As he prepares to again enter the history books with the final concerts at Shea Stadium (home of the NY Mets baseball team in Queens, NY, USA) Billy Joel doesn’t stop after learning that some tickets for - “The Last Play at Shea” - are being "scalped" ( resold ) for several thousand dollars apiece, with many being priced at nearly $100,000. “Yeah, I can tell you right now, I’m not worth that,” he says. “Maybe if The Beatles could somehow get back together or if Jimi Hendrix came back from the dead,
I would pay $1,000. But if you pay that much for me, you’re not going to be happy. I’m not worth more than the face value of the ticket.” Many die-hard fans would disagree with the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, the Grammy winner whose name hangs from the ceiling in Madison Square Garden to commemorate his record-setting twelve show sold-out run, the Tony Award winner whose greatest hits album is one of the biggest-selling albums of all time. And, many of those disagreeing with him may also have been shut out of Joel’s shows at Shea this Wednesday and Friday. The 55,000 available tickets for each concert sold out in an amazing record-setting time - 48 minutes for the first show, then 46 for the second.
He and the promoters could easily have charged twice as much for the $95 tickets and still packed the house. But, true to his Hicksville, N.Y., roots; the same emotions that had him recently pairing his blue collar working-class anthems “Allentown” and “The Downeaster ‘Alexa’” in concert, Joel insisted on keeping prices affordable, and he has been working to make the Shea Stadium shows special for everyone involved. And we're sure that the shows will be special, with a unique set list, tributes to his inspirations (rumors swirl about Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr appearing together with him) and special guests! Joel says the process behind the Shea concerts has been totally different from the two previous concerts in his New York stadium trifecta; a feat that no artist will ever be able to lay claim to since both NY's Shea and Yankee stadiums will be demolished this year. Last week, he saw the release of the 30th anniversary edition of his breakthrough album, “The Stranger,” (purchase copies, here). After these shows, Joel will take the rest of the summer off and then travel to Australia and Asia in the fall 2008.
Local Long Island, NY newspaper, Newsday ran a great article, see Glenn Gamboa's full story here and see you at Shea !
Comments