Paul McCartney - The US Tour 2005 23.11.2005, Glendale, AZ; "Glendale Arena" |
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McCartney amazes with Beatles, solo hits |
Larry
Rodgers
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Nov.
24, 2005
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Seeing rock icon Paul McCartney in concert is not quite the novelty it used to be, but it remains an undeniably moving experience. We"ve seen McCartney at this year"s Super Bowl and Live 8 benefit, and he visited Phoenix in 2002 on a world tour in which he played many of the same classic songs that he performed Wednesday night at Glendale Arena. But the sight of McCartney, still looking and sounding great at age 63 and most important, still appearing to enjoy himself as he sings such early Beatles hits as "Please Please Me" and "I"ll Get You," Wings standouts like "Band On the Run" and "Let Me Roll It" and newer solo tunes including "Fine Line" and "Jenny Wren," remains impressive to any music fan with even the slightest grasp of rock-and-roll history. "We came many miles to rock you tonight, and rock you we will," McCartney promised early in a 37-song performance that stretched nearly three hours, with no intermission. (Make all the jokes you want about aging rock stars, but most rising new bands in their 20s play concerts about half that long.)Backed by a top-flight four-piece band led by a longtime collaborator -- keyboard and synthesizer wizard Paul "Wix" Wickens -- McCartney delivered on that promise with a surgical precision that seemed to bring smiles to the faces of nearly everyone in the sold-out crowd of more than 17,000. As on his 2002, tour, McCartney has come to terms with the fact that most of his baby boomer-heavy audience wants a generous dose of Beatles fare, and two-thirds of Wednesday"s set was made up of just that. What made this outing even more rewarding were extended between-song stories about how various tunes were created. The early Beatles hit "Till There Was You," it turns out, was written as a romantic "smoochie song" that would get the Fab Four gigs in some of Liverpool"s more upscale clubs before they hit it big in 1964. "Eleanor Rigby" was developed when McCartney and the late George Harrison "used to sit around learning guitar" and listening to the music of Bach. Before the Beatles disbanded in 1970, they were itching to play in the Soviet Union, "just to play this song," McCartney said, before ripping through "Back in the U.S.S.R." (He finally got his wish, albeit without Harrison, the late John Lennon and Ringo Starr, when he played Moscow"s Red Square on his last tour.) Devotees in search of rarities were treated to a version of "the first record we ever made " before the Beatles," according to McCartney. "In Spite of All the Danger" was recorded by McCartney, Lennon and Harrison and two other musicians who have since faded into oblivion. The bluesy number bore the imprint of Elvis Presley but wasn"t too shabby for a bunch of English kids in their teens. Wearing a black jacket with scarlet lapels, a blue shirt, black trousers and two white wristbands that appeared to support the "One" campaign against world poverty, McCartney still maintained the boyish looks that drove millions of female fans wild in the "60s. He admits that he colors his hair, but we should all hope to look half this good in our "60s. Like his seemingly ageless contemporary, Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones (who play Glendale on Sunday), McCartney still clearly feeds off the adulation of fans who are reliving key moments of their youth at his shows. McCartney made frequent eye contact with concertgoers in the first 30 rows, winking or flashing a thumbs-up to particularly enthusiastic fans. He joked about how signs like one that said, "All We Need Is Paul" are appreciated but can sometimes be distracting as he"s trying to remember lyrics, and he bragged about "Good Day Sunshine" being used to wake up astronauts on a mission of the space shuttle Discovery. McCartney still hits 95 percent of the high notes -- and there were some very high ones in the Beatles" catalog. His ability to nail those notes and transport listeners back to the "60s with live renditions of "Penny Lane," "I Will," "Please Please Me" and "Magical Mystery Tour" remains stunning. If you"re waiting for McCartney to start sounding old and shrivel from the stage, it may be a while. McCartney showed the strains of an extended tour on the new "Jenny Wren," a sort of extension of the Beatles" "Blackbird," which he also performed. His voice occasionally cracked and faded on the new tune"s falsetto parts, as well as on some high notes during 1967"s "Fixing a Hole," but these are minor complaints. For the overwhelming majority of this concert, the good-natured McCartney -- who also received solid backing from guitarists Rusty Anderson and Brian May as well as drummer Abe Laborial -- did more than enough to make those who bought his rather pricey tickets feel that they had received their money"s worth. Set list: "Magical
Mystery Tour"
"Yesterday" Second encore: "Please
Please Me" http://www.azcentral.com/ent/music/articles/1124mccartney1124-CP.html |
Years gain on Sir Paul, but it matters not a bit
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By
Cathalena E. Burch
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11.25.2005
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After almost every song he sang Wednesday night, Paul McCartney did this little victory dance of sorts.He jabbed his guitar - or fist if he had been playing his baby grand piano - in the air, then did this little twisty move that involved his hips and legs. Or he would twist a few steps in either direction. He mixed it up a bit; twist, jab, jog a few steps in place.
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