Friday, August 8, 2014

Paul McCartney at Energy Solutions Arena

I love Paul McCartney!  No I really, really love Paul McCartney!  When I was ten or eleven I bought a 45 record of McCartney's song "Coming Up" and I played it constantly.  I played it so much that my Dad finally took me to his closet where he kept all of his records and he handed me one.  It was Rubber Soul and thus began an obsession with the Beatles that continues to this day (I eventually stole borrowed all of his Beatles records).  I love all of the Beatles but Paul has always been my favorite.  I saw Paul in concert for the first time at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas during his Driving World Tour in 2002.  I can't even describe my emotions listening to all of the songs I grew up with played live!  It was literally a dream come true!  I was pretty much openly weeping during "Hey Jude."  I had the opportunity to see him again at Rio Tinto Stadium in 2010.  I was sitting next to a couple who were my parents' age on one side and a 13 year old girl on the other and we all knew the words to every single song.  Last night I had the opportunity to see Paul McCartney in concert again, this time at the ESA for his Out There World Tour.  The ticket was really expensive but I put it on my emergency credit card.  I considered it an emergency because I would literally die if I couldn't see him.  It was such an amazing show!  He played for almost three hours and included songs from the Beatles, Wings, and his latest album New.  He began with "Eight Days A Week," "All My Loving," "Listen to What the Man Said," "Let Me Roll It," and "Paperback Writer."  Then he moved to his piano and sang "My Valentine," which was written for his wife Nancy, "The Long and Winding Road," and "Maybe I'm Amazed," which was written for Linda.  He moved back to center stage and sang "I've Just Seen a Face," "We Can Work it Out," "Another Day," and "And I Love Her."  He moved to a rising platform at the front of the stage for a beautiful rendition of "Blackbird" and then sang "Here Today" as a tribute to John Lennon.  He sang a few from the new album including "New," "Queenie Eye," and "Everybody Out There."  Then he played a few more Beatles songs: "Lady Madonna," "All Together Now," "Lovely Rita," "Eleanor Rigby," and "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite."  He gave a lovely tribute to George Harrison by playing "Something" on a ukulele with some great photos of George on the screen.  I really loved that!  He continued with "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da," "Band on the Run," "Back in the U.S.S.R.," "Let it Be," and "Live and Let Die," which had some amazing pyrotechnics!  He finished his set with "Hey Jude," including some audience participation with the iconic chorus!  For the first encore he played "Day Tripper," "Hi, Hi, Hi," and "Get Back."  For his second encore he gave a beautiful rendition of "Yesterday," a rousing rendition of "Helter Skelter," and a touching rendition of "Golden Slumbers," "Carry that Weight," and "The End."  This set list includes quite a few songs I hadn't heard him play before. It was literally amazing and I didn't want it to end!  As much as I love watching Paul McCartney, I also really love his band.  He has had the same group of musicians for every concert I've been to and I particularly enjoy watching Rusty Anderson on lead guitar.  When he plays the solo on "Maybe I'm Amazed" I just about die!  What I love most about a Paul McCartney concert is that all of the songs sound fresh!  He is most definitely not just going through the motions and you get the sense that he loves these songs now as much as he did when he first played them!  I certainly love every song just as much as I did when I was a teenager!

Note:  The first time I saw Paul McCartney in Las Vegas, the crowd had to walk through the casinos to leave the arena.  We all spontaneously started singing "Na Na Na Na Na Na Na" as we walked and the people in the casinos applauded. I will never forget that moment!

3 comments:

  1. I loved when he played with the original instruments from The Beatles days. It was so cool when he held them up at the end of the song, they are as big a star as he is!

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