because it will become the first of Joel's career to be broadcast on network television -- with CBS airing "The 100th: Billy Joel at Madison Square Garden – The Greatest Arena Run of All Time" on April 14.
“We’re all on TV tonight,” Joel, wearing a leather blazer over a black shirt, told the crowd. “So, hope you dressed for it."
The cameras were rolling to capture one of the final shows in the residency after Joel announced last year that the run, which began in January 2014, would end in July.
Lighting became something of a theme, from the added spotlights in the stands, to the musically synchronized light-up wristbands provided to the 20,000 fans in attendance, to the set list itself. Joel opened the show with "Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway)" and later performed the newest song in his extensive catalog with “Turn the Lights Back On” -- which he released in February as his first single in 17 years.
He then brought out his only musical guest of the evening, Sting, for duets on Joel's "Big Man on Mulberry Street" and The Police classic "Every Little Thing She Does is Magic."
Joel has regularly invited A-list performers to make surprise appearances during the residency, even though he knows that it’s he they’ve been coming to see to forget about life for a while. For Joel's 100th career show at the Garden in 2018, Bruce Springsteen made a cameo to perform his hits "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out" and "Born to Run."
Olivia Rodrigo in 2022 performed her song "Deja Vu" - which references Joel in the lyrics - and then partnered with him on "Uptown Girl." Paul Simon and Miley Cyrus joined Joel in 2017 for an unlikely collaboration on "You May Be Right." Brian Johnson, the lead singer of AC/DC, shook the Garden with Joel during a 2014 performance of "You Shook Me All Night Long."
Other guests have included John Mellencamp, Tony Bennett, Patty Smyth, Aerosmith’s Joe Perry, Foreigner’s Lou Gramm and Mick Jones, John Fogerty, Elvis Costello, Bryan Adams, John Mayer and others.
There have been on-stage celebrity appearances by Jimmy Fallon, Kevin Bacon, Mark Messier, Jon Stewart and Kevin James, and performances by Joel's three daughters Alexa Rae, Della Rose and Remy Anne.
For the 100th show of a historic residency that has played out in his own backyard, Joel invited a neighbor. Seinfeld not only grew up in the same county as Joel, he currently lives in his former house, having purchased the Piano Man's East Hampton mansion nearly 25 years ago.
"And I want to thank you for buying my house," Joel told Seinfeld as he left the stage. "That was a nice thing to do."
