Hello,
My second and almost certainly last time seeing the last creative Beatle left standing:would he hold up seven years later?I should never have even doubted him.
By the way,ever wondered what an entire city on the lash looked like?No...hmmm,just me then...but Glasgow seemed to be pretty much it yesterday,buoyed by beautiful sunshine and the certainty that they were going to have a mass singalong later that day.Win/win!
There was a doubt about how many tickets were sold for this show,what with the recession and Macca's top price of £95 including the always-justified booking fee,but it seemed pretty much full and there really was a knees-up atmosphere even on entering the stadium.
By the way Hampden,any danger of you abandoning the ridiculous 'gotta buy some vouchers before you exchange them for a beverage' system?Thought not.
The start to the show was a little underwhelming as the band strode out and promptly made no discernible noise at all.It was left to Macca to charm the bemused crowd for a minute or so before kicking-off with the low key "Venus and Mars":not something that I'd ever play at home to be fair,but he seems to like it.
It is my guess that the hapless tech is now swimming with the fishes given that his guv'nor doesn't suffer fools.
As I was lucky enough to be right on the rail I could hear some of the shouts between Macca and his lieutenants:it seemed that the crowd's relatively muted response was met with an answer of "...well,sod you:you can be quiet if you want but we're gonna play well regardless!".
They then launched into the ubersingalong of "Jet" and never looked back.How can you lose when your catalogue allows to follow the odd clunker with something like "Drive My Car"?It's almost unfair and almost too much to take in,especially when the man announces that the Epiphone that he is playing is the same one that he used on 'Rubber Soul' and 'Revolver'.High grade guitar porn,no doubt!
There was a little dig when he took his jacket off after two or three songs and said that that was it as far as costume changes went and for Madonna to eat her heart out.He is well aware of what he is worth in all senses:no false modesty here...this guy is nails.
Tell you what though-he still has a bloody remarkable rock'n'roll voice as I heard him sing when away from the mic...surprisingly loud yet raw.It was his 68th birthday the other day too.
His four bandmates have been with him for the last 7 years and more too but still don't seem complacent.Actually,if that happened I think they would be off the bus pronto,as the number of times that I saw Macca looking over at one of his two guitar players as they played a sequence and he looked quietly pleased,not smug,but I imagine he was tickled at how @#$%& tremendous those songs sounded.
The other thing is that his band all sing back-up vocals too which breaks my 'no singing drummers' rule but I wouldn't argue with Abe Laboriel Jr. as not only are his drumsticks like oars but he reminds me of the bond villain Odd Job.Repect.
So no,they didn't ring it in,no matter that this must have been the 60000th time playing these beauties.He must still get a buzz from people singing songs like 'Hey Jude' back at him one thousand times louder.The feeling you get when when you hear 'Let It Be' or 'Blackbird' is difficult to describe:they are part of you,so familiar are they.
There were clearly some emotional highpoints:bloody hell,when two of your friends are gone how could there not be?There was a beautiful tribute to George in the form of Macca starting off 'Something' on the ukelele that belonged to George before bringing in the rest of the band.Wow!His oft-told anecdote about Harrison being a real George Formby expert and member of Formby's fan club went down well too.
There had to be a mention for John of course and this was a little more reserved but because I was close I heard Macca say "...for you brother...".Amen.
As corny as it is,I love 'Mull Of Kintyre':words that probably have me sectioned but there...I've said it.How good was it with a drum and pipe band onstage giving it some?Try fantastic and then some.
I know none of this is ground-breaking stuff but frankly with a heritage act of his calibre,who cares?He was onstage without a break for 2 hours and 45 minutes which is Boss-like behaviour and it is obvious that he is a man with talent to burn.
On the swift walk back to hotel I didn't hear one dissenting voice amidst all the swear-words,hah-hah!Truly we got the night out we wanted.
Couple of clunkers for sure,but who has a back-catalogue like his?
1. Venus and Mars / Rockshow
2. Jet
3. All My Loving
4. Letting Go
5. Drive My Car
6. Highway
7. Let Me Roll It
8. The Long And Winding Road
9. Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five
10. Let ‘Em In
11. My Love
12. I've Just Seen A Face
13. And I Love Her
14. Blackbird
15. Here Today
16. Dance Tonight
17. Mrs Vandebilt
18. Eleanor Rigby
19. Something
20. Sing The Changes
21. Band On The Run
22. Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
23. Back In The USSR
24. I’ve Got A Feeling
25. Paperback Writer
26. A Day In The Life / Give Peace A Chance
27. Let It Be
28. Live And Let Die
29. Hey Jude
Encore
30. Day Tripper
31. Lady Madonna
32. Get Back
Second Encore
33. Yesterday
34. Mull Of Kintyre
35. Helter Skelter
36. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band / The End
and look bottom-right for your's truly!
Cheers,
Si.
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