#yy mental image of present-day billy joel is pretty much frozen here

[thebreakfastgenie]

December 12th, 2012. The 12-12-12 concert to benefit victims of Hurricane Sandy. Newer fans might not realize it, but this was Billy Joel's actual comeback. He hadn't been playing concerts for a couple of years, and he hadn't released an album since 1993, so official retirement announcement or not, it kind of seemed like he was done. Behind the scenes, he'd told his band to start looking for other work. He opened a motorcycle shop in Oyster Bay. I, for one, wondered if that was just what he was doing now.

And then Hurricane Sandy hit New York, he was part of a hastily put-together telethon that I stayed up very late in high school to watch, and it was announced that he would participate in the 12-12-12 benefit at Madison Square Garden. I was a teenager and newly obsessed with Billy Joel and I needed to watch this live on TV because I was convinced it was the closest I would ever get to seeing him live.

You should watch the performance, because it's incredible. And everyone agreed! He was widely considered the highlight of the event, and if you watch it, you'll understand why. Other acts gave great performances, too, but he just had the stage presence down, the pacing, the set list was perfect. It feels like such an old pro showing the kids how it's done moment, even though he wasn't the oldest artist there. And he hadn't done a concert in two years.

He claims to be surprised by the response to a performance he thought was just okay, but the experience reminded him how much he enjoyed performing and proved there was still a demand. It was this event that sparked the idea for the Madison Square Garden residency. And ten years later, a former desperate teenager went to that residency. It was my second time seeing Billy Joel live.

Realistically, if it hadn't been this, it probably would have been something else, because the recurring theme of his life is when it comes to the stage, he can't stay away. But it's not hard to think that without 12-12-12 the ten year Madison Square Garden residency would never have happened. He might have just stayed retired.

It feels strange to me that this was now long enough ago that there's a whole new wave of younger fans who weren't around for it.