Bruce Springsteen Guests At Billy Joel’s 100th Madison Square Garden Concert

Wednesday night marked yet another milestone for Billy Joel and his long-standing relationship with Madison Square Garden as the Rock & Roll Hall Of Famer played his 100th show at The World’s Most Famous Arena in New York City. The Piano Man first played MSG nearly forty years ago on December 14, 1978, and last night continued his open-ended monthly residency with his 54th consecutive sell-out while also hitting the century mark for total lifetime performances. Billy celebrated the occasion by welcoming another iconic rocker, Bruce Springsteen.

Prior to the show, New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo honored the 69-year-old artist by declaring July 18 “Billy Joel Day.” Joel, who began his monthly residency at The Garden back on January 24, 2014, has shared the stage with the likes of Paul Simon, Miley Cyrus, John Mellencamp, Chick Corea, John Mayer and Sting over the course of the past five years.

Billy Joel opened Wednesday’s concert with hits “Big Shot” and “My Life.” The special occasion was first honored with the raising of a banner noting his 100th concert at the venue ahead of “The Entertainer.” The Piano Man then gave the audience a chance to vote on the next options with “Vienna” and “The Downeaster Alexa” winning out. Next came just the fourth documented live version of “Half A Mile Away” from 52nd Street.

Joel kept the concert going with a bevy of hits including “Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song),” “Don’t Ask Me Why,” “This Is The Time” and “New York State Of Mind.” The show came to a peak towards the end of the main set, when Joel brought out Bruce Springsteen. Bruce sat on Billy’s piano during a version of “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out” that featured a lyric change to “when the Piano Man joined the band.” Springsteen’s cameo continued with The Boss strapping on a guitar for a crowd-pleasing run through “Born To Run.”

The Boss/Piano Man summit was followed by the beloved “Only The Good Die Young.” A run of “The River Of Dreams,” “Nessun Dorma,” “Scenes From An Italian Restaurant” and “Piano Man” brought the set to a close. Billy Joel and his band returned to the stage to cap the evening by reeling off “We Didn’t Start The Fire,” “Uptown Girl,” “It’s Still Rock & Roll To Me” and “You May Be Right” as the encores. There’s no end in sight for Joel’s residency with the next concert scheduled for August 23.

Watch fan-shot video of Bruce Springsteen’s appearance with Billy Joel captured by Dennis Farrell: