Paul McCartney: consummate showman. Last night he performed for about three hours. His voice was in great form, the band was stellar, he looked fit and handsome in an appropriately Dodger-blue suit, and played mostly songs I loved. He was hilarious, he was a ham (turning his back to the audience during “And I Love Her” and shaking his butt, while guitarist Rusty Anderson grinned and rolled his eyes), he was touching (performing “Something” on a ukulele and then breaking into the rock version of it, dedicating it to George, and also dedicating “Here Today” to John and “Maybe I’m Amazed” to Linda); my husband pointed out that whenever he picked up the electric guitar, he looked as excited as a 13-year-old kid playing one for the first time, eager to rock out, as he did on a little bit of Hendrix’s “Foxy Lady.” He also did the unexpected: “All Together Now” was such a treat, as was “Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite” and “Lovely Rita.” I also thought it was incredibly cool that he did “Yesterday” followed immediately by “Helter Skelter” (no band has ever been as eclectic as The Beatles!). I also loved the graphics and photos displayed behind him as well, especially the Yellow Submarine images for “Eleanor Rigby,” the cute little googly-eyed creatures for “All Together Now,” and the photo of bearded, rustic Paul with his kids for “Maybe I’m Amazed.” The man is 72 and has MORE energy than ANYONE had in the stadium; I’m convinced of it! And though Dodger Stadium isn’t really comfortably set up for a rock concert in the way some other L.A. venues are (really nowhere to sit and eat and relax pre-show, and very congested parking), it was still such an historic event to see him play at Dodger Stadium – and since I lived in Echo Park for so many years, I felt proud. Hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did!
That said, I’m glad I took a vacation day today, because I am wiped out! Sir Paul, how do you do it?
