Monday, August 1, 2011

Sir Paul

“Are you sure you don’t want to take somebody else?”


“Are you really going to pass up an opportunity to see a Beatle!?”

Absolutely not. Especially when you put it that way! My thinking was that someone like a Beatles fanatic, or one of our parents should rightfully go over little ‘ol me, but I quickly realized what a unique opportunity* it is (I mean, what other band has members so distinctive that you would actually call them A fillinbandnamehere?!), and one that my boyfriend wanted to share with me.

The man in question is, of course, Sir Paul McCartney. Last night Tankboy brought me as his +1 to see his “On The Run” tour at Wrigley Field. You might expect a performance from something or someone so legendary to be uber professional and stuffy, but then you have to remember this is the guy who wrote songs like “Helter Skelter” and was part of a very small club who defined rock as we know it. Of course still wildly pro, Sir Paul gave a rather informal performance--interacting with the crowd, making jokes, telling anecdotes (from his seemingly endless catalog) and just plain goofing off and dancing between songs.

Besides being nearly 3 hours of hit after hit after hit after sing-a-long hit, the most memorable moment of the night by far was “Live and Let Die.” I sure would like to have seen the look on my face through this and a couple of other songs! As Tankboy said, there was fire everywhere--puffs of flames and explosions on the stage, fireworks behind the stage (to get an idea of how close we were, I could feel the heat on my face--but at 23 rows back, that gives you an idea of how much fire there actually was!); it was pretty damn cool.

Thanks again to my lovely boyfriend for bringing me! It was such a contrast from the night before, when we were at a friend’s place for a small, intimate outdoor house concert from singer/songwriter Megan Burtt--not to undercut either! Both are incredibly unique experiences, from one end of the spectrum to the other. I get to experience some pretty amazing things, and I feel lucky for every one of them!

*So unique, that over several conversations on the subject of taking kids to see Sir Paul, I concluded that if I had one, and my partner had two tickets, without blinking I’d say, “take the kid.” Having seen a Beatle will be a much rarer and coveted experience as time presses on.

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