September 30 - New York, NY - Madison Square Garden
Paul's Lexus entourage arrived
early around 3:30pm. He rolled down the window and did his usual
wave and the "thumbs up".
Some lucky fans from Germany, who were with a travel group, were
let into the soundcheck. Reports are that people at the soundcheck
are from Fidelity Investments, Lexus and winners from radio station
contests.
The show started late with DJ Freelance
Hellraiser not getting onstage until 8:30pm. He was applauded
as he began his set.
Paul was in good voice throughout the show with his voice cracking occasionally. The band was tighter than ever. Much tighter than at the opening show. However, depending on where you sat in Madison Square Garden, there were fans who were on their feet (main floor) and fans who sat for most of the show. The consensus was that the audience was less responsive than at other shows and did not have the enthusiasm of the Miami, Phillly or Boston shows.
There was definitely a good 'buzz' in the crowd throughout the show. Paul even took a second break to "drink all of this in." He said, "New York City, you rock me!" as well as "Madison Square Garden, you rock me!"
Macca did a lot more dancing around the stage and in place, moving in a sexy manner for the benefit of the female fans.
Paul's stage banter was the
same though he's more animated when he talks about falling into
the piano pit and embellishes the story. Macca gestures with his
fists pumping air and does a little dance as he describes falling
into the pit. His techs come out before trap door opens to signal
the crew below the stage by tapping louding with their feet. Paul
stays in his 'safe space' near the mike. The red flashing fiber
optics come on when the pit is open and stop when the piano is
in it's place. Paul says, "Now I have to 'mind the pit' in
reference to the audience signs that read "Mind the Gap."
The "Foxy Lady" ending was omitted from "Let Me
Roll It."
In the house:
Howard Stern was in the audience with his girlfriend and daughter.
When Rusty was introduced he
said that he wasn't only a guitar player but was also a 'life
coach.' He added that people who are having problems should come
and see him.
Paul did the "Baby Face" teaser intro to "Hey Jude."
A fan (Congrats to Linda Aiello) threw a tiny red toy bear holding a heart with USA printed on it. Paul caught the bear in mid-air with one hand. He read the note to himself that was attached, then held the bear up for the crowd to see. He placed it safely on the floor to begin the first encore with "Yesterday."
At the end of the encore Linda yelled to him not to forget the bear. Paul couldn't hear her and assumed she was asking for the Hofner. He took off the bass and teasingly reached out to hand it to her. She said she'd take the guitar in exchange for the bear. He laughed and grabbed the bear holding it up while taking bows with the band. Then he took the bear's arm and waved "bye-bye" to the audience as he left the stage.
Towards the end of a very soulful rendition of "Let It Be," Paul lost his place in the song, forgetting a few of the words.
For the final encore Paul came
out in the red 'no more land mines' T-shirt waving the American
flag.
At the show's end, a fan threw an album which made it onstage.
Paul went to pick it up, but there was no pen, so he walked off.
Signs in the audience:
"Follow Me," "John,
Linda, George," and "Mind the Gap," "When
you're 63 + 1" acknowledged by Paul and "Medicine Jar"
to which Paul shook his head with an "Oh, no." (Congrats
to Gerry Hyde for both signs)
Paul arrived at 3:30pm in a
Lexus entourage that included the band. The first Lexus had Brian
and Wix in the back. The car was stopped waiting for the gate
to open as it pulled into the driveway. There was a barricade
which allowed fans to be within feet of the cars and they surged
forward. Paul was in the second Lexus and as he passed, he high
fived a fan. In the next Lexus was Rusty
who had his window open. Behind the Lexus was a van carrying Abe
and Heather.
Paul's voice started out a little rough but got better as the show progressed. He was very 'up' for the New York audience. There were several VIP's in the crowd and family. Heather, her brother Shane, and Mike McCartney were spotted sitting in the first two rows of loge on stage left. Paul said, "There are a lot of special people here tonight. Visitors from England. You never know who is going to show up." He did mention that Oasis and Lenny Kravitz were in the audience.
Macca nailed the "Bach piece" on the first try and made the "ck" sound from the back of his throat when he pronounced "Bach" drawing it out for effect.
The band did an extended "Foxy Lady" after "Let me Roll It" and an extended version of "Baby Face" that was very uptempo and very funny.
When the piano came up Paul
would say, "It's BACK!" or "BEHIND YOU!" After
pointing out the "piano hole," he said he was warned
about it, so of course, "during one of the first gigs, I
just had to fall into it, me and the Hofner" he explained.
The whole thing happening in slow motion. I'm wondering 'how deep
IS this hole?'" Then he mentioned the "Mind the Gap"
signs in the audience.
The band left the stage for the acoustic
set and Paul said, "Welcome to my living room."
He added to the story before "I Will" about the man
approaching him in a Mexican restaurant and offering to buy him
a drink. When he finished the story he said, "THEN I told
him I'd take the drink."
"I'll Follow the Sun" had five reprises! As he did each
one, the audience kept yelling "ONE MORE!" By the fourth
one Paul was shaking his head "No" and waving his hands
gesturing "no more." Then he sang a long drawn out "Ooooooooooh"
which led into "tomorrow may rain, so I'll follow the sun."
The "Peradventure" lesson was taken out of the dialog tonight after "English Tea."
When Brian was introduced he
paid homage to Paul. "How about a little hand for the guy
over here playing bass, guitar, piano. Our fearless leader PAUL
McCARTNEY!!!"
When he went into the "time to go home" bit before Sgt.
Pepper, the audience yelled out "NO!," to which he responded
"YES!," and this back-and-forth got repeated a couple
more times before Paul laughed and kind of shrugged in surrender.
He went on and on about it being Saturday and recited lyrics to
"Rip It Up."
"It's Saturday night and I just got paid...I'm a fool about
my money, don't try to save...my heart says 'go, go have a time'...Saturday
night and I'm feeling fine. ... It's from a song called "Rip
It Up."
Paul told a new story about "Yesterday"
after saying the guitar he used for the song was the same one
he used on the Ed Sullivan show. He said "Yesterday"
was a song that came to him in a dream, "a magic song."
It was covered over 3,000 times. Elvis and Ray Charles recorded
it and he said listening to the covers he noticed a number of
singers changed the lyrics. "I sing, 'I said something wrong.'
And THEY sing, 'I must have said something wrong.'" Paul
described this as some kind of male pride thing, and in a affected American voice joked,
"yeah, I MUST have said something wrong, baby."
The piano had a few sour notes and Paul said that the piano needed
some tuning.
He talked about reading the signs and in a childlike voice he said, "My mum saw you at Shea Stadium!"
Paul dedicated "Follow Me" to Heather. He also took a moment to remember John, George and Linda who the audience gave a long and enthusiastic ovation. Paul was emotionally moved.
Abe and Rusty did their little dance routine during "Eleanor Rigby" but started laughing and had to stop.
During "Hey Jude" Paul relished the audience's response and thoroughly enjoyed the audience's participation.
The biggest surprise of the
night came at the end of the show, when someone threw a Ram album
on stage with no pen. Paul asked for a pen and several came flying
on stage as well as about 20 albums, photos and various other
things.
Congrats to Bob Gannon for getting his
photo with Paul signed by Paul.
Spotted in the audience:
Penny Marshall, John O'Hurley and Keith Urban
Signs in the Audience:
"Liverpool," "Follow Me" (several signs), "Elvis Is Dead, Long Live the Beatles!" "Paul, Thank You For All The Years." "LIPA" Paul acknowledged a LIPA graduate (Congrats to Rori Shapiro) who took his master classes. He asked her to come up to the stage with her sign so he could sign it, but the oblivious venue security blocked her pathway. Heather's brother, Shane, volunteered to give it to Paul. Stay tuned....
The crew began dismantling
the stage after the show because there was another act scheduled
between Paul's four dates. The stage will be reassembled for the
Tuesday show.
Paul arrived in the black Lexus around
4:20 pm.
The show started late at 8:20pm
with DJ Freelance Hellraiser who received a mixed reaction. Paul
got onstage at 8:45 wearing the usual stage clothes. The audience
was very enthusiastic and Paul was in top form.
After "Let Me Roll It" sans the "Foxy Lady"
ending, Rusty played a bit of "The Stripper," which
got an admonishing look and a "you're bad" finger-wag
from Paul.
Rusty read a fortune cookie during his intro which said, "You
will succeed because of your charm and character."
As the piano was rising, Paul brought up his Tampa accident. "Behind
me the piano is rising from the bowels of the earth... There is
a hole--a big hole--and about the third show I fell back into
it." He mimed falling backwards several times demonstrating
how he held the Hofner and explained how things were "moving
in slow motion." "I thought, 'How deep IS this hole?'"
That got a lot of laughs and was hysterical to watch.
"Maybe I'm Amazed"
got a huge reception, with Paul acknowledging the cheers by waving
his arms and punching the air to encourage the crowd even more.
He told the standard "signs"
story pointing out a sign that wasn't there. "My mother saw
you at Shea Stadium" which got a huge crowd reaction. Then
he pointed down and said, "See, there's a sign. I'm trying
not to look. It's too complex." The sign said, "I've
seen you in ...Philly, Spain, Miami, London, DC, Anaheim, LA,
San Jose, London, NY, Phoenix, Oakland...and MORE." (Congrats
to Dave McLean)
After Jenny Wren," Paul pointed over to Dave and said, "Where's your sign now?" Dave wasn't holding it up so Paul cupped the mike in his hands and said in a low voice, "My FATHER saw you at Shea Stadium, too," which got quite a laugh.
Paul asked everyone to remember
John, George and Linda and touched his fist to his heart a couple
of times while the audience cheered.
After singing the first three lines of "For No One"
Paul seriously messed up the lyrics. He stopped the song, put
his arms on top of the piano and announced, "Okay, that was
a mistake." The audience went insane and he stood up to egg
them on. Then he sat down and said "Everyone makes mistakes.
I don't care... I'll just try that verse again. It proves it's
live." He had a minor flub but played the song until it's
end. Afterwards he leaned on the piano scratching his chin like
he was trying to figure out what he did wrong.
For "I'll Follow the Sun,"
which is quickly becoming a comedy act, he did the reprise three
times, then shook his head as if to say "no more," and
held up three fingers. He did go back to the mike for a fake-out
and one more reprise much to the amusement of the audience.
When Wix was introduced, he caused a minor riot by saying that
he was finding that each city had its own special expression,
and in New York it seemed to be "Go Yankees!" This led
to the crowd chanting "LET'S GO YANKEES!" for about
a minute. Paul turned and shook his finger at Wix as if to say
"WHY did you have to say THAT?" It appeared that Wix
didn't know what sport the Yankees played because Paul mouthed
"baseball" to him while the chanting was going on.
Paul dedicated 'Follow Me' "to my beautiful wife, Heather"
who moved from her Loge seat to the photo pit.
He introduced the Bach piece (which he nailed on the first try)
and made the "ck" sound by drawing out the pronunciation
from the back of his throat. He repeated the "ck" sound
again as if he was clearing his throat and then pretended to spit
on the stage. He said that it was a semi-classical piece and joked,
"Actually it was a classical piece but we (him and George)
made it semi-classical."
Brian brought up the Mets, saying he didn't want the Met fans
to feel left out. (there was considerable booing).
On the closing note of "Band on the Run" Paul made a
big show of sliding his finger all the way up the fretboard of
the Hofner, acting frustrated that he couldn't go any further.
Paul stuck out his arms and
mimed "airplane wings" during the jet audio intro of
"Back in the USSR."
After
the final explosion on "Live and Let Die," he feigned
a heart-attack pounding his chest and stuck his fingers in his
ears several times mocking the audience.
When Paul told the "Yesterday" story he mentioned that Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Marvin Gaye and Ray Charles recorded cover versions of the song.
The candle Paul lights before "Let It Be" now has a glass container around it.
At the encore Paul thanked the band, the audience and his crew which he called a "mini army of 140 people backstage. The best crew in the world!"
Spotted in the audience:
Lenny Kravitz, Marshall Crenshaw and Tony Bennett (sitting right
behind Heather in the Loge).
Signs in the audience:
" Thank You Forever," "Follow Paul," "Thanks for the high 5s," "Follow Me to Texas," "Follow Me" with the "W" drawn as the Wings logo. "Home Is Where the Heart Is" (distributed at the 2003 Liverpool concert) displayed during "Penny Lane."
"Paul, I was No. 140 in line, please sign my book. Love Pam" (Congrats to Pam Walker for getting her book signed!)
"We Survived Glastonbury
- Mike & Carol, Lancs, England." Paul mimed falling rain
and putting on wellies (rain boots) when he saw the sign. Macca
signed this banner at the end of the show.
Paul signed a Beatles "Second Album" and "London
Town." (Congrats to Bob Gannon)
Paul arrived in his Lexus at 4:15 pm and gave a high five to a man and his son as he passed. (Congrats to Tom Liverani) Five minutes later Abe, Rusty and Brian arrived in another Lexus.
Ambient music before the DJ took the stage included an instrumental of "Smile."
The show started around 8:25 pm and Paul came onstage around 8:50 pm wearing the black jacket with black satin lapels.
Before "Jet" Paul rushed to both sides of the stage and waved to the crowd. Then he stepped up to the mike still waving, made a face and said, " Greetings New York! We have come a long way to rock you tonight. [pauses for applause] ...and we will."
The audience was very loud and raucous for this show. Apparently people who wanted to stand couldn't because they were told to sit down the 'sitters'. By the time "Band On The Run" rolled around the 'sitters' finally got off their butts.
"Let Me Roll It" had the "Foxy Lady" ending which was longer than at previous shows.
Rusty Abe and Wix said special hellos to people in the audience. Wix had friends from England. Brian said hello to "Zsa Zsa." Paul said off mike to Brian, "Zsa Zsa Gabor? She's here?"
When Paul told the "I Will"
story someone in the front row shouted, "PASADENA!"
before Paul mentioned where the restaurant was. Then Paul exchanged
a few words with the fan (who was in the front row). "Shhhhhh!
You've been here before? This is for the people who haven't been."
The fan said he had been to the restaurant.
Paul then recalled a story told to him by comedian Jerry Seinfeld.
"You know I was talking to Jerry Seinfeld... who once told
me he was in a club telling his jokes and one guy in the crowd
said, "Heard it! Not funny," after each joke. So sometimes
it's good and sometimes it's not so good. [Paul looked at the
person who shouted PASADENA as if to say "shhhhhh!"]
... before I was interrupted... [pauses] I was in a Mexican restaurant
in PASADENA..." Macca finished the "I Will" story.
Paul had vocal problems on "Jenny Wren" with his voice cracking a few times on the higher notes and on " For No One" where he was straining. Most of the show his voice sounded fine.
The next time the piano came up he smiled and said, "Here is that hole again!"
Peradventure story was back with Paul saying that today in New York coffee shops, he heard people were using the word 'peradventure'.
The fanasylum group sitting in the front row egged Paul on to do more reprises at the end of "I'll Follow The Sun." After the 'fifth' one he said, "no, no, no" and waved his hand to say "that's enough!"
Paul dedicated "Follow Me" to his "lovely wife and baby."
Macca didn't say "This is for the Wings fans" before "Too Many People."
Paul sang the whole first verse of "Baby Face" before he stopped the band with one member groaning, "I thought this was the night." "No, no, no... that's the wrong song," said Paul.
During "Hey Jude" Heather came out of Brian's side and stood at the railing singing along with the song. She waved and greeted fans on the side with "Hello!" After "Live and Let Die" she moved to the inside of the barricade in front of Paul and sat on a pillow sipping Poland Spring bottled water. She left with her security guard after "Please, Please Me."
After "Get Back" Paul said, "Are you having a good time? ["YEAH!" screams the audience] I'm having a good time. The house is rocking tonight! Let's rock some more!" and he launched into "Helter Skelter."
Before they left the stage
for the first time, fans threw four stuffed monkeys with long
arms and legs on the stage. Paul caught them one at a time and
played with them. Macca and the band took their traditional bows
with a "side-step shuffle" and did a full out "monkey
dance" to the delight of those who threw them. Items were
thrown onstage to be autographed, but were brushed to the side
by roadies. Paul 
walked off with a
gaggle of monkeys.
After the first encore a fan
threw a white teddy bear which he immediately picked up. (Congrats
again to Linda Aiello) He looked at Linda and said, "For
me?" He then read the note to himself and said, "Ahhh."
The note said to give it to baby Beatrice. Paul played around
with it and put it up to his ear like it was talking to him. Then
he nodded his head like he was 'agreeing' with it. Someone threw
another bear and Paul held them both moving them like they were
talking to each other.
Wix returned with a monkey hanging off his arm for the last encore.
Paul came out with the U.S. flag and waved it over the fans in
the front row, touching them. He thanked New York and the audience
for coming out and giving him and the band such a warm welcome.
He also thanked Madison Square Garden for an incredible four night
stand.
When Paul was lighting the candle for "Let It Be," a
fan in the front row said, "and then there was light."
Paul heard that and repeated it out loud to the audience as he
lit the candle. (Congrats to Elsa Buckingham)
Fans threw dozens of items to be autographed. Paul picked up a Sgt Pepper doll of himself and held it up and another stuffed monkey. Someone threw an album cover that almost hit Paul in the head. Paul didn' t notice but the audience did and yelled, "UUUAAAAAAAHHHHGGGGGG!"
What was signed:
Congrats to Bob Gannon who
got his "Tug of War" album signed.
Paul autographed a sign that read, "I just got laid"
and signed a "Beatles '65" album cover.
Spotted in the audience:
Max Weinberg (Springsteen's E-Street Band drummr, Conan O'Brien Show) Christopher Walken, Clint Black, Lucy Liu, Steve Buscemi and Lenny Kravitz who was sitting at the sound board in front of Section 10.
Signs in the audience:
"MAK SHOW," "You
shine on my soul," "The Glastonbury Three - See You
in DC, " "This is My 41st Paul McCartney Concert,"
acknowledged by Heather who smiled and waved from photo pit, acknowledged
by Paul who waggled a finger as if to say 'naughty boy' (Congrats
to Dave McLean), "Follow Paul" (with big red heart),
"Oh Yeah, Oh Yeah."
"REMEMBER LONG GUM WRAPPER CHAIN?" acknowledged by Paul.
(Congrats to Roe Rosen) Story behind the sign: Back in 1965 at
Shea Stadium, Roe gave Paul a 75-foot chain made of gum wrappers.
Just before The Beatles last song, "I'm Down," Macca
said, "I want to thank the girl for the long chain."
Paul arrived
at the MCI Center around 5:05pm with a police escort and two black
Lexus SUV's. Paul was in the first car and waved to the fans as
he went by. The car did not stop. There were dozens of fans waiting
even though it was raining.
Songs heard at the soundcheck: "Matchbox," "Midnight
Special," "India," "Lady Madonna."
The show started a 8:15pm with Freelance Hellraiser. Paul arrived
onstage around 8:45pm wearing, blue jeans, a black jacket with
maroon satin lapels and a turquoise shirt. Macca's voice sounded
strong throughout the show with some weakness on the high notes
of "Jenny Wren". There was a generous amount of stage
banter with the audience who rocked on the Beatles numbers. The
audience politely sat down for the new songs and for the most
part were a little more conservative than at other shows. Macca
brought the house down on "Helter Skelter."
The audience got a good chuckle
when Paul removed his jacket, and Rusty played a few notes from
"The Stripper." A man in the audience let out a very
loud wolf whistle.
After "I'll Get You," Paul said
that Washington D.C. was a special place for him and referred
to the Beatles first American concert back in 1964. Paul said,
"It is appropriate to play one of the first songs we did,
since D.C. was our very first gig here."
Paul told
the story about recording "In Spite of All the Danger"
and when he got to the part about John Duff Lowe keeping the record
he said, "Duff kept it for "twenty-three years ... allegedly."
And added, "His lawyers might be in the crowd."
Rusty tore open another fortune cookie commenting that he got
it from one of D.C.'s "finest Chinese restaurants."
The fortune said, "You should undertake and accomplish anything."
When Paul started "Jenny
Wren" you could hear a pin drop. After "Jenny Wren"
Paul commented with a smirk, "Peradventure this message might
get back to some important leaders."
Abe said a "hello" to the Wilcox family.
Paul did not do the pantomine
intro for "English Tea." After the song he explained
his new favorite word, "peradventure." He said, "I
think I'm the only person who used it in a song and the only person
who wanted to! So I've been telling this story as we travel 'round
and it's sweeping country. Guys are going into coffee bars, and
when they're asked, 'would you like some more coffee, buddy,'
they say, 'peradventure I might."
Before "Too Many People," Paul read a sign that said
"Happy Birthday John" (Congrats to Toni Kracker who
got several nods for her sign from Paul) and acknowledged that
tomorrow (October 9th) was John's birthday. He said, "There is a sign there, I think we are going
to do something a bit different tonight. I'd like you all to join
me, seeing as it's coming up on John's birthday. Sing him HAPPY
BIRTHDAY!" He
began the first verse of "Happy Birthday," with the
whole audience joining in. He
then asked the crowd to remember "our departed love ones,
John, George and Linda." The crowd cheered for over a minute.
You could see tears welling up in Paul's eyes as he blew a kiss
towards the sky.
He did not dedicate "Follow Me" to Heather and the baby.
Instead he mentioned it was from the new CD.
When Paul was talking about the J.S. Bach piece someone yelled out "YEAH!" to which Paul responded "Yeah man!" pointing to the fan. Someone in the front row yelled out "Blackbird" when Paul alluded to "the next song." Macca feigned annoyance, "Now don't you be giving it away...just because you've been before!" He repeated the Jerry Seinfeld story and said, "Sooo as I was saying... For those of you who haven't been before, I used those three notes for the beginning of this next song." Paul pointed to the fan who interrupted and gave him a thumbs up.
Brian threw some guitar picks
to the crowd and commented, "You're a lot louder than when
we were here last time."
"I'll Follow the Sun" got two reprises, then Paul held
up one finger to emphasize that he was only going to do it one
more time. After the third reprise he said that "it's short,
so we keep going on." Macca did four reprises to and really
got a kick out of the crowd begging for a fifth which he didn't
do.
When Wix was introduced, he reminded everyone that they had just
been in New York and confessed that he had caused a near riot
at Madison Square Garden by bringing up a certain sports team
(Yankees). He said that since it was D.C., he had considered saying
something political, but decided instead to be "like a politician
and say nothing at all." He added, "Now I'll do the
political thing and turn it over to our leader."
Paul did the "Baby Face" fake-out
before "Hey Jude."
When John Hammel handed Paul
his guitar he seemed a bit perturbed over something. Paul paused
cocked his head, giggled and said "Ah, yeah, well..."
Before Paul began "Sgt. Pepper" he said, "...so
good to see so many happy faces in the hall."
Abe lost a drumstick when
he was pounding his way through "The End," but never
missed a beat.
Paul signed a "Band on
the Run" album cover, a booklet and a copy of "High
in The Clouds," (Congrats to Chuck, Pam, Kelly and Patrick
Gallagher)
THE STORY BEHIND THE BOOK: Paul saw Patrick (9-year-old son of
Pam and Chuck) in the front row holding a "High in the Clouds"
book and gestured by pointing and making a writing motion that
he would sign the book. After the first encore he pointed to Chuck
and mouthed "I'll get it from you." At the end of the
show Paul crouched down in front of the family and motioned for
Chuck to throw the book which he caught. An assistant handed Paul
a pen and he signed the book and tossed it back to Chuck.
Signs in the audience:
"NEED A BABYSITTER?"
which caught Paul's eye after the first encore. Macca pointed
to it, laughed and gave the thumbs up.
"We Got Married on 6/18/04," "Macca Rocks,"
"Who Knows How Long I've Loved You-- 42 Years/You Know I
Love You Still," "Here, DC-There, San Fran-Everywhere
Paul!" "Paul for President," "Ram On,"
"Too Cool." "My Heart Went Boom," "This
is My 42nd Macca Show," "LIPA Forever," "The
Glastonbury Three - See You Next Time - In Houston," "Rusty
Rocks" (which Rusty acknowledged), "Oh Yeah, Oh Yeah,
Oh Yeah" (acknowledged by Paul during "I'll Get You."
Congrats to Podgie!)
Paul arrived
in a five car motorcade of black Lexus SUV's with a police escort.
The police blasted their sirens as they approached the Air Canada
Center around 5:05 pm. More than 100 fans were waiting along a
driveway that led to the underground ramp. Paul was in the first
car that zoomed by. It didn't slow down. He rolled down the window
and waved. The three cars that followed did not have open windows.
In the last Lexus was film director Mark Haefeli who leaned out
the window with his video camera. Apparently a DVD of this tour
is being shot.
At 5:45 pm the soundcheck began and lasted until almost 7pm.
Songs heard at the soundcheck:
"Mull of Kintyre"
(with and without the pipe band), "Matchbox," "Honey
Don't," "Coming Up," "All My Loving,"
"C Moon," "Celebration," "Midnight Special,"
"I've Just Seen A Face," "Friends To Go,"
"Fun in Toronto" (impromptu jam), " Massage Song"
(improv), "Lady Madonna."
The show started at late at 8:25 pm with DJ Freelance Hellraiser.
"Really Love You" was omitted from the Twin Freaks set.
Paul got on stage at 8:50 pm. He wore the black blazer with black
satin lapels, tight fitting black corduroy trousers, and a long
sleeved turquoise T- shirt which now had a "no-sweat"
lining. The black trousers were a better combination than the
jeans, giving Paul a trim look.
After "Flaming Pie " Paul said, "GREETINGS TORONTO!
GREETINGS CANA-DER! We've come many miles to rock you tonight
and rock you we will." Then he began "Jet."
At the song's end, Paul leaned on Rusty and put his hand on his
chin. Paul said, "Great to be back here in Toronto. I have
one of those feelings again... I feel like we're gonna have some
fun and by the way, Happy Thanksgiving! [crowd cheers]
After "Jet" Paul said, "I'm going to take a moment
to drink this all in." Paul paused to look at the crowd,
drawing a big roar of approval.
"On this tour we are doing new songs and old songs. This
one falls into the latter category. If you remember it, you weren't
there!" said Paul as he began the "Oh, Yeahs,"
for "I'll Get You."
When the song finished, Macca screamed "Woo Ooo!" and
said rubbing his chin, "I have a feeling we are going to
have a good time."
"Let Me Roll It" had an extended "Foxy Lady"
ending.
Rusty played a couple bars of "The Stripper" when Paul
removed his jacket. Paul pointed a scolding finger at him as if
to say, "Behave yourself!"
After "Got To Get You Into My Life" Paul talked about
his piano pit accident calling the hole "the bowels of the
earth." He introduced Rusty and said, "I'd like to introdust...
INTRO DUST?" [laughs and makes confused face] Then he corrected
himself. Rusty read a fortune cookie that said, "A pleasant
surprise is in store for you."
During "Fine Line" Rusty and Brian did a couple of synchronized
jumps. Paul shook his butt after the song and did a 'hair-bow.'
(when he grabs onto a forehead bang and tips his head.)
Paul took a bow after "The Long and Winding Road" and
stayed with his head down for 10 seconds swaying his hips from
side to side. Then he talked about seeing signs that say "Mind
the Gap" at every show to warn him about the piano pit opening,
which he appreciates. "And believe me, I DO!" he said.
The Toronto crowd sang the "Oh-oh-oh-oh's," as instructed
by Paul during "In Spite of All the Danger." Paul remarked
after the song, "I'm touched by 20,000 people singing."
He told the same story for "I Will"
talking about declining a drink from a man who offered. At the
story's end he said, "The next time I'll accept the drink."
That brought waves of laughter from the audience.
For "Jenny Wren" he said, This is a new song off the
new album." There was some applause. Those that were standing
politely sat down and you could tell the crowd was very into the
song, because you could hear a pin drop. Paul sang it flawlessly.
It got a huge response.
Macca talked about the signs with the story getting more humorous.
He said that when he sees the signs, "I have to read them
because your mind splits and one side says 'READ IT' and the other
side says 'DON'T READ IT you've got chords. What are YOU doing?
No NO! Don't read it. Don't read it.' Don't know how your mind
does it really."
"Fixing A Hole" had a nice new instrumental intro on
the piano.
"For No One" got a big response. Paul stood up, leaned
over the top of the piano resting his elbows then struck a pose
resting his chin on one hand.
"English Tea" had the pantomine intro and the 'peradventure'
story. When Paul said the word "Peradventure" someone
screamed WHOOO! Paul responded "WHOOO indeed!" He said
that the use of the word "was sweeping North America."
From out of nowhere a man yelled something unintelligible. Paul
flew around to stare him in the face and pointed sternly at him
saying, "No, No! No NO! STOP SHOUTING OUT! I'M TALKING!"
Then he told the Jerry Seinfeld story. Paul said people shouted
out at Seinfeld "HEARD IT! HEARD IT! Paul sounded like a
frog when he said "Heard It!" Accentuating it like,
"Rib-bit" Rib-bIt," which was quite funny.
"I'll Follow the Sun" had two reprises.
Paul dedicated "Follow Me" to "my lovely wife Heather
and our little baby." "Follow Me" signs were held
up during the song that Paul acknowledged. A Japanese man held
up his paper fan with Japanese writing on it. Paul spotted it
and said, "Domo! Arigato! Konichiwa! That's as far as I go,"
then laughed.
Macca took a serious pause and said, "I like to take a moment
for a little bit of appreciation for our dear departed loved ones,
John, George and LINDA!" The crowed cheered. Paul seemed
emotionally moved.
Paul played a little of the J.S. Bach song without any mistakes
and then 'sang the notes' saying this is how the song really should
be played, "do-do-do-do..." Macca explained that he
and George used to play the song to impress people. "We played
it to show people we weren't as THICK as we looked."
Abe and Rusty did their synchronized movements during "Eleanor
Rigby." Abe really really got into it, strolling up to the
microphone with exaggerated dance poses. Rusty was less adventurous.
After the song and applause Rusty put
on his guitar and showed the back of it which said, "THANKX".
Paul said, "Oh, you're a lovely bunch of people," and
asked the audience, "Are you having a good time?" They
cheered. Paul shrugged as he lifted one foot at a time. Then he
rubbed his chest and put his hand over his head striking a pose.
"This is for the Wings fans in the house tonight," said
Paul as he launched into "Too Many People." The song
got the house rocking as did "Band On The Run" which
got everyone up on their feet.
When Brian was introduced he mentioned that when the stage was
put together by Barrie Marshall's (Tour Director) staff it had
great sight lines so the performers could see the audience. Brian
took a moment to point and wave to the crowd on both sides of
the stage. Paul joined him as they walked across both sides of
the stage.
The Russian story about "Back In The USSR" is evolving
as it goes along. Paul is speaking with a Russian accent as he
tells the story about the clouds being sprayed by Russian jets
before the show to prevent rain. He says, "I'm not quite
sure what they spray it with, but it's TRUE!"
Paul did not do the "Baby Face" intro to "Hey Jude."
He did a little 'tinkering' on the piano before he started the
song. The highlight of the song was Paul's pantomines as he led
the crowd in the singalongs. He pointed to the upper level and
asked the people in the "ash trays" to sing only. Then
"the people in the middle" and "now the men."
Paul stood next to Brian and showed him his biceps as he flexed
his left arm. "Now the women." Paul rotated his hips
in an effeminate manner with one hand behind his head and the
other one on his hip. All the time video crews were showing fans
on the video screens. There was a shot of Heather singing along
from her seat in section 118 on the left side of the stage.
"Live and Let Die" has more pyrotechnic punch than at
the early shows. The sparklers and flame throwers have some color
to them now. Paul just can't help himself at the end of the song
where he stands banging on the piano. He mocks the audience by
putting his fingers in his ears and grimacing.
When Paul took the stage and the dreaded "Red Wings"
sticker on his acoustic was spotted by the rival Toronto hockey
fans, there were 'boos' of disapproval but in a good natured way.
Paul didn't notice. He mentioned that he was playing the original
guitar that he used on the Ed Sullivan show not realizing that
the 'sticker' was shown on the video screens.
Macca said, "I know you want to rock some more," before
he launched into "Helter Skelter." The crowd went nuts.
At the song's end the band took their bows and stayed bent over
as they did the 'shuffle side-step.' Paul went the wrong way with
his feet when he shuffled, stepping on the other band members'
feet.
For the second encore Paul came running out on stage waving the
Canadian flag and wearing the "no more land mines" red
T-shirt. Rusty had a giant flag of Ontario.
Right after "Please Please Me,"
Paul said, "One of the great things about going to Cana-der
is we get to do this next song." He began "Mull of Kintyre"on
acoustic and was joined onstage by the 30-member Peel Regional
Police Pipe Band in full dress. The crowd went wild.
The song went well until the end when Paul lost his place and
made the only flaw of the show. He sang "Mull of Kintyre,
Oh mist rolling in from... instead of "La la la la, Mull
of Kintrye..." Paul made a face like "Uh Oh! I screwed
up!" He laughed and continued with the correct lyrics and
did his famous shout at the end.
"We had to do that one!" said Paul. The audience
cheered. "We want to thank everyone in the band for coming
along and doing that. It's a big thrill for us. The sound of those
pipes is something isn't it?"
When the pipers left his psychedelic piano was rolled out and
he said, "BEHOLD! A PIANO! We've had quite the light show
tonight, but for this next song we're gonna try lighting it with
just a single candle." He took out a lighter and lit the
large white candle on top of his piano. Then he carefully placed
a glass-hurricane cover over it.
Paul said his usual goodbyes to the crowd telling them they had
to go home. He thanked the band and crew and told the crowd, "But
most of all we want to thank you!" He then launched to "Sgt.
Pepper/The End." At the very last note of "The End"
he held his hand up in the air, pointed to the sky and closed
his eyes in deep concentration.
He and the band took their bows, but first made a huddle and put
out their hands touching each other's wiggling fingers. They bent
down to bow and went into a 'monkey dance' swinging their arms
as they dragged their knuckles on the floor while jumping up and
down.
Paul ran from one side of the stage to the other waving to fans.
He signed a poster (available for purchase at the show) before
he left. Not too many items were tossed to the stage. Someone
threw a flower on stage which Paul picked up and sniffed!
He grabbed the microphone and yelled, "HEY TORONTO! HEY CANA-DER!
You've been fantastic! See ya next time!" And left the stage.
Signs in the audience:
"63 never looked so good,"
"Scream if you love Paul," "I named my puppy Jet,"
"Paul Forever," "Paul I (heart) U," "The
Man, The Legend, The Icon" "I Love Paul" (in a
giant heart), "This Bird Loves Paul - Let's ROCK."
Bagpiper's story:
Former Toronto Maple Leafs' goalie Glenn Healy was one of the
bagpipers and told a fan that when Paul was onstage with the pipers
during the song, he turned to the band and said, "Is this
f*king great or what?"
Jorie Gracen