Photo Credit: Rich Fury

On Thursday, July 25, Billy Joel participated in the final show of his record-breaking franchise run at Madison Square Garden. The historic night yielded the Piano Man a pair of esteemed titles, including the most lifetime performances by any artist (150) and the most consecutive shows (104) at the Big Apple venue. During the night, guests turned up to assist in the celebratory spirit of the occasion, including appearances by Jimmy Fallon and Guns N’ Roses frontman Axl Rose, who helped Joel and his crowd of nearly 20,000 strike the specialty of the occasion. 

The conclusion of Joel’s franchise run at The Garden arrives more than 10 years after the first-ever residency performance and 50 years after his debut at the venue, which initially occurred on December 14, 1978. To commemorate the achievement, comedian and television host Jimmy Fallon raised the final banner to the rafters. “Who else does this? No one else does this,” he exclaimed, bubbling with jubilant energy. 

Next, Joel’s daughters, Della and Remi, appeared on stage and sang “My Life” alongside their dad. After a couple more tunes, the locationally fitting “New York State of Mind” was added to the course of classic material, acting as the preamble to “Allentown” and “This Is the Time.” Unlike other residency holders, including improvisational masterminds Phish, catalog pulls, including “New York State of Mind,” “Allentown,” “It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me,” “Movin’ Out,” “Piano Man,” “Scenes From an Italian Restaurant,” “You May Be Right,” “The River of Dreams” racked up the title of consecutive plays at each of the musician’s MSG gigs. 

Rock maven Rose assisted Joel on a cover of the Wings “Live and Let Die.” Last night’s rendition was not the first time Rose had taken on the Paul McCartney hit; notably, Guns N’ Roses received Grammy recognition for their take on the layered favorite featured on their Use Your Illusion I album. The pair continued their collaborative stage time with AC/DC’s “Highway to Hell.” They previously performed the cover in 2017. Just when it seemed the guests had retired for the night, Rose returned, this time during the night’s final number, “You May Be Alright.” 

Besides sit-ins and well-deserved accolades, the night was, in its simplest form, highlighted by the thrill of fans gathered to share in a historic musical experience, as captured via the night’s energy during “Piano Man.” Watch a pro-shot video provided by Madison Square Garden.