When it was announced that Billy Joel was performing at the Carrier Dome for a record-breaking seventh time, radio personality and Billy Joel super fan Melissa Midgley was “floored.”

This will mark the 18th time Midgley will see the New York musician live, but she’s still on a quest to meet the musical legend.

“It would truly make my life,” Midgley said, “And that may sound pathetic, but because his music has touched me so profoundly throughout my life, to meet the person that wrote those words would be a huge moment.”

Every Sunday morning, Midgley hosts “Songs from the Attic,” a radio show dedicated to the life and music of Billy Joel, on WVOA 87.7. Her radio show, which is also streamed online, has listeners from London to Los Angeles, which she attributes to the universality of Joel’s music.

The Billy Joel super fan has a massive collection of magazines, vinyl records, newspaper clippings, programs and concert T-shirts that fill the second grade teacher’s home office. She said she was overjoyed when the concert was announced.

Midgley has seen all six Billy Joel shows at the Carrier Dome, and will be in attendance Friday night as the venue will honor the Piano Man by raising a No. 7 banner to the rafters. It will be a night when a nationally-known act returns to the Dome, a place that used to host large tours on a frequent basis. However in recent years, that hasn’t been the case.

Pete Sala, managing director of the Carrier Dome and newly named interim director of athletics, worked with AEG Live, the live-entertainment division of the Los Angeles-based AEG, for over a year to bring Billy Joel back to the Dome.

Sala, who has 33 years of service at the Dome under his belt, said groups like AEG and LiveNation are constantly asking him when the facility is free, but that many times the building is booked by the five sports teams that call the venue home. He said “all the stars need to lineup” in order to bring a big act to campus.

As the years have gone by and the music industry has changed, the Dome has also become a harder sell to promoters, Sala said.

One of the biggest deterrents for promoters is that the sound and light system cannot be hung from the roof, the Dome is considered a stadium stop just like an outdoor venue would be. As a result, the promoter has to hire a ground support system to outfit the Dome, Sala said.

In addition, Sala said there just aren’t as many groups on tour now, and that many groups are being pushed by their promoter’s venues.

“A lot of these groups are playing in what they call sheds, in these amphitheaters and a lot of them are run by the AEGs, the Livenations, these promoters, push these groups into venues that they control, so it is much more difficult for us to attract these acts,” Sala said.

Billy Joel is one of the biggest names the Dome has brought to campus in recent years, but during the 1980s, in what Pete Sala called “the time of concerts,” the venue was a regular stadium tour for many bands

In the 1980s, the Carrier Dome hosted both U2 and Pink Floyd within a six-day period. Both shows were sold out and each had about 40,000 people in attendance.

Sala said it was common for Syracuse to be part of an eastern coast loop that many groups traveled. Bands such as the Grateful Dead, The Rolling Stones and U2 would start their tours in New York City and travel on the throughway stopping in Syracuse and Buffalo, before heading out farther west towards Cleveland, Sala said.

He said every year the Dome tries to do more than the previous year, and that along with his staff, he is constantly looking for different events to offer to students and the local community.

“I have been fortunate enough to see the behind the scenes and to really understand what happens in the inner workings of the venue and the university,” Sala said. “It is obvious to me how important this building is to the rest of the campus.”

Jon Zella, development associate and curatorial assistant for the Onondaga Historical Association, added that the Carrier Dome plays a key role in the city of Syracuse. Zella said the Dome is one of the premiere music venues in Syracuse and in New York state due to its capacity.

He said Syracuse loves the university’s sports teams, but concerts like Billy Joel offer an opportunity for people that don’t connect with the university through athletics to engage with SU. Zella said it is a great event for different members of the community to feel a stronger connection with one of Syracuse’s biggest employers.

“When people gather around an artist like Billy Joel, it is kind of cool for the community to get together in one place,” Zella said. “This is an all-year-round place for people to come together and to watch great music.”

Published on March 19, 2015 at 12:01 am

Contact Jacob: jagedets@syr.edu