12/14/2023 0 Comments Song lyrics vienna waits for youShe is in 11th grade, so I won’t have a whole lot more time with her before she graduates from high school. This was a two-day trip to New York City that will be cemented in my memory, and I’m betting Maddie’s as well. I’ve written before about the power and value of traveling with one child. But the concert was a truly culminating event. Listening to Billy Joel around the house and on car trips was a great lead-up to the concert. But I’ve changed my mind - especially since I have a loved one who shares an appreciation for the same artist. I like to listen to music, but I’ve never felt that the crazy ticket prices are worth the cost and the hassle. Even with all the distractions of New York City, Maddie couldn’t go an hour without thanking me for the concert or mentioning a favorite moment. We spent the next day in the city, exploring and hanging out with family, and then headed home. He played for more than two hours, and when it finally ended, we walked out talking about the how strong that “old man’s voice” continues to be, the few songs he played that we hadn’t heard before, and how the show was even better than we’d expected. Somewhere in the middle of the song, she wiped a few tears from her eyes, shook her hands, and said, “I’m actually crying.” She knew every word to the song, and I was torn between watching him perform and taking in Maddie’s moments of pure elation. In between songs, she kept whispering, “He better play “Vienna”.” And, of course, he did. From the first song to the last, she sang all the lyrics, smiled, and danced in her seat. When he finally walked to his piano, the crowd screamed, and Maddie’s inhibitions washed away. Waiting for Billy Joel to arrive on stage, she had that same 5-year-old smile, full of anticipation and joy. The last concert she’d attended was “The Wiggles” when she was about 5 years old. We arrived early, and Maddie was bouncing in her seat. Finally, during the summer of 2022, we made the trip to New York City, took our seats behind the stage (Tip: if you ever want to see Billy Joel at MSG, you can buy tickets behind the stage, and they are great he sits at his piano and rotates throughout the show). Billy Joel is 73 years old, and we weren’t sure how much longer he’d be performing. We started to wonder if it was ever going to happen. Not surprisingly, the second date was once again rescheduled. The initial date was postponed for six months. Just before COVID hit, I purchased tickets for Maddie and me to see him at Madison Square Garden. It was on my bucket list, and now that Maddie wanted to see him, it was a no-brainer. This performance was a night of conversation and a little music, so I’d still never attended his full concert performance. I was in the last row of Eisenhower Auditorium when he sang “The Downeaster ‘Alexa’”, I remember being pushed back in my seat - his voice was so strong. I told her that I’d seen him when he came to State College in the 90s. While traveling, Maddie and play his music and try to rank our top five favorite songs (we can never do it - it’s too hard). She has posters and album covers on the walls of her bedroom and a charm with the title of her favorite song, “Vienna,” on a necklace. Over the last three years, her appreciation and interest in Billy Joel has grown. It took me a moment to accept that “old people music” is a relative term and that it had, indeed, been more than 40 years since “You May Be Right” was released. “You know, like Billy Joel and Elton John,” she said. “What exactly do you mean by ‘old people music’?,” I asked. So imagine my surprise when Maddie - about the time she became a teenager - announced that she “really liked listening to certain old people music.” I could easily create a timeline of my life marked by Billy Joel’s music and lyrics. “We Didn’t Start the Fire” takes me to my high school social studies class where we analyzed every line. At our wedding, Michelle and I danced to “She’s Got a Way.” If I listen to “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant,” I can feel the rough upholstery of my parents’ motorhome. When I listen to Billy’s Joel’s “You May Be Right,” I’m instantly taken back to 1985, playing pool in the basement with my middle school friends.
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