Leading up to the concert on Saturday, I was sure there would be some kind of cancellation. Sickness, broken hip bone, some bad veggies...something.
Paul McCartney put on a sold-out show on Saturday, August 14th at the Whatever name it is now Center in downtown Philly. In a set full of Beatles, Wings, and solo stuff, McCartney catered to every kind of fan. There were some senior citizens, no doubt. Some families, some kids for sure. Even some trust fund guidos, who managed to swine their way down for an unbelievable night of music, though they'd probably never realize it.
After an opening set of Wings, he went into some more bluesy territory, much to the dismay of the audience, but not to me. In fact, many of his Solo work was played to perfection while some Beatles stuff was a little spotty ("Got to Get You Into My Life" and "Paperback Writer" come to mind).
The set was 41 songs deep, and McCartney was out there for every second of the three hour plus marathon. In between songs, Sir Paul was chatty, telling some great stories and giving heartfelt tributes to John Lennon and George Harrison (although all the backstage pyrotechnics were unnecessary for his rendition of "Here Today" and "Something", as the performances spoke for themselves.) All night McCartney belted out the highs and the lows, moving from the Hofner Bass to guitar, acoustic guitar, piano, ukulele and round and round again in the process. I couldn't believe his energy displayed all night. If he was tired or fatigued all night there was no way anyone could tell. His band has been on what seems like an ongoing World Tour for awhile now so a little fatigue or inconsistency would be expected. I found myself thinking, "shit, this guy never gets tired of playing the same songs. He enjoys every second of it."
So did everyone else.
Towards the end of the show he invited a girl who was holding a sign in the front rows to come on stage. Her sign read that if he were to autograph her arm, she would have it tattooed. McCartney said he gets that all the time, so he decided to give this woman her wish. When she got to stage however, she changed her mind and wanted her lower back signed instead. "Not your butt, right?" McCartney joked. He soon got on knees and signed this woman's back on the stage, drawing a huge roar from the audience. Speaking of roar, I don't think I've been to a louder show.
It was a night I'll never forget. It couldn't be any more perfect.
Best part: After a strong rendition of "Let Me Roll It", McCartney playing on a paisley colored Strat breaks into a heavily distorted version of "Foxy Lady". Man, he fucking killed it on this solo. It was tremendous. After the song ended, he told a great story about how three days after the release of Sgt. Peppers, Paul attended a show that Jimi Hendrix put on in England, just as he was starting to hit it big. The opening song of the show was a cover of Sgt. Peppers, only three days since it was released. After whamming on the tremolo bar for ten minutes or so, McCartney explained that Jimi's guitar had gone out of tune. To this, Jimi asked the crowd "Is Eric here?", referring to Eric Clapton who was sitting near Paul. Jimi then asked "Eric, do you think you can tune my guitar?". Clapton was bashful, and hid his face and shook his head.
In Hendrix's biography there is a continuation to the story. After the show, Hendrix went up to McCartney's flat and he was throwing a party. When Paul answered the door, Hendrix was worried that McCartney would be pissed he covered the song so soon. Instead, McCartney handed him a huge spliff, and told him "that was fucking great man."
To get to see this show, with my lovely fiancee, I am truly a lucky man. Damn the person who thinks its cliche to like The Beatles. Honestly, I became a better person the moment I started listening to the Beatles. Music today comes and goes, changes and evolves. But no matter what, this music will always live on.
A lot of the music from that era (60's/70's) was "brilliant", and the artists that wrote and performed it were/are geniuses.
ReplyDeleteWhile Paul McCartney isn't my favorite Beatle, he is a great bass player and one of the most talented and influential artists of the 20th century!
Glad you and Britt liked the show! See ya soon....Dad.
I am glad you got to see him live before he gets too old to play or passes on. No thanks to me, you were exposed to GOOD classic rock music when you were younger. I am going to email your blog to Uncle Jose. He would enjoy it since he is a big beatles fan and had a chance to see Wings back in the day.
ReplyDelete...mom
Between '63 & '70 the Beatles put out an album (yeah I'm always going to call them that) each year, so it was easy to place oneself in history.It would seem that,having seen Sir Paul with your "Honey Pie",you'll be able to do the same.Under my high school yearbook picture,along with the gibberish,was my favorite song at the time"And I Love Her".I saw Paul McCarney and Wings in'76 and he was outstanding(awesome wasn't used then).He is still a driving force in music.Who will "Carry That Weight" for your generation in 40 plus years to come? It doesn't look good!!...Uncle Jose
ReplyDeleteNo one will "Carry the Weight"...if music today was HALF as good as it was then, I may even tolerate to listen to it on the radio (as long as there was nothing else on but bad "Six Flags" commercials or Glenn Beck). Unfortunately, there will never be a musical revolution quite like what the US/UK went through in the 60's and 70's...and that can be argued with Film as well. I'm just glad that I was fortunate enough to see him and I will always have my Beatles story to tell.
ReplyDeleteNB I love your enthusiasm. My taste in music is very limited.
ReplyDeleteI was also at that Wings concert in '76. But unfortunately, I was too distracted with people standing on the chairs in front of me and blocking my view.
The George Gershwin award presented to Paul McCartney at the White House, where they played many of his songs, gave me a better appreciation of his music and the Beatles.
My allegiance, however, is with the Rolling Stones...you have to attend one of their concerts!!!
Aunt Mini
I share your love for th