October 14 - Detroit, Michigan - The Palace of Auburn Hills
© 2005 COPYRIGHT JORIE GRACENPaul arrived around 4:55 pm
with a police motorcade and waved to the fans. He was talking
on the cell phone to DJ Ken Calvert of Classic Rock WCSX. At 4:45
pm the soundcheck was underway.
Macca performed to a capacity crowd of 16,000. The show started
around 8:30 pm with Paul arriving onstage at 9 pm. McCartney was
in good voice except for songs with higher notes. He started out
a little rough vocally, but his voice got better during the evening.
There was a lot of interaction with the audience and Paul was
in a playful mood.
The audience had a slow start and
seemed reserved. "Jet" got some up on their feet but
it wasn't until later in the show when the crowd got unglued from
their seats.
Out of the four "Chaos"
tunes, "Jenny Wren" received the best response, however,
Paul struggled to make the higher notes. "Follow Me"
was another crowd pleaser.
The "Foxy Lady" ending to "Let Me Roll It"
was omitted.
Paul did four reprises to "I'll Follow the Sun." And when he was urged by an audience member to do a fifth, "Give me 5 Paul!" Macca retorted, "Let's not get ridiculous now!"
A woman in the front row kept
talking to Paul throughout the show. Paul said, 'I can't talk
to you ALL night! What about the others?" She told him to
'forget the others." He said, "Yeah, OK, we'll just
forget the other 20,000..."
Paul praised the audience and said Detroit was the home to "some
of the world's greatest music."
"Too Many People" and "She Came In Through the Bathroom Window" got the audience on their feet and kept the momentum going for the rest of the show.
The Macca "Peraventure" story turned out well for a fan who had the right sign. "PERADVENTURE AN AUTOGRAPH?" Paul nodded when he saw the sign. Read below for the rest of the story.
Brian gave a nod to the Detroit music scene thanking the city for "50 years of great music, from Hitsville to Mitch Ryder, all the way to the White Stripes."
The highlight of the concert
was a first for a McCartney show. Right after "Eleanor Rigby,"
Paul was talking about how difficult it is to concentrate on what
he is doing when he sees signs he must read in the audience. He
pointed out a sign and read. "Ben is asking Melissa in the
fourth row to marry him." Paul looked at Ben and commanded,
"Well go on, get down on your knees and ask her Ben!"
Ben got down on one knee and proposed to Melissa, which was shown
on all the video screens. It was apparent that Melissa had no
idea that this would happen. Lucky Ben -- someone yelled out,
"She said YES!" Wix said, "Now the wedding ceremony
with Rev. Paul." Paul, amused by the newly engaged couple,
joked, "Well that's a first for me and I hope it's a last
for you Ben."
For "Hey Jude" Paul called upon the happy couple to sing the "na-na-nahs." "People in the upper deck... people in the middle... just the men... just the women... And now just Ben and Melissa!" (read Ben's story)
Paul's
couldn't find his voice at the beginning of "Yesterday."
He seemed annoyed and cleared his throat. That did the trick.
Paul showed off the Detroit Red Wings sticker on his acoustic
guitar which got cheers from the crowd. He mentioned that he used
that very guitar on the Sullivan show and said, "Then I added
the sticker." (NOTE: The sticker was added when he played
Detroit's Olympia Stadium with Wings back in May of 1976)
A woman who came all the way from Italy held up a sign telling Paul where she was from. At the end of the show Paul thanked his crew, the band and the audience adding "thanks to those who came from Italy."
Paul signed three items including a "Twin Freaks" vinyl album cover. (Congrats to Don Krueger)
Story behind the Twin Freaks autograph:
When Paul came out for the last encore waving the American flag, I held up my sign ("PERAVENTURE AN AUTOGRAPH?") with my vinyl copy of "Twin Freaks." As he was waving the flag over us, he looked at me and nodded, as if to say 'yes'. So I put my sign and LP down until the end. As the band was taking their bows, I launched the album on stage (from the third row). Paul picked it up signed it and threw it right back to me. He also threw my pen to me but someone else grabbed it.
Signs in the audience:
"Melissa Don't Do It!"
"Welcome to the (MOTOR crossed out replaced with) MACCA City"
recognized by Paul with a thumbs up. Pink glow sticks held up
in the shape of an "L" during "Maybe I'm Amazed"
got a mouthed "thanks" from Paul. (Congrats to Don Kreuger
for the before-mentioned sign and glow sticks)
"Paul please play your Rickenbacker bass" to which Paul
said, "Sorry mate, didn't bring it."
"TO SIR WITH LOVE" (Paul pointed at the sign and then
at himself and said "ME?" Congrats to Pam Junge), "THANKS
FOR A MAGICAL KNIGHT," "MacLiscious," "Happy
Birthday, Bea."
BEN AND MELISSA'S ENGAGEMENT STORY
I wanted to quickly write
about our experience at Paul's show on Friday, October 14 in Detroit.
Besides being a great concert, what a memorable evening it turned
out to be for Melissa and myself! I had been trying to come up
with a creative way to propose to my girlfriend and I decided
that doing it at the Paul McCartney concert would be a neat way
to pop the question. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that
Paul would be there to actually help with it!
I
had spent the last few weeks calling and emailing people trying
to get word to Paul that I was planning on doing it, but I never
heard back from anyone. I decided that making a sign or two would
be the best bet, especially since we would be in row 4. I made
several signs, one for myself to hold and a few extra to pass
out. Special thanks to Pam and her friend - I can't think what
your name is off the top of my head - for taking one, and for
the guy who asked if I had an extra one to pass up front.) When
the show started I held up my sign while Melissa thought it was
the "We love you Paul" sign she made, not knowing it
was my "Marry Me" sign.
Several songs had passed and nothing had happened when someone walked by and asked if I had an extra sign they could pass up to the front row. I said yes and gave him one. I don't know how long the sign was there, but right after Paul performed "Eleanor Rigby" he was talking about reading signs and trying to remember chords, lyrics, etc. He bent down like he was reading a sign, then his eyes lit up and a big smile came across his face. He said, "I have to read this one! 'Can Ben in row 4 ask Melissa to marry him?' I don't know, Ben, can you?" Paul said.
I started jumping up waving my hands so Paul could find me. I pulled out the ring out of my pocket and I heard Melissa gasp. Paul told me "to get down on one knee, just like this (he demonstrated)" then he told me to, "Come on, get to it!" So I got down on one knee and proposed. I heard Paul say into the microphone, "She said yes!" and the entire Palace of Auburn Hills went up in cheers and yells. Wix referred to Paul as "Reverend Paul," and then Paul said "This has never happened at a concert before. This is a first for me, and it better be a last for you, Ben!"
Through the rest of the show Rusty, who was standing in front of us, would look down and smile and wink at us. Paul kept constant eye contact with us for the rest of the show, smiling and waving and winking at us. The happiness in his face was showing. At one point he had a long "ooooooooo" and shaking his head and I was singing along doing the same. He saw me and started to laugh. Afterwards he waved his finger at me in a "I saw that!" way but then gave me the thumbs up. During "Hey Jude" when it came to the "na na na na" section Paul did the "just this side, just this side, just the men, just the women" thing, and then he said, "Now just Ben and Melissa!" and there we were on the big screen! I know that not one person heard us, but we tried out best! At the very end of the show, when the band was taking its final bows, right before they left the stage, they came to the edge of the stage where we were and gave us thumbs up and waves, then bowed for us! Both Melissa and I am touched at the kindness shown to us there.
On Saturday we went back and Melissa made a "Thanks Paul! Love Ben and Melissa" sign to hold when the limo came through. When Paul arrived, he saw it and waved and gave us the thumbs up. We were interviewed by Paul's video guy, and Bill Bernstein and several others took our picture. During the show, Paul mentioned the engagement again and everyone said they could tell he was really proud to be part of that.
I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who was there and has sent their well-wishes and prayers to Melissa and me. We really appreciate it and we're happy to have been able to share a special moment with so many people, including Paul himself! God Bless all of you!
Sincerely,
Ben Okuly
When Paul arrived at 5:05pm
the venue the car slowed down and actually stopped. Here's a great
close encounter story! 
Don Kreuger (see
Detroit first night) brought his wife and four sons (John
6, Ringo 4, George 3, and Paul 1 - not their real names). The
boys were dressed in Sgt. Pepper outfits and when Paul's video
crew saw them the family was asked to stand inside the area where
Paul would get out of his car. Don was given a program and a pen
just in case Paul decided to sign an autograph.
Macca's car arrived with police sirens blaring. He spotted the
kids, waved and said, "Hi, guys!" The boys waved back
and said, "Hi Paul!" Then Paul said to Don's wife, "What
a troop!" He then turned to Don, squinted and pointed to
him with recognition, "I saw you last night!" Don replied,
"You sure did!" Paul didn't sign the program but Don
did get to keep it and the 'pen.' (Congrats to the Kreuger family!)
PHOTO: Bill
Bernstein
For the show, Paul wore a 'new' long sleeved T-shirt. It was light
purple with white at the bottom and had a big star on the front.
After the previous night's lukewarm crowd Paul was charged up
for this show giving it his all and the Detroit audience responded
tenfold. Macca was very 'chatty' and had lots of interaction with
the audience. His voice was in top form though it cracked on "Jenny
Wren."
The "Foxy Lady" jam was put back in at the end of "Let
Me Roll it." Also Paul did the "Baby Face" intro
to "Hey Jude" stopping it without finishing it.
Paul mentioned the "Ben and Melissa engagement" which
he was quite proud of participating in. He said that Melissa did
say "Yes." He also learned that the word "Detroit"
meant "strait" (city of the strait) and passed that
info onto the crowd.
When Paul told the audience it was time to go home, he recited
the words to "Rip It Up" because of the Saturday night
reference. "Cause 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 feelin' fine..."
This is something he's been doing at all the Saturday night shows.
At the encore, a fan threw a koala bear to Paul who picked up
and said, "Is this for me?" He held it up to the mike
like he was going to talk to it. Then he took it offstage with
him.
Paul signed an album and a few other items.
Signs in the audience:
"Missing Vet School For You," acknowledged by Paul who
shook a "you're bad" finger at the sign holder (Congrats
to Michelle Milan), "Fans on the Run" (acknowledged
with a nod by Paul. Congrats to Rick Glover of Beatlefan
Magazine) "I will die happy if you blow me a kiss."
Paul acknowledged the sign, but didn't blow a kiss.
Paul's Lexus arrived at 6 pm
at the United Center directly from the airport. His plane had
been delayed flying in from New York. There were 
about 60 fans waiting for the car. Paul
was on the right side of the car. He opened up his window, gave
the thumbs up and high fived several people as the car slowed
to turn into the ramp of the venue. Some fans got close enough
to hold Paul's hands (Congrats to Sue Walker) and one fan even
squeezed his arm (Congrats to Teresa Dankoski).
Fans that were on the wrong side of the car made a beeline for
the Lexus, running into the street and across the driveway. There
was a look of fear in Paul's eyes.
The soundcheck began soon after Paul arrived and ended around 6:50 pm with the doors opening close to 7pm.
There was such a high demand
for tickets in Chicago that $50 standing room only tickets were
available the day of the shows at the box office.
The United Center audience exploded when McCartney arrived onstage
around 8:50 pm wearing his usual stage 
outfit. Paul was blown away by the warm
Chicago response and it fueled his onstage antics throughout the
concert. Paul deviated from the usual script, embellishing stories
and treating the crowd to impromptu dances, silly faces and entertaining
pantomimes.
Macca was in good voice but had trouble making the high notes on Jenny Wren which has been a problem since the beginning of the tour. His voice got better as the evening progressed.
There was no "Foxy Lady" ending for "Let Me Roll It." Paul messed up the lyrics at the end of the song singing part of the first verse instead of the last one.
Paul made a gesture of licking his finger then pretending to touch the air and quickly pulling back his hand like it was too hot to touch. It was in reference to how HOT the audience was.
Paul goofed up the words to
"Got To Get You into My Life." The words are, "Ooh
you were meant to be near me. Ooh, and I want you hear me. Say
we'll be together every day." He sang, "Ooh then I suddenly
hear you. Oo-E! [realizes mistake] you were meant to be near me.
Every single day of my life."
Paul had an "Uh, oh" look on his face and raised his
eyebrows. After the song he drew an imaginary number one in the
air to indicate the first major mistake of the evening and looked
over at Abe who was laughing.
At the end of the song Paul introduced Rusty and gave him a 'finger wiggle' (wiggling his fingers as he touched Rusty's wiggling fingers). Rusty congratulated the Chicago White Sox for winning the American League pennant which brought cheers. Paul put his arms up in a salute to the crowd. While Rusty continued to talk Paul strutted around with his hands deep in his pockets. Then he did a robot like movement with his arms.
Fans in the front of the stage bent their pink glow sticks into the shape of an "L" in tribute to Linda when Paul sang "Maybe I'm Amazed." He nodded and blew a kiss. Rusty and Brian did a couple of synchronized jumps during the song.
After "The Long and Winding Road"
Macca stood up, bent his arms over his head and struck a pose
as he wiggled his hips. John Hammel handed Paul his acoustic guitar
and Paul began the "Tampa story." At previous shows
he would say, "About the third show on the tour I fell into
a big hole..." Paul has corrected himself and says it was
the 'second show (which Tampa was). Macca pantomimed falling backwards
as he held the imaginary Hofner and yelled, "Oy!"
When the band left the stage for the solo set, Paul said, "So make yourself comfortable and welcome to my living room." He told the story about the Quarrymen making their first record and that Duff kept the record for 23 years. "Just kidding Duff in case it gets back to him," laughed Paul. He asked the audience to participate on "In Spite of All the Danger" and said, "there's a bit for you if you fancy joining in." He sang the "whoa, oh-oh-ohs" and the audience repeated. "Perfect! Twenty thousand backing singers," said Paul.
Apparently, most of the audience was unfamiliar with the song and started singing the "whoa, oh-oh-ohs" at the wrong time. When Paul heard it he made an expression on his face like "What the f*k?" At the end of the song he said, "I caught a few people adding bits... 'whoa, whoa whoa, whoooaa!' [laughs] No one has to do that one. Thank you."
After "Jenny Wren" Paul noticed the signs in the audience. He said he had trouble playing guitar or piano and remembering the words to songs while he is reading the signs. It required a lot of concentration on his part which he demonstrated by rubbing his stomach and patting his head at the same time while walking over to the piano.
Right after "Fixing A
Hole," Paul leaned on the piano with one elbow, and put his
hand under his chin. "You're a 
great bunch of people!" he said standing
up for the applause.
Next came "English Tea" and Paul talked about the word "peradventure" saying, "suddenly it was there in the song." Macca had to look it up in the dictionary to make sure it was a word. He used a mock New York accent to convey an imaginary conversation in a coffee shop with the use of the word. "Do you want some more coffee buddy?" "Peradventure I might."
"I'll Follow the Sun" had three reprises which required some begging from the crowd and a sign that said "One More Time!" (Congrats to S.Lo) After the second reprise, Abe started to drum, but Paul didn't start singing. It seemed like Paul was finished, but he surprised the audience and did another reprise.
Paul dedicated "Follow Me" to "my lovely wife and our baby."There were several "Follow Me" signs held up during the song. Paul said, "Thank you for the' Follow Me' signs. Yes you hold up a sign that reads....."
Right after "Follow Me" Paul started talking about playing guitar with George and John when they were teenagers. Then he said, "I'll like to take a moment of appreciation for our dear departed loved ones, John, George and Linda." He raised up his hands, emotionally moved from the outpouring of love and said, "Thank you" as he held back his tears.
When he told the "Bach" story he exaggerated the "ch" sound and said "by J.S Bac-aach" and pretended like he was spitting. Then he demonstrated the song. "We never played it perfect... it didn't quite go like this... it went more like this...dada-dee da-dada dada-dee... that's the bit where it went wrong and years later I adapted that... I liked it so much I adapted that into this next song." Then he started "Blackbird."
"Hey, thank you folks," said Paul raising his acoustic high over his head after the song.
During "Eleanor Rigby" Rusty and Abe were doing silly dances and gestures while Paul sang his part. Rusty twirled and crossed his hands over his chest. Abe was mouthing the words Paul was singing while swaying and dancing in place.
Paul introduced Wix saying that Wix had
to play the keyboards with his hands and feet which took a lot
of concentration. Wix gestured by rubbing his stomach and patting
his head. He played a little bit of "Eleanor Rigby"
on the keyboards then picked up a guitar from behind the keyboard
and said, "The payoff is on the next number when I get to
play one of these. I'll be down in the front soon..."
"Too Many People" blew the Chicago crowd away.
Brian said he had friends in the audience from high school, Nancy and Jeff. "It' great to see you guys here, " he said.
When Paul sang the line "keeps me on my toes" from "I've Got A feeling," he raised up on his toes and made a silly face. After the song he raised the Les Paul guitar horizontally over his head, pranced around and lifted it up and down like it was a weight.
He messed up the line in "Penny Lane" that goes, "In Penny Lane there is a fireman with an hourglass..." He said, "...there is a banker with an hourglass..." Macca rolled his eyes when he realized what he said.
After "Back in the USSR" Paul said smiling, "I'm back alright!" Then he did the finger wiggle with Abe. Paul lifted up his bass in a salute to the audience's applause and said, "Thank you Chi-ca-go!"
Paul went straight into "Hey Jude" without the "Baby Face" intro.
He played the piano while standing during most of "Live and Let Die," and added some new piano fills to the song. The flame throwers on the sides of the stage shot out green flames.
Macca touched Brian's forefinger with his forefinger after "Get Back" instead of doing the finger wiggle. "I get a feeling you want to keep on rockin'!" said Paul. Then he launched into "Helter Skelter." His hand flew across the frets with precision as he did the bass runs on the song.
The band bowed before exiting the stage, bending down and doing the 'side-step shuffle.' When Paul stood up he gave his jeans, which were sliding down a big two-handed tug.
The band came back with Paul waving the
American flag over the crowd as he did a little dance. Brian waved
the State of Illinois flag. Rusty had a red table napkin and Abe
had an empty wine glass!
Paul messed up the second verse
of "Please Please Me" which came out completely wrong.
He raised up his eyebrows and looked at Rusty.
Heather was in the audience in the mezzanine to the right of the
stage. At some point she was escorted by her bodyguard Missy to
the photo pit where she sat for the rest of the evening. Her sister
Fiona was in the front row right behind Heather who was sitting
in front of Brian Ray. Paul winked to Heather and signed a CD
for Fiona, which he tossed to her at the end of the show.
He said, "Chicago Love ya! What a crowd... It's coming to the end of our show and coincidently you have to go home." The crowd booed their disapproval and Paul said, "Peradventure go home?"
After "The End" Paul raised his eyebrows and said to the audience, "Chicago was great as usual. We LOVE YOU!"
Paul signed several items:
A "Please, Please, Me" album
jacket, "A Hard Day's Night" album jacket (Congrats
to Jean Bultemeier), a "High in the Clouds" book, a
program, a "Fine Line" British Import CD single (Congrats
to Steve Salerno), a "Fine Line" single CD (which was
taken by a woman who was not the rightful owner - shame on YOU!)
A female fan wearing a blue
Liverpool Everton football jersey passed a "prezzie"
for Paul to a friend (Percy Tucker) in the second row so he could
toss the gift to Paul. It was a white unicorn stuffed animal with
a royal blue sweat-shirt embroidered with the McCartney coat of
arms and the motto "Ecce Cor Meum" (Behold My Heart).
Paul saw the toy and requested that it be tossed to him. He caught
it, tickled it and looked at the shirt. (Congrats to Sandy Lopez
no relation to J.Lo.)
Paul also picked up a bouquet of orchids (Congrats to Judy Eisenhour)
and some McCartney roses.
Signs in the audience:
A Froggo painting acknowledged
by Paul (Congrats to Sherry Childress), "Miss Gertrude L.I.L.Y.,"(acknowledged
by a teary-eyed Paul, Congrats to Judy Eisenhour) "How Kind
of You to be here tonight," "Heather Makes Paul Smile,"
"Ecce Cor Meum?" Today is our 36th Anniversary,"
"Chicago loves Paul."
After the show Paul signed autographs for fans waiting outside
the hotel.
Paul arrived at the United Center around 5 pm with the Lexus entourage. His car approached from the opposite direction than the night before and he was on the left side of the car. The majority of the 70 fans, waiting were on the wrong side to see Paul. The car made a left turn into the ramp and Paul briefly waved from the open window as the car sped in. He was not close to the fans when the car turned because security barricaded the fans to either side of the driveway. On the previous day there were no barricades and fans ran out into the street after the car. Consequently security set up barricades to prevent that from happening again.
The soundcheck began shortly after Paul's arrival. At the soundcheck were executives from EMI, soundcheck contest winners from radio station WXRT, children from Fidelity's Music Live foundation and baby Bea who was running around as Heather kept an eye on her. Paul asked the kids invited from Music Lives what instruments they played and asked if anyone played guitar. Two children raised their hands. A couple of kids yelled out clarinet and drums. Rusty said, "Boy, times have changed." Paul explained what Music Lives is all about (supports music programs in schools) and joked, "It's not a soundcheck, it's a lecture."
Songs heard at the soundcheck:
"Matchbox," "Honey Don't," "Coming Up," "C Moon," "Things We Said Today," "Aromatherapy - Time for your Massage Jam" (very long), "Midnight Special," "Friends to Go," "How Kind of You," "Lady Madonna," "Running and Jumping, Jumping and Running" (A song with improvised lyrics made up on the spot for the very active Bea).
The show started on time with Freelance Hellraiser and Paul got onstage around 8:45 pm. Paul wore the black jacket with the black satin lapels, black corduroy jeans and a light purple long sleeved T-shirt with a star on the front. The end of the sleeves and the bottom of the shirt were white. The crowd was very rowdy with people yelling things out when Paul was talking. Most of the time Paul ignored them, but there were some funny moments later in the show.
During "Flaming Pie," Paul did a 'walk-around strutt' during the instrument part. After Paul sang "Flaming Pie" he made the "You are so HOT" gesture to the audience. (explained in Chicago night 1).
At the end of "Jet"
Paul went up to Rusty and pretended to kiss him without actually
kissing him. Paul pursed his lips when he got close to Rust
y and gave him a 'hollywood kiss.'
Paul did a hip swaying "cha-cha-cha" during "Till There Was You."
"Let Me Roll It" had the "Foxy Lady" ending. During the song Paul walked over to the right side of the stage and played the Les Paul for fans. At the song's end Paul quickly stripped off his jacket, tossed it to John Hammel and took the bass.
Right before the piano came up, the red lights were flashing and Paul wasn't paying attention. He stepped back and Hammel came from behind to gently nudge him back to his microphone as the piano pit opened. Ironically, Paul had just talked about falling into that hole because he forgot it was there.
After "Fine Line" Rusty leaned over to Paul who gave him a 'finger wiggle' while he sat at the piano. Paul introduced Rusty who talked about Michigan Avenue in Chicago and that it was fantastic (shopping area). He actually called it "Michigan Street "which the audience loudly corrected. Rusty opened a fortune cookie and shouted to Abe, "Drum roll!" Then he read, "You display the lovely traits of charm and courtesy." That got a giggle from the crowd.
When Paul sang "The Long And Winding Road," he added the lyric, "You left me standing here... little darling."
Someone yelled out a Mexican scream that sounded like "Eeeee-Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrah!" when Paul said, "The next song goes back a ways." Paul laughed and raised his eyebrows.
The "I Will" story was the same except that Paul said he already had a drink when the guy asked to buy him one. "I was hanging and grooving."
Paul's voice sounded great on "Jenny Wren." The audience was very into the song. When he got to the end he flubbed the lyric "foolish ways" and made a face like "I goofed!" Right after, he talked about distracting signs in the audience and said, "Here's one that says, 'DON'T READ THIS SIGN!'" (Congrats to Bob Dobro) Paul chuckled and said, "Thank you! If anything goes wrong, I'm gonna blame the signs."
After "Fixing a Hole" he said, "I see a sign that says, 'Peradventure an Autograph?' Hmm... maybe." (Congrats to Judy Eisenhour)
He saw another sign that read "Peradventure Mull of Kintrye" and said politely "No." (Congrats to Dulce Mora)
I'll Follow the Sun" had three reprises with Abe once again making a false start.
There were plenty of "Follow Me" signs held up during the song, but Paul noticed one that said, "Follow me to Toledo." He looked puzzled and said, "Toledo?"
Paul began the story about the J.S. Bach piece and someone yelled out, "Blackbird!" Paul said, "We know you've been here before, but they haven't! We will carry on regardless." Then he told the Jerry Seinfeld story. Someone yelled out, "HEY PAUL!" right in the middle of a pause. Paul responded with, "OK! Man!" People laughed. Paul said, "This is the part of the show where I have a personal audience with ANYONE. I'm not gonna listen to you!" [points to the offender] Paul continued the story and said to the person who was yelling out earlier, "And yes, you are right. It's 'BLACKBIRD'!" When the song finished Paul praised the audience, "You're a lovely bunch of people."
Paul introduced Wix saying he has very difficult stuff to play, "Strings on his fingers and strings on his toes," Wix said, "I don't know what to say when there's shows two days in a row." Paul said, "So what's new Wix?" Wix replied, "Well, this shirt is new!" Paul said, "Let's hear it for his big shirt!" The audience screamed.
Brian made a nice speech about the origins of Chess Records in Chicago which produced many famous artists such as Bo Diddley, Etta James, Chuck Berry, Buddy Guy, Howlin Wolf and others.
Paul made a silly face on the "Penny Lane" line, "very strange" to emphasize the word "strange."
A fan held up a sign that read "John (John's line drawing of his face) Loves U" during John's part on "I've Got A Feeling." The sign holder got a wink. (Congrats to Scott Taccati)
"Hey Jude" had a nice "Baby Face" introduction that ran a little longer. Paul did stop it with the usual "No, no, no.."
When the band left the stage for the first time, they did the 'fingle wiggle' amongst each other, bowed and waved to the crowd. Paul spotted a group of individual signs that read "Thanks" "Paul" "Rusty" "Brian" "Wix" "Abe." The entire band went over to wave at the sign holders.
At the next encore after "Helter Skelter," Paul bent his wrists in an "L" and grabbed on to Abe who also bent his hands the same way as did the rest of the band. Paul pulled up his pants and did a funny robot walk across the stage.
The band returned to the stage with Paul holding the American flag which he waved over the front row trying to touch them. Rusty held the Illinois flag and Brian had the red restaurant napkin. The audience was up and dancing to "Please Please Me." Paul remarked as he pantomined what he saw the audience doing, "You are going to have sore hands and sore arms tomorrow..."
At the end Paul said, "Thanks Chicago for the warm welcome. It was a pleasure to come back. See you next time."
Someone threw what looked like a leather jacket and a padded bra. Also thrown were a turquoise monkey, a brown monkey, a panda hand puppet, and a Rupert frog that croaked. Paul picked up all those items. (Congrats to Flo Eskin)
Paul signed a "Girl's
School" picture sleeve, a "Fine Line" single and
a "Help!" album.
Signs in the audience:
"Jacksonville Loves U," acknowledge by Paul after "Drive My Car" (Congrats to Nancy and David Crow) "Please Please Me," "To Sir With Love," "Happy Birthday Bea," "Venus and Mars Rock Show," "We will follow you until you are 90," "You're gonna be in my dreams tonight," "U Throw A Great Party," "Peradventure no more land mines" "Duff Wants It Back" acknowledged by Paul who shook his head, chuckled and said, "no." (Congrats to Janice Jenn)
Jorie Gracen