It's still rock and Joel to them

It's still rock and Joel to them

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BY SARAH GARLAND
Special to Newsday

April 26, 2006

Crammed into a Long Island Rail Road car after Billy Joel's record-setting 12th successive sold-out show at Madison Square Garden, Zach Goodman was hoarse from singing along: He'd attended six of those shows, and (gasp!) sold his iPod to help raise the dough for the tickets.

"Everybody has a strong connection to Billy Joel," Goodman, 17, of Dix Hills, said late Monday night, adding he even met his idol last week at a press event. "He's like a neighbor - he's Long Island's neighbor."

In a riff on a famous Joel tune, call it "Scenes from the LIRR."

The train eastbound from Penn Station to Ronkonkoma was loud with giddy fans who themselves were worthy of Joel's Long-Island-centric lyrics: the 40-something who's been listening to the singer's stuff for 30-something years; the woman whose cousin palled around with him before his star rose; the parents with children, handing off their Piano Man to another generation.

As with many post-Garden-event trains, this one had its share of rowdy, beer-soaked revelers. For the most part, though, it seemed a more PG-rated affair, with some families squeezing in a final fling at the end of schools' spring break.

Many interviewed said it wasn't only their love of Joel's music that brought them out. They were drawn by their connection to a man who, for all his phenomenal success, they often see around the Island, seemingly living an ordinary life - just like them.

"He's from Long Island, and he still lives in Long Island. What more could you ask for?" said Debbie Kennedy, 46, of Bethpage. She and her husband, Tom, had brought their son Ryan, who is autistic, to his first-ever concert. Ryan, 17, loves to play Joel's "Scenes From an Italian Restaurant" on the piano.

"'Piano Man' was a great song," a grinning Ryan said as he hugged his mom.

Lauren Miller, 9, who was wearing an oversized Joel T-shirt, and her brother, Connor, 11, were bleary-eyed yet excited after the three-hour concert they attended with their parents, Denise and Keith Miller. Both children also play Joel's songs on the piano, and Connor is learning about him at his school in Oyster Bay.

Joel's success "shows anything is possible, even if you come from a small town," Connor said.

Mary Ellen Madden, 50, from Hicksville, agreed. She grew up with Joel - he used to hang with one of her cousins, she said - and brought her son, Chris Madden, 22, to Monday night's concert. "It's just nice to see a hometown boy make something of himself," she said.

Declared Cheryl Loiacano, an Albertson resident in her 40s who said she's been a Billy Joel fan since his rock and roll beginnings, more than 30 years ago: "He's a legend. There's just nothing like him."