Headache in a Suitcase said:
i again don't know what the heck you're trying tp prove with this argument, but here's one to come back at ya with... billy joel has 12 shows, all of which will be technical sell outs (no show is ever a true sell out) by the time the shows go off... and he's doing it without having released a new album since 1993. think about that for a second before you start throwing all your useless stats at me. at least 12 shows at madison square garden, likely more to come at the nassau coliseum and maybe at continental airlines, and no new material in 13 years.
could u2 not put out an album for 13 years and then stroll into new york and put on 12 shows at madison square garden, even if they had all the time in the world? of course not... if you think htey could, you're crazy. could they in dublin? i would hope so.
is springsteen a bigger draw? probably... but what you fail to understand, not being from the area, is that billy's core audience is even more limited than simply saying the new york area, and including everyone in a 75 mile raduis in that mix. the man is an absolute god on long island, and that is where the majority of the people going to these shows are comming from... just like the majority going to springsteen shows are from jersey.
think about it... 13 years since his last pop album. 13 years.
is what u2 did this past fall more impressive because they have no geographical ties to the area? sure, i guess you could argue that. but don't try and tell me that u2 could do what htey did in new york without putting out a new album for 13 years.
and oh yea... he still doesn't have any new material out, and will probably be another 2 years or so before he does. if billy had a new album out right now? forget it... he could sell out 20 shows if he wanted.
if you think u2's bigger than billy joel in this area, you have no clue as to what you're talking about.
it's ok... u2 can be #3 at something and the world won't end.
Statistics are not useless, their facts which go a long way to explaining who is the more in demand artist in any given area, rather simply an opinion not based on statistics. I was only pointing out how strong Springsteen and U2 are in the New York City area.
While its true Billy Joel has not had an album out in 13 years, that in of itself is not necessarily an impediment to strong ticket sales. In fact, fans are assured that when they buy tickets, they are going to be getting a set list filled with all their favorite Billy Joel songs instead of having 1/3 to 1/2 half of the show being taken up by new material for a new album which may or may not be popular. In this way, a new album could potentially yield less ticket demand, especially if the album is not a popular multi-platinum seller.
Another thing to consider is that this is only the second time since the River A Dreams tour(1993-1994) that Billy Joel has done a multi-night stand in the NY City area without Elton John with him.
I would certainly bet that if U2 did not release an album for 13 years that they would still have incredibly strong attendance at their shows. Neither you nor I can postively say how many shows U2 could do in the New York area. But consider the fact that U2 has been the 2nd strongest touring artist in the world over the past 20 years and its not so hard to see that in such a hypothetical situation, that if there is anyone who could play NYC 12 times besides those from the area, in such a situation, it would be U2. Consider the Eagles have not released an album in nearly 30 years and while they might not be able to get up to 10 shows in NYC area, they could come close.
In any event, we can only compare whats happened recently regardless of who put an album out when. In regards to DUBLIN, consider that U2 played to 250,000 people at 3 shows last summer, each show was sold out in minutes. Consider that Ireland has a population about 1/3 of the New York City Metro area, and one can see that on a Per Capita basis, U2 is more popular in Dublin than either Springsteen or Joel is in New York City.
Billy Joel has never done 20 shows in the New York City area even when he had an album out. In fact most of his tours did under 10 shows in the area.
The fact is, in terms of ticket demand and the capacity to play shows, the Vertigo tour has been a more in demand ticket than the current Billy Joel tour has been in the NYC area, even though U2 tickets are slightly more expensive. Based on what I have seen in regards to ticket sales, I would say U2 is the more in demand artist although not by much. Springsteen is in league by himself in that market. The fact that Billy Joel is not the top draw in his hometown is not the end of the world either.
He did Vienna?! 
They are right before my spring break so if my parents let me miss school 
He is great 
