McCartney Live?

"I think it (Hey Jude) is perhaps the most overrated Beatles song of all."

Hey Jude is OK, but I'm hoping the "Na Na Na Na Na Na Na's" are kept short to save time for some other stuff.

I was just checking out the set list for some of his concerts to date. Should be a fantastic concert.

I'm psyched to hear Mrs. Vanderbilt live with Paul on bass.

My gut feel is that he would not tour anymore if he was not able to meet peoples high expectations. Everybody I talk to indicates he does just that.

I am not a fan of concerts in large outdoor stadiums generally. Haven't been to one like this in 30 years I would say after a bad experience at an outdoor Stones concert back then with over 100000 people in attendance.

But I suspect I"ll be happy I did it this time.

I know sound quality in M&T Bank Stadium (Baltimore Ravens home field) is actually very good at football games. I'm optimistic that FedEx field will be similar for this event.

Yes, I think that clip is on the Beatles Anthology DVD set somewhere. I will likely break that out again for the first time in awhile after tomorrow.

I'll probably be "NA NA NA"ing along with everybody else there tomorrow.

"I see him as a has-been and a hack"

Definitely not a "hack" as I understand it.

Has been?

How many rock era music figures will be well known 100 years or so from now, like Bach, Beethoven or Mozart today?

I'd wager Paul McCartney will be one.

Chashmal,

I understand your point.

Personally I lost interest in his new stuff in the early 1980s for the most part. He has had lots of good output as a solo artist more in the pop rather than rock vein through post 1970. I suspect he is also still an awesome bass player worth listening to just for that to boot.

McCartney was always antipolitical, the anti-John Lennon even in the Beatles. Comparisons to Dylan and others are not really relevant. He is what he is. He likes to write songs that make people feel good, not that necessarily make them think. Others do plenty of that. As such I believe he remains relevant, if no longer particularly innovative, to many.

His legacy will be cemented in that he was a key part of a cultural revolution of sort and has produced many songs that just simply make people happy as a byproduct.

Ever hear the 'Liverpool Oratorio'.

Nope. Passed on that one.

I think McCartney is the type who composed best with a collaborator.

Lennon is his best known collaborator but he did well with Denny Laine and Linda McCartney as well when motivated.

The Beatles were a tough act to follow.

Well, the McCartney concert is in the books.

I'll post more shortly.

Suffice it for now to say he did not play "Liverpool Oratorio".......

The concert was quite fabulous.

McCartney and his band played for almost 3 hours straight.

One acquaintance who has seen him 8-9 times over the years said this was the best.

The focus was largely on his more popular Beatles songs, and the more rocking portion of his Beatles and solo output including at least 4 songs from "Band On the Run". He also paid tribute to John and George playing several of their signature tunes.

I hope I look as good as him at 67.

Did I mention his band rocked? They did with the best of them.

And his vocals were still quite good to perfect even at times.

The sound at the event was fantastic/perfect. We did manage to score seats in the first row center, 2 sections back, truly in the "sweet spot". It was sweet indeed!

The crowd was of all ages. There were kids hugging parents and vice versa during Hey Jude. I did not mind all the Na Na Na'ing going on at all...it was cool!

HE ended the second encore set and closed things out with the Sgt. Pepper closing version segued into "The End".

"And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make" were the last words said.

Truly a fantastic event. That coming from a Ravens and Eagles fan sitting in the middle of the Redskins home, FedEx field yet........

Set List (unconfirmed):

Drive My Car

Jet

Only Mama Knows

Flaming Pie

Got To Get You Into My Life

Let Me Roll It

Highway

Long and Winding Road

My Love

Blackbird

Here Today

Dance Tonight

Calico Skies

Michelle

Mrs. Vanderbilt

Eleanor Rigby

Sing The Changes

Band On The Run

Back In The USSR

I’m Down

Something

I’ve Got A Feeling

Paperback Writer

A Day In The Life/Give Peace A Chance

Let It Be

Live And Let Die

Hey Jude



Day Tripper

Lady Madonna

I Saw Her Standing There



Yesterday

Helter Skelter

Get Back

Sgt. Pepper/The End

On the down side, traffic was absolutely horrendous getting in and out of FedEx Field and the concession providers appeared to be totally unprepared. The stands were out of food save bagged peanuts before McCartney even took the stage. No paper towels in the mens room and another reported no running water in the rest room they were in. These aspects of the event were a downright disaster. Never have encountered anything like this at M&K Bank Stadium for Ravens games there.

Paul seems comfortable these days with his role as ambassador of the Beatles legacy.

I think I read recently that his cumulative #1 record sales both with and post Beatles establishes him (not Michael Jackson) as the most popular recording act of all time.

Isn't that enough? What else could anybody ask of the man?

In the 70's, Paul was determined to make his own name as a successful pop/rock artist post-Beatles. He did not embrace his Beatles musical legacy in those days as he seems comfortable in doing now.

Honestly, if Paul chose to perform "Silly Love Songs" or "Let 'em In" or even "Goodnight Tonight" at the concert
I would not have cared. Tunes like those are part of what makes McCartney McCartney and the talent for writing catchy tunes that went into creating those also helped make the Beatles as successful as they were.

I need to give "Liverpool Oratorio" a spin someday just to hear what McCartney doing classical sounds like. I'm pretty certain its nothing like Mahler, say.

Chash,

I cannot argue with your description of an artist.

I am also a big Dylan fan and greatly appreciate what he has accomplished artistically over the last 10 years in particular.

But I do not see much of a practical difference between them as people.

Dylan continues to do what he has always done well well and so does Sir Paul.

To me that's just the way it should be at their ages. I would not compare either against the other and appreciate either less as a result though.