Billy Joel Welcomes Patti Smyth & Wears Star Of David At Madison Square Garden

Famed performer Billy Joel continued a series of monthly concerts at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Monday night. Joel fit a few rarities into the set, played a medley of “sun” songs, welcomed old friend Patti Smyth and made a silent statement against neo-nazis as part of his latest MSG gig.

The Piano Man opened the show with hits “We Didn’t Start The Fire,” “Pressure” and “The Entertainer” before digging a little deeper into his repertoire for “Zanzibar” and “Vienna.” Up next was Billy’s first rendition of “The Ballad Of Billy The Kid” at MSG since June 20, 2015. Joel then brought out vocalist Patti Smyth for “Goodbye To You,” her 1982 hit with Scandal. The New York native followed Smyth’s appearance with a full cover of The Beatles’ “A Day In The Life.”

Later in the night, Billy Joel led his band through snippets of songs with “sun” in the title: “Sunshine Of Your Love,” “Good Day Sunshine,” “Walking On Sunshine” and “Here Comes The Sun.” The Piano Man then ended the main set with a run of “Sometimes A Fantasy,” “She’s Always A Woman,” “Don’t Ask Me Why,” “The River Of Dreams,” “Scenes From An Italian Restaurant” and “Piano Man.” Billy sported a Star Of David on both the back and front of his jacket when he returned for the encore. Jews in Nazi-controlled portions of Europe were made to wear the stars during Hitler’s reign and Joel wore them seemingly as a statement against the rise of the neo-Nazi, alt-right movement.

Watch last night’s “Goodbye To You” as captured by Ron Shanberg:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wAC-IoMWAs

Here’s footage of “Sunshine Of Your Love” from Rafael Cruz:

[Hat Tip – People.com]