Dienstag, 13. Jul 2010, 7:37

OKAY. Epic, rambling post ahoy!

So, I saw Paul McCartney in concert Saturday night. HOLY. FUCKING. SHIT. Starting from the night before the show, I was so excited that I couldn't sleep. I would just randomly think, "I'm seeing Paul in less than __ hours" and squeal (and roll around in my bed and giggle and mumble his name into my pillow…). I had been waiting for this experience for the last three years of my life and it was finally happening! I'm very lucky too. My seat was originally in the balcony (granted, the lower balcony, but still), but I messaged my friend Ryan (another gigantic Beatles fan) to see if he was going and to see if he had any extra space for me to crash for the night. He wrote back saying that I could definitely sleep over and that he actually had an extra ticket because his friend backed out at the last minute… Right on the field. OH YEAH. We ended up sitting 50-100 feet away from the stage (I'm so bad with measurements/distances), so I really couldn't make out definitive features, but it was okay because there were giant TV screens.

When Paul walked out on stage, I screamed. I honest to God screamed with all my lungs. I thought my heart would stop. But an odd thing happened during the show. I would forget that this man has dominated my mind for over three years now, and just get caught up in what a fucking great show it was. I was just ROCKING the FUCK out. He is a fantastic performer. Not every musician is, but Paul McCartney IS. Boy, is he ever! He can rock out, he can connect with his audience, he's funny, he's at ease (even when things don't go as planned), he's a dork beyond dorks, he's touching… *exhales* Yeah, if you haven't noticed by now, this post is a goddamn love letter to the man. He was very funny. Near the beginning of the show, he said, "I smell something in the air… I don't think that's legal yet." Laughed my butt off, especially because the group of middle aged people had been toking the entire time. I would have been too, if I had had weed… and the balls to do it RIGHT there. (I bet it would have been even *more* amazing high.) Then at one point, he started playing with the audience, having us imitate noises he made. And he BARKED. Could've creamed myself right then and there. I am an avid listener of "Hey Bulldog", partly for that very reason. Rrrrrrg. SO hot. It is almost shameful how aroused that man makes me. I had thought that once I saw him in person, my raging boner for him would have diminished, even just a little bit. NOPE. Harder than EVER. Heh. But yeah. I actually did not cry during the show. I had been fully expecting to cry, I got extremely close several times, but I ended up not crying. Ryan cried though, during "Here Today". The closest I got to the tears falling was during "Here Today", "Blackbird", "Two of Us" (so happy he played that one!!!), "Let It Be" and "A Day in the Life/Give Peace a Chance" (surprised he played "Day in the Life", but it was soooo amazing). He also played "San Francisco Bay Blues", which gave me and probably every San Franciscan a large amount of pleasure. He also sang a couple of bars from one of my old favorites, "I Don't Care If the Sun Don't Shine". :D I actually talked to my mom before the show, and she said, "John's going to be there tonight." I had never wished I could see spirits so much before in my life as I did last night. I know he was there though, George too. They couldn't not have been. It was just… so amazingly touching. If John had been there at any time though, it would have been during "Two of Us" and "A Day in the Life/Give Peace a Chance". There was another song I was really thinking about, but I can't remember now. :/

Songs Paul played in no particular order:

-Two of Us
-Let It Be
-Blackbird
-Helter Skelter (surprised me that he played it!)
-Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da (apparently, the first time that song's been performed in SF, lol)
-I've Got a Feeling
-Something (I very nearly cried on this one too)
-The End (very last song, of course)
-All My Loving
-Lady Madonna
-Hey Jude (AMAZING)
-Back in the USSR (oh lord, I rocked out SO hard during this)
-Get Back
-Yesterday
-Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (reprise)
-The Long and Winding Road
-Paperback Writer
-Eleanor Rigby
-Day Tripper (An interesting choice, imo)
-I'm Looking Through You (Also an interesting choice, though one I'm very happy with. That's my most played song and one of my personal faves)
-A Day in the Life/Give Peace a Chance (see, what he did was instead of ending with the orgasmic crescendo at the last verse, he went into the chorus of "Give Peace a Chance")
-San Francisco Bay Blues
-Dance Tonight
-Jet
-Let Me Roll It
-My Love
-Here Today (TEARSTEARSTEARS)
-Mrs. Vandebilt
-Band on the Run
-Live and Let Die (CUE THE FIREWORKS AND PYROTECHNICS!)
-Band on the Run
-Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five (SO happy he played that one. My favorite Wings song)
-Let 'em In
-Sing the Changes (unfortunately, that was the only Fireman song I recognized. I'm terrible and haven't listened to the albums I have very often. In my defense, nearly every song on "Strawberries" is like, 8 minutes long)

Hahaha, damn, I remembered more than I thought! He played most of my favorite songs, though I wish he had played more from "Rubber Soul" and "Abbey Road", and definitely some more of my favorites from the "White Album". I would have died to hear some "Ram" too, along with some more of my favorites from his solo work and Wings ("Daytime Nightime Suffering", anyone?). But wow. Just WOW. He's been performing for over 50 years. He wrote some of this material almost as long ago. And he STILL kicks it. And… he still makes mistakes. As a musician, and hell, as a person, that comforts me. He's one of the world's best, he's the best-selling popular musician of all time… And he still makes mistakes! An instrument will be out of tune and he'll have to start over, he'll scramble words, he'll get the timing wrong… He's human! It just makes me love him so much more. And when he did those adorable geektastic dances, oh God, I just wanted to hug him so hard. I never wanted the night to end. But finally, after THREE encores (amazing), he told us, "Okay, we loved playing for you… But it's time to go." Audience: "No!!!" Paul: "You've got to go too! I know it's Saturday night, but you've got to go home sometime! Sleep? *pantomimes sleeping*" Audience: "Noooo!!!" Sorry, Paul, your audience loves you too much. I certainly do. <3

But yeah, the show finally ended and Ryan and I started to head back to his flat. I'm disappointed that we didn't stay and try to stalk Paul, but it would have been impossible anyway. When we were trying to catch a taxi though, a guy beside us pulls out his guitar and starts playing Beatles songs. The music geeks we are, Ryan and I sing along. We jam with these two guys on a street corner for TWO HOURS. Lordy lord! It was so much fun. I just… I felt so at home. I really did, it was like I had true comrades. They were older too, in their forties or fifties. We just… jammed. Random people would sometimes just come up and join us for a song or two. The Beatles are the great equalizer. At the show, there were people there of all ages. From the toddling elderly to the toddling children, it was fantastic. We were all just there to bask in the beauty of this music. And now I'm sad again that I didn't live in the '60s. Good job, Katie.

To conclude the evening, Ryan and I went back to his apartment, ordered pizza and smoked weed. It was very very strong weed and after only half a spliff, I had to lie down on the floor for a while. *facepalm* I don't know why, but joints always get me higher anyway. Then we went to sleep, woke up in the morning and listened to more Beatles. :)

I really want to see Paul again. I want to be at as many of his shows as physically/financially possible. He makes me happy. I haven't been that happy in a long time. I need to see him again.