We met another friend and headed into the stadium where I immediately bumped into my old buddy and bandmate Mathias Wolfsohn. He had an app that helped us navigate quickly to the floor where our seats ended up being really close to each other.
There was one pickled guy at the end of our row and then Mat just across the aisle. I asked the guy in the yellow baseball hat if he wouldn't mind switching with my friend so we could all be together ( he was by himself over there). I pointed out that the view would be better over there because it was on the edge of the aisle on the next row and had an unobstructed view of the stage. The guy chose to tweak out on me, saying "Fuck you! Why don't you go sit over there?" He missed the point completely. I said "Don't worry about it.", but he couldn't let it go and tried to make a mountain out of a molehill. I had to just ignore him and let it fizzle. By the end of the show after much dancing and revelry, he realized I was a real Beatle-head and was grinning at me with approval. By then we had squeezed Mat in when the antagonist went to the bathroom. He was too blissed out with Beatlemania to notice or care when he returned.
Paul looked extremely comfortable on stage. He didn't seem to be in a hurry and was soaking-in the audience between songs. His tailored suit was impeccable, with buttons sewn on the inside to avoid scratching his vintage Hofner bass and psychedelic painted Les Paul ( which he pulled off a mean solo on ). He moved around from Piano on songs like the standout "Long and Winding Road", to guitar on Wings' "Let me Roll It -Foxy Lady Jam", to Ukelele for "Something" as a tribute to George Harrison. As images of the late Beatle- known for his spirituality, graced the screen, I couldn't help but well up with tears.
During "Live and Let Die" a barrage of explosions, flame throwers, fireworks, flashing lights and videos of explosions rocked the space with fierce intensity. Meanwhile, the stage cameras flashed quickly from player to player adding to the intense climax. At the end, guitarist/bassist Brian Ray held his guitar aloft above his head as it rang with feedback. The camera then cut to Paul who was covering his ears and grimacing from the sheer volume of the unbridled screech. He mouthed the word "Too Loud! Too Loud!" and left us wondering whether it was a feigned apology to the old timers or an actual screw up by the sound guys or pyro crew. With in-ear monitors, feedback can really nail you.
I heard them doing the medley from the second side of Abbey Road as we finally exited the building. What torture! Having to leave during one of my favourite songs was a taste of the bitter pill called responsibility. However, I was really glad that someone so young could get to see a Beatle as her first concert and we had seen most of the show. As we descended the steps to the street I could here the heart-wrenching lyrics "...Once there was a way... to get back home..." and I could see a panhandler struggling along in the cold just ahead. Hearing those lyrics with this homeless person in front of me as I'm heading home from an expensive night of music hit my heart strings and I knew I had to give him some money. That image couldn't have been more bluesy in my mind. Paul McCartney had opened my heart and put me in a compassionate mood. We beat a massive cluster/rush according to Mat who herded out with the tired masses for about half an hour. His text read "no Bruce". I drove home listening to early Beatles recordings, inspired and grateful.
1) "Magical Mystery Tour"
2) "Junior's Farm"
3) "All My Loving"
4) "Jet"
5) "Drive My Car"
6) "Sing the Changes"
7) "The Night Before"
8) "Let Me Roll It" (with snippet of "Foxy Lady")
9) "Paperback Writer"
10) "The Long and Winding Road"
11) "Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five"
12) "My Valentine"
13) "Maybe I'm Amazed"
14) "I've Just Seen a Face"
15) "And I Love Her"
16) "Blackbird"
17) "Here Today"
18) "Dance Tonight"
19) "Mrs. Vandebilt"
20) "Eleanor Rigby"
21) "Something"
22) "Band on the Run"
23) "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da"
24) "Back in the U.S.S.R."
25) "I've Got a Feeling"
26) "A Day in the Life" (with snippet of "Give Peace a Chance")
27) "Let It Be"
28) "Live and Let Die"
29) "Hey Jude"
Encore:
30) "Lady Madonna"
31) "Day Tripper"
32) "Get Back"
Encore 2:
33) "Yesterday"
34) "Mull of Kintyre" (with the Delta Police Pipe Band)
35) "Helter Skelter"
36) "Golden Slumbers"
37) "Carry That Weight"
38) "The End"
Thanks to Steve Newton at Georgia Straight's Blog for the Set List.