The million and a half people who gathered in Times Square to celebrate the start of a new millennium thought that they were the only party in town. But nine blocks away at Madison Square Garden there were thousands of other people who believed that the only way to celebrate was with Billy Joel -- not with the ageless but ancient Dick Clark and an extravagant crystal ball.

At the Garden, Joel treated 30,000 of his "closest friends" to the "Night of Two Thousand Years." In what he claimed was his last commercialized performance, the Piano Man rocked MSG into the year 2000, playing some of his greatest hits, some of his personal favorite songs by other musicians, and some songs that he hadn't played in over two decades.

The night was advertised as a "Special Extended Performance" and as the price of tickets indicated (some as high as $999), die-hard Billy Joel fans knew they were in store for something special. Opening with one of his classics, "Big Shot," Billy immediately brought the house down. After his opening number he thanked those who showed up and commended them for not being too "chicken shit" to celebrate the Millennium in Manhattan with him. He then gave his fans a choice between the songs "Summer Highland Falls" and "Vienna." The "Fan's Choice" interlude would just be one of many pleasant surprises Billy would unleash that evening.

It wasn't too deep into the evening before Billy introduced an old friend, saxophonist Richard Cannata to join him on "New York State of Mind." Cannata added some new twists to the famous saxophone solo in the song, while Billy changed some of the lyrics in the song to incorporate more of "New York" into his state of mind. After the number, Billy introduced "Just the Way You Are," which he said he hasn't played since the seventies. He said he wrote it for his "first ex-wife" and when he got to the line in which he declared he would never leave her, he laughed and shrugged. His facial expression was priceless. It would be one of many bittersweet moments for Joel that evening.

As midnight approached, Billy braced his audience for another Joel concert "first." "We're going to have an intermission" Joel told the audience which was followed by an onslaught of boos. "Well we've never played this long before either" was Joel's defense. The Garden crowd quieted down long enough to hear another song Joel put on the shelf for a few years because of a nasty break-up: "Uptown Girl," which was written for his "second ex-wife" Christie Brinkley. But despite the heartbreak involved, Joel lit up the crowd with his "Frankie Valliesque falsettos." The singer then retired to the dressing room for fifteen minutes to get ready for the New Year.

He came back out in a tuxedo and quipped, "the last time I wore one of these was when I was getting married." He then prepared the New York audience for their first appearnace that evening on national TV. It would be part of ABC's all-day New Year Celebration, which consisted of two numbers from the Joel concert. He didn't disappoint with his song selection picking the anthem of the Cold War, "We didn't Start the Fire." After an incredible performance, Joel decided to quiet down the crowd as pictures of clocks approaching midnight appeared on the Garden television screens. Then, exactly five minutes before the millennium ended, Billy wisely played a lesser-known song from the River of Dreams LP, "Two-Thousand Years." In the song he proclaimed, "I'm glad I'm with you after 2,000 years." The Garden crowd was equally affectionate. Then before long the New Year had come with balloons and confetti covering the stage and Billy beginning the chorus to "Auld Lange Syne."

Soon after midnight, Billy got set for his second televised performance, this time choosing the well-known "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant." In the beginning, drummer Liberty Devitto, appropriately nicknamed "Animal," busied himself by destroying every balloon onstage that survived midnight. After he was off TV, Billy went into a set of his favorite songs performed by other artists: theRolling Stones, Led Zeppelin and Sly and the Family Stone.

Unfortunately for the 30,000 fans it was close to 1 AM and Joel knew things were going to have to come to an end. During his encore set Billy played two unfamiliar songs, "Souvenir" and "This Night." Then for his final song, he performed his trademark number, but not without a bit of fanfare. One of Joel's sidekicks "crowned" Joel with his harmonica-headset and then the crowd knew that "Piano Man" was only a few moments away.

As soon as it began, the show was over and the crowd realized they were perhaps going to have to celebrate the rest of their millennium without the great Billy Joel. However, for every fan who was there that evening, it was certainly worth it.