Flashback: Billy Joel Rings In the New Millennium
As the clock headed towards midnight on December 31st, 1999, people all over the country were terrified that the Y2K computer bug was going to bring about the apocalypse. Billy Joel had no such fears. He was in the middle of an incredible, 36-song marathon concert at Madison Square Garden. Moments before the ball dropped, he broke out the River of Dreams deep cut “Two Thousand Years,” and then he sang “Auld Lang Syne” along with the entire arena.
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Y2K proved to be little more than media hype, and the lights stayed at Madison Square Garden and the rest of the planet. The encore was a huge dance party, with Joel and his band playing everything from Sly Stone’s “Dance to the Music” and “Honky Tonk Women” by the Rolling Stones. Here’s a video of “We Didn’t Start the Fire” and “Scenes From an Italian Restaurant” from the famous millennium show.
Billy Joel has opted to celebrate New Years Eve in private these past 13 years, but that’s going to change next month. He’s playing Brooklyn’s Barclays Center before heading down to Florida for a series of shows in January. He played a stellar show in Huntington, Long Island in October and just got back from Europe. Fans are traveling from all the over the world for the Brooklyn New Year’s Eve show. If it’s anything like the last one, it should be a pretty great night.