Sports stadiums are part of my vast jurisdiction around here, so I went to Shea Friday night to make sure Billy Joel sent off the old barn in style as a concert venue.
No problems there. Hicksville High's own was in fine form, and his guest list included Tony Bennett, Garth Brooks, Steven Tyler, Roger Daltrey and, yup, Paul McCartney.
Here is Glenn Gamboa's account in Newsday. What can I say? It was a privilege to be there as McCartney closed the place he helped open for music with a milestone concert in 1965.
One thing that struck me about the crowd was how demographically diverse it was. Alas, not racially or economically. But certainly gender-wise and age-wise, with a range from 10 to around McCartney's 66, and even beyond.
Compare that to the screaming teenagers by the tens of thousands in '65.
Really, Friday and Wednesday were a tribute to the staying power of rock and roll, and its ability to cross generations.
Look at it this way: McCartney showed up 43 years after his first Shea appearance and was greeted with a stirring ovation. Forty-three years!
Now imagine how it would have gone over with that Shea crowd in '65 if a musical star of the early 1920s, say Rudy Vallee, had shown up for a set.
Or if people had started dancing the Charleston on stage.
I rest my case.
Or, to put it another way:
Everybody's talkin' 'bout the new sound
Funny, but it's still rock and roll to me
Comments (4)
Great night last night, even for this 24-year old New Jersey born guy. Love Billy, but that was my first time seeing Paul. Amazin.
"One thing that struck me about the crowd was how demographically diverse it was. Alas, not racially or economically."
Contrarily, 2 time zones away last night, a couple of other Long Island (albeit Queens) musical icons were "Reeling in the Years" in 505land.
I eschewed my reserved seats and stood at the top of the very intimate amphitheater and noticed that this crowd of dancing fools (yes, contrary to urban legend, one can dance to Steely Dan) was as ethnically and economically diverse as any melting pot in America.
The effie's were mixin with the sistahs, the descended Northern Europeans were strutting with the Old World Hispanics.
While the age demographics were not as disparate as you noticed at the Billy Joel show (predominantly 40+ here) there was nevertheless a decent presence of under 30's who clearly demonstrated an appreciation of another 70's musical icon.
(BTW, I think the 30-40 age group has gone missing when it comes to music....but that's a whole nuther rant).
"Drink scotch whiskey, all night long......"
Just a musical sidebar....
"The effie's were mixin with the sistahs, the descended Northern Europeans were strutting with the Old World Hispanics."
And I must mention that the Original Americans were also in the demographic mix, both as hosts and attendees of the show, as well as being gleeful recipients of the apres music overflowing casino.
Ding, ding, ding.
I am glad the Watchdog family had a great time at the concert. As for me, Billy Joel ranks above Yoko Ono and below the Kars for Kids commercial in audio torture. Yecch. And if you tell someone you are from Long Island they automatically assume you enjoy this auditory earache.
Me, I treasure my days at the Electric Banana in the village seeing Spinal Tap. Get Nigel Tufnel and David St Hubbins to play with you to prove you are rock royalty, Piano Man