Paul In Concert: 10 April 2002
United Center, Chicago, IL
Written in April 2002
Paul McCartney...oh, what can I say about him? I can say this: I had been waiting nearly 12 years, half my lifetime, for him to perform in Chicago again (the last time was 1990). And then, at LAST, at last, it happened this year--I was going to see Paul in person for the first time in my life! My friend Kathy, through the magic of DSL, had acquired two tickets to Paul's April 10th concert in Chicago (for $250 apiece!) when they had gone on sale weeks earlier. We had wonderful seats--on the main floor, not on the floor per se, but on the sides, and right on an aisle.
Not from Chicago--from Oakland, April 1st... but it's a cute pic.
(Yahoo News Photos)
I was wound up most of the day before I was even done at work for the day. Even at 7am, all the radio stations were buzzing with the news that Paul was in town for two days. I had to shush the preschoolers at work during snacktime so my assistant and I could her WXRT's interview with Paul on the radio around 10am that morning, which was quite charming. I was ready to roll by the time we left my house at 6:45 to drive into the city.
We got to the United Center around 7:15pm the night of the show. A long line had already formed outside Gates 2 and 3, mostly made up of people older than me, but a good handful of people my age were in the masses as well. I don't think the doors actually opened until nearly 8pm due to problems with the video screens inside the Center, but at least we had wonderful spring weather all around us. (I still keep saying that Paul brought springtime with him--that was honestly the first nice, warm day of the year).
My $250 piece of paper that helped me spend a Wednesday evening in heaven.
After getting past the metal detectors and security checks, we found our seats, which were even closer to the stage than I had originally thought. Those aisle seats made all the difference--from where I was sitting, I had a perfect view of the stage with nothing blocking me at all. A big curtain was across the stage, and there were only a few large video screens up as well. Kathy and I thumbed through our programs ($30 at the door--my eyes nearly bugged out of my head when the guy selling them told me the price) and waited...and waited...and 8 o'clock passed...then 8:15...then 8:30. People really started getting antsy once the Center was three-fourths full.
Around 8:40, the opening act finally started, consisting of all sorts of performers costumed in clothes from throughout the ages and from various cultures. They walked through the audience, slowly making their way to the stage (during this time, some of Paul's Fireman music was playing). Our commentary on the entire opening act escapade was that it resembled "The Nutcracker on acid".
The opening act dancers onstage.
(Chicago Tribune photo)
Finally, the main video screen on the stage lit up with a silhouette of Paul's Hofner bass, and then Paul's own shadow--and that was the point where the audience went mad! The video screen rose up, and out stepped Paul from backstage, breaking straight into "Hello Goodbye"-- one of the many songs he had never performed before a live audience until the Driving USA tour.
Paul looked great--I still can't get over the fact that he will turn 60 this year. He was so full of pep, and he still knows how to work the audience into a frenzy, still a flirt! He also sounded wonderful the entire show, hitting all those high notes without straining a bit. Paul's backup band, having the daunting task of being onstage with one of the world's most prolific songmen, was amazing. Paul 'Wix' Wickens was back again for his third round of keyboarding duties on tour with McCartney, and the guitarists Rusty Anderson and Brian Ray and the drummer Abe Laboriel Jr. did the music justice while bringing in their own style.
The first glimpse we had of Paul on the giant video screen following the opening act.
(Chicago Tribune photo)
The music set for the evening included a bit of everything from Paul's song portfolio--some Beatles, some Wings, some solo/new stuff. Some of the highlights of the show included "Let Me Roll It" (I just melt when I hear that song on the radio...and to hear it live was nearly overwhelming), his entire solo acoustic set (Blackbird, Every Night, We Can Work It Out, Mother Nature's Son). The most touching moments of the show had to be the tribute songs for John and George--"Here Today" and "Something," the latter of which he played on the ukelele. "Back in the USSR," "Can't Buy Me Love," and "I Saw Her Standing There" rocked the house as they might have done years and years ago when the Beatles last performed in Chicago.
His new material included "Lonely Road," "Your Loving Flame," "Driving Rain," "Vanilla Sky" (we all could have done without the footage from the movie on the video screen, thank you), and "Freedom." As is typical of any new material included in the set...I quote from a Saturday Night Live skit: "When the singer announces 'Here's something from our new album,' what they're really saying is 'This would be a good time to take a bathroom break.'" I think half the audience did exactly just that. The new material, though, sounds better on stage than it does on the album, at least in my opinion.
A funny moment in our section of the theater came when Paul was singing "My Love." A very tipsy woman began serenading the security guard right next to me in the aisle! Additionally, Kathy also felt that I should mention the major second-hand pot fumes that we were breathing in at certain points of the show. It's those funny audience reactions that usually end up being the most vivid recollections from the entire concert.
After two encores, the show finally came to an end after nearly three hours. Paul bade the audience good-night a few songs after announcing to us "Well, we all have to go home sometime" (to which a woman behind us screamed "Take me with you!" The same lady had also shouted "Take it all off!" when Paul removed his jacket earlier in the show. Oh, there was a lot of liquor in the house that night...). I still don't know how Paul had the energy to entertain a few thousand people for that amount of time!
Paul charming the audience in Chicago that night. The show was amazingly back-to-basics, all about the music, and it was well worth the hefty ticket price!
(Chicago Tribune photo)
Kathy and I spent another week's paycheck on more souvenirs once we made our way out of the auditorium. I bought a khaki-colored t-shirt with Paul on the front holding the Hofner bass upside down, and a glass candle holder with Paul's handprint on one side and his autograph on the other side. Merchandise on this tour was phenomenally expensive--I never thought I'd pay $30 for a t-shirt in my life, but I did!
Now, to top off the evening, if this is true, I'm going to be heartbroken... My dad picked us up at the gates, and we circled back around the parking lot, heading west on a street just north of the lot. The United Center was still in plain view, and I saw a large charter bus roll down the street right past where we were standing. Anyway...two days later, I was chatting online with someone who had also gone to the show that night, and she said that she had seen Paul's bus drive right past her after the show. So...I missed the bus--and a possible close-up glimpse of Paul--by literally a minute and a half!!! Not that you could see through the bus windows or anything, but still...
The fabulous band: (l-r) Abe Laboriel Jr. (drums), Paul 'Wix' Wickens (keyboards), Rusty Anderson (guitar), Macca himself, Brian Ray (guitar and bass) (from the Oakland show). I was highly impressed with the amount of musical prowess on stage that night.
(paulmccartney.com photo)
Oh well, at least everyone at work was insanely jealous the next day that I had attended the concert. One of the parents from the two-year-old classroom had taken her older son to the show, and he absolutely loved it. The children in my preschool classroom could tell I was over the moon about it the entire day--we all looked through the tour program together during storytime--and even they were curious to know more about Paul and the Beatles. So far we've watched half of A Hard Day's Night at movie time, and I'm planning a week-long unit on the Beatles for the end of May.
Right now I honestly feel like Paul brought springtime to Chicago with him--we've had beautiful weather almost every day since the show, the trees are all blossoming, flowers are popping up, etc. We're listening to the Beatles almost every day at work now, and the children love it. As always, he's brightened up each day for me in that special way.
Two of my souvenirs from the show: the official tour program, which includes tons of nice pictures, and the glass candle holder. My t-shirt was in the laundry when I took this picture. :) Altogether, Kathy and I spent around $700 between the tickets and all the goodies we bought at the show.
Reviews, photos, articles from Paul's week-long Chicago visit:
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