Elvis at Paul McCartney concert, Vancouver, April 19

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sweetest punch
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Elvis at Paul McCartney concert, Vancouver, April 19

Post by sweetest punch »

http://exclaim.ca/music/article/paul_mc ... c_april_19

Paul McCartney, Rogers Area, Vancouver BC, April 19

When Paul McCartney performed in Vancouver in late 2012, it was his first show in the city since his days as a Beatle, and most local concertgoers probably assumed that they would never get to see him again. But, lo and behold, there he was just three and a half years later, performing on the first of back-to-back nights at Rogers Arena.

As the opening DJ spun a mashed up mix of McCartney material, folks near the front swarmed on Elvis Costello, who happened to be sitting near the front and graciously posed for photos with anyone who asked. Once the lights went down, though, all eyes were on the stage, as Sir Paul sauntered out clutching his signature Höfner bass and launching into the sprightly "A Hard Day's Night."

The stage was framed on both sides by two towering LED screens, with additional screens making up the backdrop. Throughout the night, they lit up with psychedelic animations, real-time footage of the performers, and even shots of the Fab Four from their '60s heyday. Despite the snazzy setup, it was a relatively straightforward rock show without many unnecessary bells or whistles.

McCartney was flanked by his longtime band of four backing players, and they tore into a wide-ranging selection of material that spanned from the songwriter's pre-Beatles days with the Quarrymen all the way up to selections from 2013's New. They even did a rendition of McCartney's recent collaboration with Rihanna and Kanye West, "FourFiveSeconds." Naturally, it was the Beatles songs that got the most adoring reaction from the predominantly grey-haired crowd, as McCartney and company played classic hits like "Let It Be" and "Hey Jude" alongside comparatively deep cuts like "Birthday" and "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!" The 73-year-old singer's voice was noticeably craggy and shaky in spots, but he didn't shy away from the high notes on a thrilling version of "Maybe I'm Amazed."

For the most part, the arrangements were extremely faithful to the originals, as the keyboard player used faux-orchestral patches to recreate the strings of "Yesterday" and "Eleanor Rigby." On the other hand, Macca put an intriguing acoustic spin on "You Won't See Me," took up a ukulele for a luau-flavoured rendition of "Something," and Diana Krall graced the stage to guest on piano for "My Valentine."

Other than those curveballs, the night was low on surprises — particularly for those who were at McCartney's 2012 gig. He recycled many of the same jokes and anecdotes, "Live and Let Die" once again featured the show's lone pyrotechnics display, and he again brought out the Delta Police Pipe Band for "Mull of Kintyre."

The performance didn't feel stale, though, thanks to McCartney's impish, youthful energy. He shamelessly hammed for the crowd between every song, waving and performing goofy dances. During the encore, he bantered with a family who were ushered onto the stage wearing elaborate Sgt. Pepper's outfits, and he even agreed to sign their skin (presumably for future tattooing). Most of all, it was a thrill to be in the presence of the world's most legendary living songwriter — he was in the Beatles for fuck's sake!
Since you put me down, it seems i've been very gloomy. You may laugh but pretty girls look right through me.
sweetest punch
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Re: Elvis at Paul McCartney concert, Vancouver, April 19

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http://www.vancitybuzz.com/2016/04/conc ... ey-photos/

Concert Review: There's "Something" about Paul McCartney (PHOTOS)

He’s an Oscar winner, a billionaire, and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II, but to scores of Vancouver Beatles fans, Sir Paul McCartney will always be known as “the cute one”. Macca played the first of two sold-out concerts at Rogers Arena Tuesday night, delighting fans young and old with songs and stories from his six decade-long career.

McCartney took the stage just before 8:30 p.m. and told the crowd that he planned to “have a good time here tonight”. Sir Paul immediately made good on his promise, starting the show with a rocking version “A Hard Day’s Night” that had never been performed solo prior to this tour.

And from there, McCartney had us in the palm of his 73 year-old hand for the rest of the night. The rocker played with the intensity of a man half his age and didn’t leave the stage once, not even for a costume change. About six songs in to his three hour performance, McCartney stripped off his jacket and said “that’s the one and only wardrobe change for the evening”.

Sir Paul alternated between eras through out the night and every base was pretty much covered. His solo work was represented by a few tracks from New, the 2013 album he recorded at London’s Abbey Road Studios. Also new was “FourFiveSeconds”, McCartney’s superstar collaboration with Rihanna and Kanye West. But best of all was a stunning version of “Maybe I’m Amazed” that Paul sang as a tribute to his late wife Linda.

McCartney dedicated “1985” to “the Wings fans!” while making the band’s famous “W” signal with his hands, and the singer was elated when the crowd flashed the signal back. The Wings fans were also treated to “Band On The Run” and an insane version of “Live and Let Die” that featured fireworks and pyrotechnics. The newly-reunited Guns N’ Roses performed “Live and Let Die” at Coachella last weekend but Axl’s version doesn’t hold a candle to Paul’s (but to be fair, it’s hard to hold a candle in the cold November Rain).

And then there the were the Beatles songs.

Everyone remembers where they were the first time they heard a Beatles song. For some, it was in 1964 when the band made their American television debut on the Ed Sullivan Show but for others, it was last night at Rogers Arena. I saw many tiny Beatles fans being carried into the venue by their parents and grandparents, and even saw one little tyke fall asleep while McCartney sang a somber version of “Blackbird”.

“Hey Jude”, “Lady Madonna”, and “Yesterday” all made the setlist, and McCartney’s beautiful rendition of “Let It Be” shook the arena to its core.

And with great Beatles songs come great Beatles stories, and McCartney nicely filled the gaps between songs with hilarious anecdotes. After playing a few chords of Jimi Hendrix’s “Foxy Lady”, McCartney told us about meeting the guitar player in London “before he broke it big”.

“We had just released, on a Friday, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, and two days later he opened his show with it,” said Paul. According to Paul, Hendrix’s guitar went “wildly out of tune” during the performance and he began searching the crowd for help. “He’s standing there and he doesn’t know what to do, and he says ‘is Eric out there?’ He was looking for Eric Clapton! And Eric’s in the audience but he’s having none of it. So Jimi looks at me and says ‘will you come up here and tune this, man?'”

After “Back In The U.S.S.R.”, McCartney told us that he’d “always wanted to go to the U.S.S.R., if for nothing else just to sing that song to them”. He explained that the Beatles were the first rock & roll band to ever play Red Square and that he’d met Russia’s Defense Minister backstage after the show.

“He comes up to me and says ‘Paul. First record I ever bought was “Love Me Do”‘. And this other guy comes up and says ‘we learned to speak English from Beatles records.’ And he looks me right in the eye and says ‘Hello. Goodbye.'”

McCartney took several moments during the show to acknowledge fallen comrades John Lennon and George Harrison. Paul said that he wrote “Here Today” after the death of his “dear friend John” and called the song a “conversation we didn’t get to have”. Then, after a lovely version of “Something”, McCartney said that he and George would often gather at George’s house to play the song together on dueling ukuleles.

Legendary Beatles producer George Martin got a shout out during “Love Me Do”. The prolific hitmaker passed away in March and Paul remembered him as a “lovely guy” and a “great man to work with”.

A couple of hometown heroes made surprise visits during McCartney’s set. The Delta Police Pipe Band joined the singer on stage for “Mull of Kintyre”, and Diana Krall teamed up with McCartney for “My Valentine”. He introduced the jazz legend as “a hometown girl who will play piano for us”, and Krall’s husband Elvis Costello was spotted in the audience jamming to their sweet duet.

Sir Paul wrapped up the evening with a one-two punch of “Carry That Weight” and “The End”, and exited stage left to a massive, ear-splitting round of cheers. It’s a testament to McCartney’s longevity and phenomenal talent that, despite not having a hit record in years, he can elicit louder screams from a Vancouver audience than Justin Bieber did in the same venue in March.
Since you put me down, it seems i've been very gloomy. You may laugh but pretty girls look right through me.
Hawksmoor
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Re: Elvis at Paul McCartney concert, Vancouver, April 19

Post by Hawksmoor »

sweetest punch wrote:It’s a testament to McCartney’s longevity and phenomenal talent that, despite not having a hit record in years, he can elicit louder screams from a Vancouver audience than Justin Bieber did in the same venue in March.
Agree with everything else in the review, and with the general tone of it, but the 'not having a hit record in years' is a bit harsh. In the last decade he's had four UK/US Top Ten LPs, three of which were Top Five (in the UK and the US). OK, he hasn't had a hit single in years (probably decades), but then neither have Bruce Springsteen, The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, U2, Paul Simon, Neil Young, Madonna... The real big-hitters just don't bother with the singles chart any more, it's more-or-less irrelevant.
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Man out of Time
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Re: Elvis at Paul McCartney concert, Madrid, June 2, 2016

Post by Man out of Time »

When Elvis played Madrid on 5 June, he mentioned that earlier in the week he had been at Paul McCartney's concert at the Estadio Vicente Calderón in Madrid. Setlist FM has a setlist for that show here:

http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/paul-mcca ... edcec.html

No McCartney/MacManus songs included. Elvis may have collaborated with Paul on Flowers In the Dirt and some of his own songs, but is clearly still a fan too.

MOOT
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