Billy Joel spent New Year’s Eve in front of a packed capacity crowd at UBS Arena in Elmont, New York, where he played an extended set that mixed big hits with lesser-known tunes from his catalog. Jason Bonham‘s Led Zeppelin Evening was the opening act, and Bonham himself came out halfway through Joel’s set to lead his band through “Whole Lotta Love.”
“We’re going to bring a guest onstage and do this next song,” Joel told the audience. “We have fun playing this, especially with this guy. Please welcome Jason Bonham. You all know this song. It’s not a piano song.”
Guitarist Tommy Byrnes did a stellar job reacting to Jimmy Page’s guitar parts, and background singer/guitarist Mike DelGuidice — who has fronted the Billy Joel tribute act Big Shot for the past 25 years — took on the role of Robert Plant. Joel stuck largely to background vocals and piano parts that were hard to make out in the mix.
Other highlights from the evening included rare performances of 1982’s “A Room Of Our Own” and 1974’s “Souvenir.” As the clock moved towards midnight, Joel vamped for a bit by playing a portion of “Layla” before kicking into “Auld Lang Syne” with wife, Alexis Roderick, right by his side. There was still nearly an hour of the show remaining, and Joel packed it with hits like “Piano Man,” “Uptown Girl,” “Big Shot,” and the grand finale of “You May Be Right.”
It was the culmination of a big year for Joel that featured the end of his decade-long Madison Square Garden monthly residency and the release of his first new single since 2007, “Turn the Lights Back On.” He debuted the song at the Grammy’s in February, but he dropped it from his live repertoire in July.
Jason Bonham, meanwhile, spent much of the summer playing with Sammy Hagar, Michael Anthony, and Joe Satriani on the Best of All Worlds tour. He was forced to leave midway through to be near his ailing mother in England. He was replaced by Kenny Aronoff. He expected to return to the group once his mother’s health improved, but Hagar decided to stick with Aronoff.
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“Sammy rang me awhile ago,” Bonham told Ultimate Classic Rock. “He was asking about my mom, but then he said, ‘Y’know, I’m not gonna do much next year,’ blah, blah blah, ‘and I’m gonna go with Kenny.’ I was a little shocked, I must say. I’d be lying to you if I wasn’t a little sad, because we were on fire at the end of the tour. And I got a little upset. That was strange, after 10 years of being with him.”
In an interview with Rolling Stone, Hagar said the decision was based at least partially around the fact that Satriani regularly works with with Aronoff. “Keeping this Best of All Worlds band together is difficult when you got Jason doing his thing, you got Joe doing his thing, you got Mike and I,” he said. “We need our beach time and our taco nights, Taco Tuesdays and stuff. Trying to get it together, it really helps by having Kenny’s schedule be with Joe. If Joe’s available, Kenny’s available, and it’s not trying to put pieces together. Kenny’s right here. We can rehearse any day of the week. And he blew my mind.”
The Best of All Worlds tour heads to Las Vegas for a run of nine shows in April and May. And it will also be a busy year for Billy Joel. It kicks off on January 17 at the Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, Florida. He’ll spend the rest of the year playing arenas on his own and stadiums with special guests Stevie Nicks and Sting.
