As I meandered through the bucolic streets of Cardiff on a bright and sunny Friday, the city was packed with people drinking at bars and dining al fresco, with almost every restaurant loudspeaker playing Billy Joel on loop.
The Welsh capital had turned into a giant appreciation society for the 75-year-old music legend, who that night would be performing for nearly 75,000 fans at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium, his first show in the country.
I can’t exactly pinpoint when I knew I was a Billy Joel fan as his music has been in the ether my entire – nearly 40 year-old – life. However, when he released his latest song, “Turn the Lights Back On,” in February, I was amazed by his longevity and captivated by the message of that song, which asks: Can someone really keep the flame alive for so many years?
When I discovered he would be playing in Cardiff this month, soon after completing his historic residency at New York’s Madison Square Garden, it didn’t take much to convince my friend Maayan Hoffman to be my partner in crime. This trip was planned weeks in advance and the anticipation mounted as the days went by.
When news broke out of the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran, we both shared our concerns that what we’ve been looking forward to for months may go up in smoke because one of the country’s most detested enemies had met his demise. So, when we embarked on the plane from Israel, we were not quite sure if we’d be able to come back due to an imminent Iranian attack.
All that was temporarily forgotten, as Joel, the ultimate entertainer, regaled the ecstatic crowd. The audience was multi-generational; it was common to see grandparents, parents, and their children singing every word to songs like “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant,” “Only the Good Die Young,” and “Big Shot.”
Joel is, of course, known for his hits that have stood the test of time. Who has not belted out the lyrics to “Piano Man” after having perhaps been a tad overserved at a bar late one night?
It became clear, however, that much of his catalog is built on sleeper hits; songs that didn’t get much airplay when they were first released, but are now fully enshrined in the Great American Songbook.
“This song has only become a bit of a hit over the last two years or so,” Joel said with a modest shrug when introducing his 1977 song, “Vienna.”
The crowd erupted in applause as they heard the first few chords of the once under-the-radar track from his monster album The Stranger, which has turned into an iconic song. It made me wonder how many artists are capable of releasing music five decades ago, only for many songs to be newly discovered and beloved by millennials and Gen Zees to the point that it’s now his third most-streamed song on Spotify, earning more than 450 million streams on that platform alone.
ANOTHER ASTOUNDING accomplishment is how Joel is able to maintain relevance despite only releasing one new song since 1993. At 75, he may not be able to work his way around a stage like he did when he wore a younger man’s clothes, but his crisp soulful voice filled every crevice of that arena as you would expect from an artist in the prime of their life.
In Cardiff, Joel did not invite a mega-celebrity on stage as he is known to do in many of his Madison Square Garden gigs. Instead, he brought on a very special guest, his eight-year-old daughter, Della Joel. The way they sang “My Life” made it clear that Joel’s legacy will live on through his children.
“I guess it’s her life now,” he joked as his young daughter sauntered off the stage with a confident swagger after she impressively belted out much of her father’s hit.
Despite the accolades, accomplishments, and sold-out arenas, perhaps the most impressive aspect of Joel’s career is how he can make people feel. It is almost impossible to be unhappy when listening to his music, even the songs that are specifically about depression and life’s disappointments.
In such turbulent times, when even a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna is canceled due to the threat of a looming ISIS terrorist attack, these moments of pure communal joy cannot and should not be taken for granted.
ONE THING we probably didn’t have in common with other attendees, aside from the other Israelis who flew in especially for the show, were our post-concert concerns.
How many thought they might be stranded in Cardiff? How many thought whether their family would be safe if rockets rained down on their hometown as they sang and danced to these beautiful songs?
This, unfortunately, is something unique to Israelis, when every life decision is planned with the caveat that the event may not happen because the country is in a state of war and that this is a sacrifice we’ve been asked to make until Hamas surrenders.
As we continue to wait for Iran to “do its thing,” I’m grateful I was able to have the experience of a lifetime, and that we’re a strong enough nation able to endure planning our life around terrorism.
Closing words from Billy
As for Joel, in “The Entertainer,” he sings: “Today I am your champion, I may have won your hearts, but I know the game, you’ll forget my name, and I won’t be here in another year, if I don’t stay on the charts.”
While most of his songs have been prophetic, how lucky are we that this one was not? Although he has not charted in decades, we still clamor for him as if he is at the height of his career.
That means he is much more than an entertainer. He is a legend.