© 2004 COPYRIGHT JORIE GRACEN
THE PAUL McCARTNEY MESSAGE
BOARD
May 25 - Gijon,
Spain - Estadio El Molinon
May 28 - Lisbon,
Portugal - Parque Bela Vista, "Rock In Rio Festival"
May 30 - Madrid,
Spain - Estadio De Madrid La Peineta
June 2 - Zurich,
Switzerland - Letzigrund Stadium
June 4 - Leipzig,
Germany
- Leipzig Zentralstadion (Leipzig
Stadium)
June 6 - Prague,
Czech Republic - Park Kolbenova
June 8 &
9 - Horsens Forum, Denmark - Horsens Stadium
June 12 - Gothenburg,
Sweden - Ullevi Stadium
June 14 - Oslo,
Norway
- Valle Hovin Stadion
June 17 - Helsinki, Finland - Olympiastadion (Olympic
Stadium)
June 20 - St. Petersburg, Russia - Palace Square
June 24 - Paris, France - Stade de
France
June 26 - Glastonbury, England
- Worthy Farm Pilton - Glastonbury Festival
THE STAGE
Gigantic stage with multiple screens behind the band at center
stage (nine screens) with two large screens (with four screens)
on either side of the stage like the 1993
tour.
New laser lights, interactive displays and more powerful pyrotechnics.
INCIDENTAL
MUSIC
Before the preshow- Band on the Run" (slow 2003 version),
"Family Way," "Junk," classical music (unidentified)
some from the 1989-2003 tours
Before the preshow there is a 15 second 'Landmines' public service
ad: it's an animation of a landmine exploding and the animated
characters of Paul and Heather are featured saying "We need
your help!" Then they voice-over the London phone number
and contact info, etc.
PRESHOW
There was a
DJ in a big bright orange top hat with sparkets that tilted vicariously
on his head playing music while people
carried colorful large balloons decorated with moons, suns and
stars in front of the stage behind a large backdrop. The backdrop
covered the instruments behind it. Paul's paintings were shown
on the video screens.
The performers carried medieval banners (coat of arms) and pennants.
The cast of walkers and dancers wore very brightly colored costumes
(magenta, teal, bright blues) of medieval garb and '60s clothes.
The women in mini-skirts danced to the music and there was a woman
sitting on a suspended ring who also did routines on a silk rope.
A man danced on stills. Fifteen 
minutes of looped remixed dance music played from
new and old Fireman tracks, samplers of; "Venus and Mars,"
"Band On the Run," "Oh Woman Oh Why," "Darkroom,"
"Live and Let Die," "Temporary Secretary,"
"Loup 1st Indian On the Moon," Mumbo," "Silly
Love Songs," "What's That You're Doing"and new
dance music. It ends with someone saying "THREE...TWO...
ONE...
Paul's bass appears large on the side screens but now in a horizontal
form and the large backdrop curtain splits open and is pulled
from each side to reveal Paul and the band.
For the dress rehearsal Paul wore a red Nehru jacket, a red crew-neck,
long-sleeved T-shirt with wide white stripes on the sides, and
blue jeans and red shoes!!!
MORE ABOUT
THE DJ
Freelance
Hellraiser, 'aka' Roy Kerr, has made dance remixes of Paul's tunes
he plays in the preshow. 
TOUR MERCHANDISE
There are two major tour shirts:
black shirt, Paul's face on back, his hands on front spelling
out '04' and a blue shirt with a sun, Paul on front with a colorful
shirt on, hands outreached. Two new tour posters and an assortment
of women's tanks, tops, keychains, etc.
There is a "new" coat of arms style logo on one black
hat and a denim shirt. The logo is a shield with a P and M, and
a Hofner. There are bright colored ballcaps with a sun logo with
the logoed Paul signature.
The program is well worth the price with an extensive interview
with Paul talking about his spiritual beliefs. This ties into
the mystical themes of Sun/Moon/ Medieval Mythology/ Tarot, etc.
There is a logoed baby garment available. Bring cash to buy merchandise,
credit cards are not accepted.
Paul and the
band did a full dress rehearsal at Estadio El Molinon on Monday
May 24. Macca
arrived at Estadio El Molinon
at 7:45pm, waved to fans from the limo but did not stop. There
was a 40-minute soundcheck at 8:15 pm where Paul performed several
songs including:
JAM
COMING UP
MATCHBOX
HONEY DON'T
C MOON
CELEBRATION
THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD
BLACKBIRD (SHORT)
MIDNIGHT SPECIAL
HERE TODAY (WITH BAND)
FOR NO ONE (WIX AND PAUL PRACTICING AT PIANO)
JAM (MAGIC PIANO)
LADY MADONNA
Later that evening at 10pm there was a full dress rehearsal. Fans
who had the fanasylum ticket packages were allowed in after the
first three songs for the first 30 minutes only and escorted out.
SETLIST (Dress
Rehearsal)
Jet
Got To Get You Into My Life
Flaming Pie
All My Loving
Let Me Roll It
You Won't
See Me (Paul
said this song was never performed before)
Paul practiced his Spanish saying: "Hola Asturias, muchas
gracias...!")
She's A Woman
Maybe I'm Amazed
The Long and Winding Road
In Spite of
All The Danger (long
version - Paul said that he and George wrote this song together)
Blackbird
We Can Work It Out (fake-out)
We Can Work It Out
Here Today (solo)
All Things
Must Pass
(with band)
I'll Follow the Sun (with
reprise - Paul said the song was too short so he did the reprise)
For No One
I'll Follow the Sun (repeated
song with reprise)
Calico Skies
I've Just Seen a Face
Eleanor Rigby
Drive My Car
Penny Lane
Get Back
Band On the Run
Back in the USSR
Live and Let Die (More
powerful pyrotechnics and fireworks that could be seen outside
of the stadium. At the end of the song 13 fireworks with explosions
were launched)
I've Got
a Feeling
Gimme That Thing
(improvised
song on piano)
Lady Madonna
Baby Face
Hey Jude
(encore)
Yesterday
Let It Be
I Saw Her Standing There
(encore)
Helter Skelter
Sgt. Pepper's/The End
There was a soundcheck in the
afternoon that lasted 45-minutes. Songs heard: Jam "Oh Yeah,"
"Coming Up," "Honey Don't," "Matchbox,"
"C Moon," "Hot As Sun," "San Francisco
Bay Blues," acoustic improvisation, "Midnight Special,"
"Time For My Massage" Jam, "Lady Madonna."
There were thousands of
concertgoers outside who were having problems getting free tickets
because there was only one ticket window open. Telefo'nica-Movistar
(mobile phone company) ran a text messaging contest to give away
tickets. Fights broke out and objects were thrown in protest.
Besides text messenging on their cell phones to win tickets, excited
fans at the concert rang friends so they could hear the concert.
It was too much for the area's mobile network which shut down.
Paul played to an enthusiastic audience of over 25,000 at the
Estadio El Molinon. The concert started 30 minutes late at 10:37pm
with the preshow. He wore
a red Nehru jacket, a red crew-neck, long-sleeved T-shirt with
wide white stripes on the sides, and blue jeans and red shoes!!!
The spectacular preshow features a DJ that has a booth on the
left side of the stage. Music played includes samples from the
Fireman and early albums (see setlist). There are dancers in colorful
costumes ala Cirque du Soleil and a woman that sits on a suspended
'ring' and one dangling from a rope.
Thirteen local actors from the Dramatic Art School of Asturias
and dancers from the previous tour entertained the crowd in front
of a yellow curtain that had projections of drawings on it. Large
ballons were passed in front of the stage to the right side of
the stadium. Dancers on stage performed well choreographed routines
that included sequences of breakdancing and Go-Go dancing with
women in mini-skirts.
The Hofner bass appeared
in a horizontal shape with psychedelic colors on the large side
screens just before Paul emerged. The yellow curtain moved from
left to right revealing Paul and the band onstage. There was an
instrumental intro before the familar chords of "Jet"
rang out.
Macca shouted, "Are YOU ready to rock and roll?" and
began "Jet."
During the show the 17 screens showed, photographs, drawings,
works of art, videos and cartoons all related to the song being
played. "Drive My Car" featured photographs of cars.
"Back in the USSR" featured memories of the Soviet Union
and reminders of the cold war.
Paul practiced his Spanish on the crowd and took care to speak
in the local dialect of Castillian. He said many times during
the show "Viva Sporting!" referring to Gijon's soccer
team (Sporting).
After "Got to Get You Into My Life" McCartney welcomed
the audience in Spanish with "Hola Gijón, hola Asturias,
viva España!" (Hello Gijón, hello Asturias,
long live Spain.) Then he launched into "Flaming Pie."
"Muchas gracias!...amigos
y amigas! (Thank you very much... friends). OK, tonight I'm gonna
try and speak some Spanish...a little bit. Pero..se pocas palabras
en español. (I only know a few words in Spanish) But...I'm
gonna try. OK? Alright!"
As he began, "All My Loving," fans on the field rushed
the stage.
Macca introduced "In
Spite of All the Danger" in Spanish saying it was an early
pre-Beatles song. For "You Won't See Me" he said, "Esta
la primera 
vez que
he tocado esta cancion en España!"
(This is the first time I have done this song in Spain). He said
in his intro to "She's A Woman," "Tambien esta
es la primera vez que toco esta cancion desde hace mucho tiempo."
(This is the first time I've performed this song in a long time).
"She's A Woman" was very much like the Beatles version
with a heavier electric guitar sound that gave the song a harder
and rockier edge.
Paul, solo
onstage, pointed a forefinger upwards and dedicated "Here
Today" to John Lennon during the acoustic set. He said, "I
LOVE YOU, I LOVE YOU, I LOVE YOU." The song had a new arrangement.
Paul's voice cracked from emotion during the song and he was almost
moved to tears.
The band returned for "All Things Must Pass" which was
dedicated to George Harrison.
Not to leave
out Ringo, Paul asked the audience if they wanted a song dedicated
to Ringo. Before the audience could answer, though some shouted
"What about Ringo?" Paul began to sing the words to
"Yellow Submarine" leading the massive crowd a capella
in a brief singalong of the song.
After "I'll Follow the Sun"
Paul recited his "Three Rabbits" poem. "Tres conejos
en un árbol, tocando el tambor. Que si. Que no. Que si.
Lo he visto, yo." (Three
rabbits, in a tree, playing a drum. Why yes? Why no? Why yes?
I have seen it.) The audience was very amused.
Abe introduced "Live and Let Die"
in Spanish. "Es usted listo para el fuego?" (Are you
ready for the fire?) During song, 
everytime the band sang "Live and
Let Die..." four rows of flame throwers in front and behind
the band shot up. There were spectacular fireworks at the end
of song. "Live
and Let Die" did not disappoint, lighting up the Spanish
sky with a fireworks display longer and more powerful than on
previous tours, delighting the crowed.
"Hey Jude" had the traditional singalong.
Paul came out waving the flags of Spain and Asturias before the
final encore and was wearing a blue "no more land mines"
T-shirt.
Macca performed
"Yesterday" to a sea of lighters held by thousands of
fans. At the end of the concert confetti shot out from the sides
of the stage covering the entire stadium.
Paul signed several autographs
for fans after the show at his hotel.
BACK TO TOUR ITINERARY
Paul arrived in Lisbon on the
26th and stayed at Hotel da Lapa. On the 27th went sailing from
Lisbon to Sesimbra and also went for a bike ride, on the river
side, in Lisbon's Parque das Nações.
The day of the show there
was a soundcheck at 2:30 pm performed by Paul and the band. The
setlist was: "Coming Up," "Honey Hush," "Honey
Don't," "C Moon," "Midnight Special,"
"I've Just Seen A Face," the intro to "Back in
the USSR" (as a plane flew over the stadium), and an improv
jam with Paul making up the lyrics as he went along, "Lisboa
man, I wanna be 
there."
Paul left after the soundcheck.
Paul arrived for the show at 7pm and there were only two fans
waiting! One had a Wings logo and Paul jumped out of his seat
to point to him as he went by.
The setlist was the same as the Gijon concert and the show started
around 9:30pm. Paul wore the same stage outfit that he wore in
Gijon including the 'red' shoes! His was in perfect voice for
the most part with just his voice cracking slightly during "Blackbird."
The fans were very enthusiastic, clapping, dancing and singing
along to most of the songs. Signs in the audience: "Would you be free to take some tea
with me?" and "Don't say goodnight tonight."
McCartney demanded that the Rock in Rio organization's logo and
logos of festival sponsors be covered during his performance because
he only wanted to be associated with the show and not it's advertisers.
For the show, the logos were covered over in a black cloth.
When the preshow finished Paul emerged with his fist held high
in the air to the thunderous applause of 46,000 fans at the festival.
He spoke in Portuguese many
times during the concert and introduced all the band members in
Portuguese. The band referred to him as "Paulo" which
is Portuguese for Paul.
There were two women backstage who translated anything said in
English to Portugese. There were translations on the big screens.
Paul tested them out and said in English "THE BLUE FISH SWAM
UNDER THE VERY BIG BRIDGE." The audience cheered when the
translation was posted. Later he tested them again and said, "THE
YELLOW BIRD FLEW OVER THE FOOTBALL STADIUM IN EURO 2004!"
The crowd started cheering "POR-TU-GAL! POR-TU-GAL!"
After "Got to Get You Into My Life" Paul welcomed the
crowd in Portuguese, "Olá Lisboa, viva Portugal, estão
todos fixes?" (Hello Lisbon, long live Portugal, are you
feeling good?)
There were some problems with audio during "Let Me Roll It/Foxy
Lady" with Rusty's guitar and Wix's keyboard.
He introduced "You Won't
See Me" in Portuguese saying, "Esta e a primeira vez
que toco esta cancao em Portugal." (This is the first time
we're playing this song in Portugual.) The song was a crowd favorite
with people singing the "ooo-la-la's" during the chorus.
After the song he said, "Thank you Rock in Rio! "Essa
e outra cancao que toco pela primeira vez."(This is another
song I'm playing for the first time.) And he started "She's
a Woman."
Before "The Long and Winding Road"
Paul said, "Thank you Lisboa... great crowd!" The audience
started chanting "PAUL-MAC-CART-NEY!" and Paul tipped
his guitar in a salute to the crowd and said, "That's ME!"
At the beginning of the acoustic set the band left the stage and
Paul played "In Spite of All the Danger." Paul introduced
"In Spite Of All the Danger" as a song composed in the
times of the Quarrymen, before the Beatles and one of the first
songs he, John and George recorded together. He said they all
paid £1 each for the record and said in Portuguese, "Nosso
primeiro disco antes dos Beatles." (Our first record before The Beatles.)
For "Blackbird," he told the audience afterwards that
his guitar (Epiphone Texan) was the one he played on the Ed Sullivan
show (1965).
He dedicated "Here Today" to John and in Portuguese.
"Escrevi esta canção depois que meu amigo John
faleceu" (I wrote this song after my friend John passed away.)
For "All Things Must Pass" he said, "a meu amigo
George." (for my friend George) When Paul finished "All
Things Must Pass," fans
screamed "What about Ringo?" and Paul did the "Yellow
Submarine" a capella singalong version he did in Spain.
After the "Yellow Submarine" Paul said, "Estão
a divertir-se? Eu também!" (Are you having fun? Me
too!). The crowd roared.
Paul did "I'll Follow the Sun" first with a reprise
ending saying that the song was too short. After "For No
One," Paul did the song again, but only the reprise.
Abe introduced "Live and Let Die" in Portuguese ."Estao
prontos para o rock?...Querem pegar fogo? Aqui esta
Paulo!" (Are you ready to
rock? Are you ready for the fire? Here is Paul.)
Before "Lady Madonna"
Paul did his "Lisboa massage story" musical interlude.
He chanted, "LIS-BO-A POR-TU-GAL... LIS-BO-A POR-TU-GAL!"
"Paul made a mention after "Lady Madonna"in reference
to the upcoming Soccer Cup. He said, "É optimo estar em Portugal
o país do Euro 2004!" (I am happy to be in Portugal,
the Euro 2004 country.) That brought enthusiastic cheers from
the audience because Portugal is the host of the Soccer European
Cup that begins in June.
"Hey Jude" had the "Baby Face" fake-out intro
and the usual singalong and before Paul left the stage for the
encore he said, "Têm
sido um público maravilhoso." (You have been a marvelous
audience.)
When he returned for the encore
he had on a red "no more land mines" T-shirt and said,
"Beautiful audience." Paul told the crowd that "Yesterday" was
actually written in Portugal during a 1965 trip from Lisbon to
Algarve. He said for that he will always be grateful to Portugal
(the story is also in the tour program).
Paul said, "Got some
energy? Portuguese energy? Lis-BOA energy! OK, One, two, three,
FOUR!!" and launched into "I Saw Her Standing There."
When he came back for the last encore he carried the flag of Portugal.
The crowd went wild. He teased the cheering the crowd and said,
"Bem agora vamos ter de vos deixar." (Good, now we have
to leave.) They said, NO!" Paul said, " Let's get heavy,"
and he started "Helter Skelter."
Next he said, "Do you want to rock 'n' roll?" and "Sgt.
Pepper" started. The band traded off solos guitar riffs which
went on longer than usual even after Rusty broke a string. Rusty
never missed a note!
There was an explosion of fireworks
when Paul hit the last chord of "The End." Confetti
shot of out of the sides of the stage covering the crowd and Paul
said, "Até à próxima Lisboa!" (See
you next time Lisbon!)
After Paul left the stage, the fireworks continued for a total
of ten minutes!
The day after the show Paul said he found the Portugal audience
to be "warm and enthusiastic."
A note on
the disappointing "Rock in Rio" radio broadcast that
people expected to hear live on RFM Radio-on the net (RFM by the
way never said they would broadcast Paul's concert).
The station was not allowed to broadcast Paul's concert even though
they could broadcast other performers at the "Rock in Rio
Festival" as the 'official radio station.' Paul's concert
fell into a 'special' category and though part of the "Rock
in Rio Festival" it was a separate concert held on an 'extra'
day with no other bands performing besides Paul, thus the festival
broadcasting conditions for radio and TV did not apply.
BACK TO TOUR ITINERARY
At 6.00 pm Paul and band started off with soundcheck, which could be heard outside the stadium. Songs heard: a jam, "Coming Up," Matchbox," "Honey Don't," "C Moon," "Celebration," "In Spite of All the Danger," "Midnight Special" (fast version with a cappella section), "San Francisco Bay Blues," "The Fool On The Hill," an improvisation and "Lady Madonna."
The audienced
did an "OLA" (a wave across the two sides of the stadium)
before the show started. Paul appeared onstage at 10:20pm right
after the horizontal Hofner bass appeared. This time he wore a
blue Nehru jacket and the a different red T- shirt, with jeans
and played before a crowd of over 30,000. The setlist was the
same. The first big applause came after "All My Loving."
After "Got to Get You Into My Life," Paul greeted the
crowd with "Hola Madrid, viva España!"
(Hello Madrid, long live Spain) That brought a large cheer from the audience.
When he finished "Flaming Pie" he talked in Spanish.
"Muchas gracias, amigos y amigas!." (thanks so much
friends- male and female) " I'm gonna try to speak some Spanish.
Pero sé pocas palabras en Español..." (I know
a few words in Spanish) ..."But we have come to rock you
tonight!"
Several times during the show he raised his Hofner up in a Macca
salute bringing cheers from the amigos and amigas.
Paul introduced "You Won't See Me" in Spanish. "Esta
es la primera gira que toco esta canción en España."
(This is the first tour I'm playing this song live in Spain).
Paul pointed his finger to the audience and then pointed to himself
when he sang the line "you won't see me..." with a "no-no"
expression on his face. After the song he said, "OK, muchas
gracias señores, señoras y señoritas!"
(Thanks so much gentlemen, ladies and misses.)
The videos on the screens during "She's A Woman" were
black and white images of The Beatles with live video of Paul
and the band also in black and white. Afterwards Paul said to
crowd, "Oh-oh!" The crowd answered back "OH-OH!"
Then he said, "Muchas gracias!" (Thanks so much.) "Me
gustaría presentaros a nuestro fantástico guitarrista
Rusty Anderson!" (I'd like to introduce to all of you our
fantastic guitarist Rusty Anderson!) Rusty said, "Solamente
se estas palabras de Español. Y ya se me 
han acabado todas." (I only know these words
in Spanish words. And I already finished them.) The audience laughed.
Paul took off his jacket before he went to the piano to play "Maybe I'm Amazed." Paul sang his heart out on the song and it was much appreciated by the audience. Next was "The Long and Winding Road" which showed videos of a road trip behind Paul.
The highlight of the show was
"In Spite of All the Danger." Paul switched to acoustic
guitar and said "Así que hablo un poco de Inglés...
yeah!" (So I'll speak a little English...) "Esta fue
nuestro primero disco antes de los Beatles." (This song was
our first record, before The Beatles.) Then he told the rest of
the story in English of how he went to a little studio in Kensington
with John, George and two other guys to make the record which
cost five pounds. They all paid one pound a piece. Then he asked
the audience repeat his ""Oh-oh-oh-oh's", and they
did with a giant chorus of "OH-OH-OH-OH!" before the
song began and during. Paul liked their singing and said,
"OK, Let's make a record
together!" (note:
there is to be a DVD of this tour!)
"Blackbird" had the same intro about girls being called
'birds' in England and the racial struggle in America. Paul hit
a wrong on the guitar during the song but it was barely noticeable.
For "We Can Work It Out" Paul played the tempo change
waltz, leading the waltz rhythm with the movement of his hand
while he strummed.
He introduced, "Here Today" in English and Spanish. "Escribí
esto después d e la muerte de mi amigo John." (I wrote
this after the death of my friend John.) "Let's hear it for
John!" People in the audience lifted their arms and gestured
in a touching salute to Paul and John. Macca went on to explain
that when something happens sometimes it's too difficult to find
words to express one's self and sometimes words don't always come
out the right way. Then he did an emotional tribute to John. The
song included a variation, with a climax on the words "I
love you..."
Next was Paul's tribute to George, "All Things Must Pass."
He said, "Esto es en memoria de mi amigo George." (This
is in the memory of my friend George.) The guitars were a bit
out of tune at the beginning of the song. Brian played slide guitar.
When the song was finished Paul yelled
"RINGO! RINGO?" and did the a capella singalong of "Yellow
Submarine." "We all live in a yellow submarine, yellow
submarine, yellow submarine..." Then Paul crossed his arms
above in his head in a 'stop' gesture but the audience continued.
So he introduced the next song saying in perfect Spanish, "Esta es la primera gira en que toco esta canción en directo." (This is the first tour I'm playing this song live) and started "I'll Follow the Sun." He finished the song and started to play what sounded like a new song but it was the 'teaser' to the reprise of "I'll Follow the Sun." This amused the crowd.
Paul introduced the band members
in Spanish. "Gracias Madrid! Me gustaria presentaros a nuestro
gran pianista Wix Wickens!" (Thanks Madrid! I'd like to introduce
to you our great pianist Wix Wickens!) Paul sat at the piano while
Wix introduced "For No One." Paul sang it at the piano
while Wix plays the clavichord part of the song on keyboards.
After the song finished Paul yelled "Oh-oh!" and the
audience replied. Paul praised them with "Perfecto!"
(Perfect!) and picked up the acoustic guitar and started playing
the "I'll Follow the Sun" reprise. People were laughing
because Paul played it in an amusing way.
"Penny Lane" had a British
flag background zig-zagging on two screens.
Paul introduced Brian calling
him, "...un
músico extraoordinario...Brian Ray!"
(an extraordinary musician)
Brian said, "Felicidades al novio y a la novia." (Happiness
to the suitor and the fiancee) alluding to the recent marriage
of Prince Borbon of Spain and his bride, Leticia and then he introduced
"Band on the Run."
Next Paul made a gesture with his arms extended, tilting from
side to side like he was flying, as the roar of the jet began
for "Back in the USSR."
Paul introduced Abe saying, "Y aquí está nuestro
fabuloso batería Abe Laboriel, Jr!" (And here is our
fabulous drummer,...). Abe said, "Hola Madrid! Cómo
están? Están listos para el rock? Y lo más
importante, es usted listo para el fuego?" (Hello Madrid!
How are you? Are you ready to rock? And what's more important,
are you ready for the fires?) "Live and Let Die" had
spectacular fireworks and flame throwers.
After "I've Got A Feeling" Paul really got into his
Spanish reciting his three rabbits poem. "Muchas gracias!
Me enseñaron que el Español por un año hace
50 años, cuando era 11 en la escuela en Liverpool!"
(Thanks so much! I was taught Spanish for a year 50 years ago,
when I was 11 at school in Liverpool!) Then he began the poem
(see Gijon). The crowd
loved when he spoke Spanish and laughed at the poem. "
Paul's new improvisational interlude to
"Lady Madonna" (on the magic piano) is called "Gimme
That Thing" replacing the massage story on the last tour.
At each show he customizes the lyric to the city he's in. It's
a catchy melody and he says while he plays, "time for my
massage... My massage in Madrid..."
"Hey Jude" had the usual singalong with Paul pointing
to the men and women, "Ahora los hombres!" (Now the
men!) "Y ahora las mujeres!" (And now the women!) For
the 'mujeres' Paul did his imitation of a woman by the rotating
his hips while holding one hand behind his head in an effeminate
manner. The he said, "Ahora todos!" (Now everybody!)
Some lighters were held up during the song. The crowd continued
to sing at the end of "Hey Jude" and Paul had to make
up more lines to song to finish.
Paul and the band took their bows and left the stage while the
audience shouted, "OTRA! OTRA!" (ANOTHER ONE! ANOTHER
ONE!) Macca returned with an acoustic guitar (no black acoustic
guitar on this tour) and played "Yesterday." From there
he went to the piano and played "Let It Be," again with
lighters being raised in the audience.
"I
Saw Her Standing There" had people dancing with Paul doing
a very energetic version of the rocker. Then the band left the
stage and Paul came back wearing a red "no more land mines"
T-shirt and carried the flag of Spain. He walked from one side
of the stage to the other carrying the flag as the crowd roared
it's approval.
Next was a blistering heavy rock version of "Helter Skelter"
with Paul on bass. And "Sgt. Pepper" featuring an impressive
three-way guitar duel between Rusty, Paul (on Gibson Les Paul)
and Brian culminating in "The End."
As Paul was saying his goodbyes he pointed to someone in the audience
at the right side of the stage. An 'object' was handed to Paul
who held the 'gift' high in the air as he paraded around the stage.
It was three fluffy rabbits dolls in a row playing a drum!
Paul signed autographs for fans after the show when he got to
his hotel. Congrats to Juan Agueras (shown second from right)
who got this photo (taken backstage in 2003) autographed by Paul
and Bill Bernstein (who took the photo).
BACK TO TOUR ITINERARY
There was a
soundcheck just before 3:30pm. Besides the crew there was a group
of 36 people who had the fanasylum ticket package. They were seated
to the side of the stage. There were no seats on the field in
front of the stage.
Paul said to the fanasylum group, "People on Zurich holiday
packages hello! And I acknowledge the Brian Ray Fan Club."
There were two fans (congrats to Fiona and Caroline from the "Brian's
Cherries Fan Club") who had a sign that said "Brian
Ray" with cherries on it.
Macca wore all black--black long-sleeved T-shirt and black trousers.
During the soundcheck Paul went from one instrument to another
never going back to the same instrument twice.
Soundcheck setlist: "Coming
Up," "Matchbox," "Honey Don't," "Summertime,"
"C Moon," then he sang "Happy Birthday" to
somebody in the crew and then sang "She's a jolly good fellow"
to the same person, "Celebration," "Blue Moon of
Kentucky," "San Francisco Bay Blues" (Rusty, Brian
and Paul danced around kicking their legs square dance style),
"I'll Follow the Sun," "Blackbird," a unreleased
Lennon/McCartney composition called "Just Fun," a new
song with the words "hold onto your precious love,"
a massage improv jam that went on for along time with Paul saying,
"time for my massage baby!"),"Lady Madonna,"
was the last song.
Paul said goodbye to the fanasylum crowd and then said, "Will
the TWO members of the BRIAN RAY FAN CLUB please stand up? OK
Brian, throw them a kiss!" And Brian did. Then the band bowed
and waved goodbye.
Ten minutes
before the show started it began to rain and lasted throughout
the concert soaking 30,000 people including the preshow performers.However
the show started on time at 8pm. Due to tight security many fans
could not get inside the concert until it was well underway. The international crowd included fans
from as far as Columbia, Argentina, Japan, the US (Chicago, Dallas)
and Europe.
Signs in the audience: "Fans Across The Water From Texas,"
"Brian's Cherries." Paul was paying particular attention
to the fans with the Brian Ray signs as was Brian.
Paul wore the red nehru jacket, jeans and a red and white T-shirt.
The front of the shirt was red and the back was white.
The setlist was the same as previous
shows except there was no "Yellow Submarine" singalong.
Because of the cold rain, the crowd was not as enthusiastic though
there were some who enjoyed the experience in spite of the weather.
Even Paul's acoustic guitar got wet during the show.
At the second song, "Got To Get You Into My Life" security
jumped into the third row and busted someone recording the concert.
Paul spoke more English than German and apologized for not knowing Swiss-German. "I know a little German, but I don't know Swiss- German." He read from some cards he had with the pronunciations on them and thanked his Swiss teacher and asked the crowd if he speaking Swiss OK. When he spoke he over emphasized the Swiss 'accent' to show how hard it was to pronounce the words, which the audience found humorous.
He said before
"She's A Woman" that the Zurich audience was amongst
the first to hear the song because it's the first time he's done
it in a long time.
Note on the 'reprises of "I'll Follow the Sun;" Paul
repeats the last line of the song three times and explains he
does it because the song is so short. He mad a special emphasis
on this lyric because of the rain in Zurich, "for tomorrow may rain, so I'll follow
the sun..." He started to repeat the end of the song a fourth
time, but did it as a 'fake-out' without really playing it and
laughed.
There was a group of very enthusiastic Italian fans yelling to
Paul to come to Italy. Paul acknowledged 
them and said, "Hello to Italy"
then said "Ciao, ciao bambina!" which is a lyric from
an Italian song called "Piove"
which means "It Rains."
During "I've Just Seen A Face" Brian kept crouching
lower and lower on the "falling, yes I am falling" lyrics
which was very amusing.
Paul addressed
the audience as, "People in the rain!" And made several
references to the rain and sun. "I'll
Follow the Sun" "Pouring Rain" (Penny Lane), etc.
Everytime he said the word "rain" in a song he looked
up at the sky. He teased the audience and said the rain will make
them big and strong.
Rusty took
out his camera and told the crowd to get closer together so he
could take a photo. Brian spoke in German and said "Is everyone
on the right having a good time?...the left....the back... the
front." Wix said he felt
almost like he was back home because it rains all the time in
London, but the only difference here is they speak differently.
Abe asked the crowd if they were
ready to rock and, more inportantly, were they ready for the fire
just before "Live and Let Die." Paul then commented
on how well Abe spoke Swiss-German because he'd said it all in
English!!! Abe said he'd been practicing. Rusty did his famous
fall during the song. Fireworks were shot off during the song.
He messed up on "I"ve Got A Feeling" singing "Oh,
no" when he should have sang, "Oh yeah." When he
did it, he looked at Rusty and laughed.
Paul's massage improv before "Lady Madonna" has now
evolved into a song where he changes the lyrics to fit the city
he's in.
On the last verse of "Hey Jude" he sang the first verse
by mistake.
For
the encore Paul came out with the Swiss flag and the red no more
land mines T-shirt. Wix had his tiny British flag. Someone threw
flowers to Paul which missed the stage and hit the substage where
the speaker monitors were. Paul tried to fetch them, getting real
close to the audience but couldn't retrieve them and gave up.
Before Paul left the stage he jumped on Rusty's back and almost
knocked Rusty over!
He asked told the audience at the encore, "We have to go
home, and you have to go home..." and thanked everyone. The
crowd went wild during Paul's redention of "Helter Skelter"
which musically surpassed the Beatles version. Macca's voice easily
survived the throaty vocals and the band's expert backup harmonies
did not disappoint. On the video screens a roller coaster was
shown in sync with the ups and downs in the music and the lyrics.
Paul thank the crew, his band and the audience at the end. He
said, "Thanks for staying here in the rain." Confetti
shot out of the stage and because of the rain it stuck to people!
BACK TO TOUR ITINERARY
Paul arrived in Leipzig on the day of
the show with Heather and the baby and stayed at the Fürstenhof
Hotel. Bea could not sleep because of noise coming from bridge
construction in front of the hotel. Paul asked the hotel manager
Herr Müller, to give some beer to the working men. The noise
stopped, Bea slept, and Paul went off to the soundcheck around
4pm. Songs heard at the soundcheck: band jam, "Coming Up,"
MatchBox," "Honey Don't," "C Moon," "Celebration,"
"Midnight Special," I'll Follow the Sun," "For
No One," "San Francisco Bay Blues," and "Lady
Madonna."
Macca played
to crowd of 45,000 in the pouring rain at Leipzig Stadium, his
first concert in East Germany. McCartney's concert was the first
concert staged in the 90 million euro stadium finished in March.
In spite of the weather, the concert started around 8:15pm with
the preshow. Fans were able to bring in umbrellas but closed them
after the concert began. While the rain remained constant, it
didn't damper the fan's enthusiasm. The setlist was the same.
Paul spoke a lot of German.
After "Got To Get You Into My Life" Paul addressed the
cheering crowd with "Guten Abend Leipzig. Endlich bin ich
hier! Wir sind gekommen, um euch zu rocken!" (Good evening
Leipzig. I'm finally be here! We have come to rock you!)
For the intro to "You Won't See Me," he said, "Ich spreche nur ein wenig Deutsch.
Das ist das erste mal, dass ich das lied in Deutschland singe."
(I speak only a little German. This is first time I'm singing
this song in Germany.)
He said in German for "She's A Woman," "Das ist
ein anderes Lied, das ich zum ersten Mal spiele." (This is
another song which I'm playing for the first time.)
At the beginning of the
acoustic set the band left and Paul said for his intro to "In
Spite of All the Danger," "Jetzt bin ich allein mit
Euch. Das war die erste Schallplatte
vor den Beatles."
(Now I am alone with you. This was the first record before the
Beatles.)
For the intro to "Here Today" Paul said in German, "...Für meinen lieben Freundes John. Das Lied hab ich nach Johns Tod geschrieben. (for my best friend John.
I wrote this song after John's death). He dedicated "All
Things Must Pass" to George. "Und dieses Lied ist mein Gedenken an George."
(And this song is my memory of George.)
Paul led the "Yellow Submarine" singalong as a hommage
to Ringo.
He switched guitars and played something from Johnann Sebastian
Bach. Only a few bars and said, "That's from Bach."
Leipzig is the home of Bach.
For "I'll Follow the
Sun," "Dieses Lied spiele ich zum ersten Mal
in Deutschand." (I'm playing this song for the first time
in Germany.)
Paul introduced Wix in German, before "For No One,"
"Nun will ich euch unseren super keyboarder vorstellen, Wix
Wickens." (Now I want to present to you our super keyboard
player Wix Wickens.) Then Paul joked in a Hitler voice, "Alle
Jugendlichen unter 18 Jahren verlassen den Saal. Ausweiskontrolle!"
(All young people under 18 years leave the hall. Document of identification
check!) NOTE:
Paul is referring to the curfew that was in effect for people
under the age of 18 in Germany when the Beatles played there in
the early '60s. Then they had to show their "Ausweis"(passport).
That is the reason why George 
Harrison, who was underage
at the time (17), was deported.
Just before "Band On
the Run," Brian got this introduction from Paul, "Jetzt
präsentieren wir euch einen wunderbaren Musiker, Brian Ray!"
(I now present to you a marvelous muscian, Brian Ray!)
Paul talked about a German poem he learned in school when he took
German called the "Jacob the Crow." He said, "Unsagbar
gut ! In Liverpool habe ich Deutsch gelernt: Jakob der Rabe war
der frechste Vogel, den ich je gesehen habe." (Inexpressibly
well! In Liverpool I learned German: Jakob the rabe was the rudest
bird, which I have ever seen.)
He introduced Rusty in German, "Ich
möchte Euch unseren fantastischen Gitarristen vorstellen:
Rusty Anderson!" (I would like to introduce our fantastic
guitarist to you: the one and only Rusty Anderson!)
The fireworks went
off as usual during "Live and Let Die" working miraculously
well in the rain.
For "Hey Jude" Paul led the singalong, "Zuerst die Maenner!" (first
the Men )"Und jetzt die Frauen!" (and just the Women)
"Alle zusammen!" (everyone together)
He came back
at the second encore with the Germany flag and wore the "no
more land mines" T-shirt.
After "The End,"
he said his goodbyes, and in German, "Aber nun müssen wir Leipzig verlassen. Schade.
Ich danke meiner außergewöhnlichen Band und am meisten
euch." (Now
we must leave Leipzig. I thank my band but most of all you.) Before
he left the stage he said, "Bis zum nächsten Mal!"(See
you next time!) Confetti shot out and stuck to everything and
everybody because of the rain.
Back at the hotel Paul arrived in a tour bus from his concert
and stopped to sign many autographs for waiting fans.
Saturday he appeared at one
of the hotel doors after 3pm and thanked waiting fans but told
them he wasn't coming out to sign autographs. He left at 3:30pm
from a secret hotel exit and waved to fans (who discovered the
exit) from the car. Paul left Leipzig for Prague in a Boeing 737.
BACK TO TOUR ITINERARY
Jorie Gracen