Billy Joel fans feast on music and mood at Shea concert
BY ALFONSO A. CASTILLO AND KEVIN AMORIM | alfonso.castillo@newsday.com; kevin.amorim@newsday.com
July 17, 2008
They packed the house and cheered. They sang along. Mostly, they seemed thrilled to be part of history.
The sellout crowd at Shea Stadium last night saw Billy Joel play the first of two shows this week that serve as a musical farewell to the ballpark, which is scheduled to be dismantled to make room for parking for Citi Field, opening next year.
The good times began hours before Joel opened with "The Star-Spangled Banner." It wasn't quite a scene from an Italian restaurant, but there was no shortage of food, drink and revelry in the Shea parking lot. Thousands of fans tailgated for hours under the blazing July sun.
"He's a Long Island hero - a Long Island treasure," said Barbara Kutcher of Malverne, who arrived around 4 for the 8 p.m. show and passed the time sharing a 3-foot chicken cutlet hero with friends. Kutcher, who caught her first Joel concert more than 20 years ago, bought her $100 tickets moments after they went on sale.
In the parking lot, the $30 spots - twice their usual cost - were quickly snapped up, as were high-priced souvenirs, including a $150 blue and orange baseball jersey with "Joel 08" printed on the back.
New York firefighter and Massapequa resident Rich Divine, who got his tickets as an anniversary gift from his girlfriend, Nikki Kerr, said Joel's specific appeal to Long Islanders comes from shared experience. "He's got all the money, all the fame," said Divine, who is also a Mets fan. "But you can still find him in the local watering holes in the Hamptons and Montauk."
Joel's between-song banter last night kept fans cheering. He asked whether they were Mets or Yankees fans, and said, "If you have to go to the bathroom, wait, wait - this is a good one" before launching into the baseball-themed "Zanzibar."
