McCartney Live?

I attended the 7/17 show at Citi Field, Queens, NY. Paul McCartney returned (almost) to the spot of the Beatles triumphant and historic 1965 Shea Stadium concert in New York City. I say "almost" because Shea Stadium has been torn down and last night's show was at the brand new Citi Field ballpark, adjacent to the site of the old Shea.

It was my 1st visit to this new facility and it really is beautiful and a lot of fun. This concert was billed as the first-ever concert at the new stadium. That really doesn't mean a whole lot, as concerts in baseball parks aren't exactly a common occurence (football stadiums are usually used), but it was nice that Sir Paul got to "break in" the new stadium, so to speak. He certainly deserved to, what with the historic 1965 concert at Shea.

Highlights (YMMV): Jet, Band On The Run, I'm Down, The Long And Winding Road, My Love, I've Got A Feeling, A Day In The Life, Let It Be, Live And Let Die, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band(reprise)/The End

Overall, a most enjoyable concert. I've never been much of a fan of Paul's post-Wings work, though of course there is the the good song here and there. At times it could be a bit jarring to go from the newer stuff to the ol' audience favorites. But his band was top-notch, besides himself there were two guitarists, a keyboardist, and drummer. That's it, and it was conducive to rockin' out in a tight way. Paul was in good voice, he has great crowd-pleasing charm, and he still has the capability of blowin' the roof of the joint. (Well, there was no roof in this instance!)

Good audience as well.

I saw McCartney 15 years ago and he opened the show with "Drive My Car." At the Citi Field show, he opened the show with "Drive My Car" and I said to myself, uh oh. Is this going to be an identical show? And yes, quite a few songs were repeated, songs that will probably be part of every McCartney show like "Live And Let Die." But there were enough differences in the setlist to make it interesting. And seeing "Let It Be" twice 15 years apart? No problem with me. And I'm sure there were many in the crowd who had never seen a Beatle in concert before. It was a worthy concert!

Why is it bothersome that some of us actually enjoy hearing those great old songs? And that younger people get a chance to hear them live before the artist retires or dies?

Going into the show I felt that if I never heard "Hey Jude" again by Paul or anybody else, I probably wouldn't even notice, as I think it is perhaps the most overrated Beatles song of all. Of course he sang it. And you know what? I enjoyed it.

I saw the Rolling Stones for the first time a few years ago. Nobody was there for their new stuff, either. But I am very glad I got a chance to see them live. Great show!

I think it inevitable that rock stars lose some creativity as they get older. They aren't young & hungry anymore.

Eventually, the younger generation of today will end up seeing their favorite bands of today 30 years from now, and will be taken to task by someone telling them that they are just going for nostalgia, and ignoring the new music.