Took Mrs. Bulldog to see Billy Joel as part of his Madison Square Garden residency. He announced how many shows he'd done there, I think it was 182. Not bad. He called himself "the house band." I have a feeling he is.
I had an opportunity to see him when I was 15. 1977, just after The Stranger was released. Some family dynamics prevented me attending and after that, I guess I just never cared enough to go see him, or didn't have the money. Billy Joel, today, is a NYC/NY State cultural icon. He may well be the MSG "house band" and that showed during the concert. The crowd was engaged, active and enjoyed every minute. I found myself singing along to songs I didn't even realize I remembered, and most weren't even singles, just album tracks.
It was a great show and I'm glad I finally saw him, even if his voice isn't what it once was (he admitted to missing the higher notes).
One song resonated with me, My Life. It's been many years since I'd listened to it. I realized it is, more or less, a Libertarian anthem. Probably why I liked it so much when I was younger. Or maybe that was just youthful rebellion. Regardless, I took a look at the lyrics and they're relatively simple. The singer contacts an old friend, they talk, he's given up on "the American Way" and is following his own path, and rejecting perceived social rules and guidelines for living. He's got his own life, leave him alone to live it.
Most of life is that simple, when we get right down to it. We're just looking for people, politicians and 'society' to let us do our own thing. I'm not sure Billy Joel would want to be classified as Libertarian, but there was a strong streak of it in his earlier works. My Life may appeal to teen and post-teen individualism, but it says much more about just living one's life as one sees fit. Which is, oddly enough, "the American Way."
This week, Mrs. Bulldog and I are headed to Stockholm to see The Rolling Stones and get some international travel in after 2 years of almost none (we went to Barbados in April). I look forward to seeing Sweden and The Rolling Stones. I had read recently that Mick Jagger's favorite economist is the same as mine, and that he may well be a closet Libertarian.
We're trying to get in as many of the Dinosaurs of Rock in as we can. Being able to travel to see some concerts is a cherry on top.
