© 2005 COPYRIGHT JORIE GRACEN
October 22 - Columbus, OH - Value City Arena (Schottenstein Center)
© 2005 COPYRIGHT JORIE GRACENPaul flew into Port Columbus International Airport the day of the show. Only three fans were waiting when Paul stepped out of the private jet. Two fans held a sign that read "Free Massage Here." Paul waved to the fans and got into the Lexus. When the car passed through the gates where the fans were standing, Paul stopped the car and motioned to the fans to come over so he could sign autographs.
The two fans holding the sign asked Paul if he remembered their sign from previous concerts. He looked at it and said, "Yes, I remember you." Paul signed two "High In the Clouds" books for the sign holders. (Congrats to Lyn Talley and Barb Tyler) and sheet music for "Yesterday" for the third fan. Barb said, "See you tonight at the concert," and Paul waved as the car drove off.
At 4:45pm Paul arrived at Value City Arena
in the first Lexus. Macca waved, yelled "HEY!"and gave
the thumbs up to the 75 plus fans waiting. He wore a brown jacket
and a floral print shirt. He had on the "Make Poverty History"
(Live8) white bracelet and Ringo's "Peace and Love"
white bracelet. The cars did not stop and drove by quickly.
The band arrived on the gray tour bus a few minutes after Paul's
Lexus entourage. The fans greeted them and Brian waved to everyone.
Songs heard at the soundcheck:
"Matchbox," "Honey Don't," "San Francisco Bay Blues," "Things We Said Today," "Midnight Special," "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On," "Coming Up," "Jenny Wren," "All My Loving," "C Moon," "Celebration," "Fixing a Hole," "For No One," "Lady Madonna."
Fans were not allowed to bring signs or items in that could be thrown to the stage. Security checked albums, toys and signs or had people go back and put them in their cars.
Before the show Wix came out and signed a few autographs for fans in section 121 near the side of the stage. One of the fans called his mother on the cell and got Wix to talk to her. (Congrats to Tyler Smith who got Wix's autograph and his lucky mom who talked to Wix on the cell phone)
Paul got onstage at 8:50 pm
after the DJ, who got a lukewarm response, left at the end of
his set. Some booing was heard in the upper level seats before
the end of the DJ's set.
Paul wore the black jacket with maroon lapels, the turquoise T-shirt
and blue jeans. His voice was weak in the beginning of the show
but improved though still had trouble with the high notes of "Jenny
Wren." His speaking voice sounded a bit hoarse at times and
he sounded like he was battling a cold.
Macca stuck to the script because the venue had confiscated or
refused to let people in with signs. The signs have added a new
life to the script because Paul can deviate from the script and
talk about the interesting signs he sees at shows. Unfortunately,
he didn't talk about reading signs in the audience because there
were so
few.
Paul had trouble with the first line of "Till There Was You." He shook his head as if to say "oh my" but recovered nicely.
"Let Me Roll It" rocked Columbus with the crowd getting into the song and the "Foxy Lady" ending.
Paul hit a clinker on "Fixing a Hole" and stopped the song. He played it over and at the song's end said, "When you make a mistake, just start over. More proof that this isn't on tape!" The crowd cheered.
Paul did four separate endings to I'll Follow the Sun, all sung with ascending gusto as the audience egged him on.
Heather was not spotted at the show though Paul dedicated "Follow Me" to "my wife and beautiful baby daughter."
Paul mentioned that Ohio means "good morning" in Japanese and said, " If you go to Japan you will know how to say it. He pronounced it as "O-hyee-O!" bowing his head in Japanese fashion. Paul introduced the next several songs with "O-hyee-O!" which was quite amusing.
Wix talked about sightseeing in Columbus and visiting High Street in the Short North area the night before. This is a hip area with restaurants, bars and art galleries. He said at first they (the band) were going to go to bed early because there was a show the next day but he decided to go anyway. Wix laughed and said someone gave him a ride back late last night.
"Too Many People/She Came In The Bathroom Window" got people on their feet rocking. The crowd was singing and dancing for "Band On the Run." The audience loved "Good Day Sunshine" with the NASA Space Shuttle video projected behind Paul.
Paul did the "Baby Face"
intro to "Hey Jude."
Brian Ray's guitar strap broke on his bass guitar during "Live
and Let Die." Roadie, Sid Price came out to survey the tattered
strap, but was unable to do a quick fix. Brian had to carry on
holding the 9 lb. bass with his right pinky finger, while picking
with the same hand. Brian didn't miss a beat!
"Get Back" was smoking, with
Paul and band dancing around the stage during the three solo breaks
in the song.
"Let it Be" faltered somewhat, as Paul lost his way midway through the song. He recovered nicely, and Rusty's guitar solo was magnificent.
For the last encore Paul came
out in the red script "no more land mines" T-shirt and
waved the American flag over the fans heads in the first row.
Abe had the Ohio State flag and Wix had his tiny Union Jack flag.
During one later song, Brian's bass strap fell off. His tech ran
onstage to try and fix it, but he couldn't. Brian held the bass
up, while playing it, for the entire song.
"Sgt. Pepper-The End"
rocked the house, though there were some sound issues during the
guitar solos (Paul's guitar wasn't loud enough; Rusty's was too
loud).
In the house:
Peter Frampton enjoying the concert and chatting with Macca fans in the 8th row center. Ben and Melissa with Ben's mom who proudly wore a badge that said, "I Am Ben's Mother."
Autographed by Paul:
Fans managed to smuggle album covers in and Paul signed a "Chaos and Creation..." vinyl album cover (Congrats to Troy S. Hubbard), a "High in the Clouds" book (Congrats to Mike McGrath) and a Beatle doll autographed on the arm. A fan threw a T-shirt which was quickly confiscated by security.
Signs that the audience couldn't bring in:
"The working class loves Paul - We will be clapping in the cheap seats "(Dawn Reynold's sign).
Signs smuggled in:
"So Much To Say ... But Only One Pillowcase -- I Love You" (sign suppressed by the venue sign nazis), "Paul Your Music Touches My Soul," "Macca Walks on Water" acknowledged by Paul who at first couldn't read it and said, "What did that say?" which was followed by a grin and nod (Congrats to Mike McGrath),"You'll always be my #1, PAUL" "Thanks for coming to Columbus again Paul - We LOVE You," "MACCA ROCKS AND RULES," acknowledged by Paul who pointed, gave a nod and a thumbs up (Congrats to Jane Gaudi). "Follow Me" (sign suppressed by the venue sign nazis), "We Got Married June 18," "Autograph Please!"
Before Paul's Lexus entourage
arrived there was a steady downpour of cold rain falling in the
Milwaukee area. That didn't dampen the spirit of the diehard 60
plus 
fans
who took their places along the barricade two hours before the
car arrived. Many had signs which got soaked. Fans shivered in
49ºF with wind gusts, as they waited patiently for Paul's
car. Macca's security man, Brian Riddle, was a sweetheart and
let fans know approximately when Paul would arrive.
The car approached with police escort at 5:15 pm zooming by the
barricade. Fans screamed as Paul stuck out his head, did the thumbs
up and waved. Paul was all decked out, wearing a black pin-striped
suit jacket and a red shirt.
Songs heard at the soundcheck:
"Honey Don't," "Matchbox," "Friends to Go," "Midnight Special," "How Kind of You," a new song!, "Lady Madonna."
The show was scheduled to start
at 7:30pm. Freelance Hellraiser got on at 7:45pm and got a small
cheer which he acknowledged with a surprised smile. Hellraiser
played a new mix of an unreleased Paul song before the Twin Freaks
version of "Rinse the Raindrops."
The movie started at 8:05 with Paul getting onstage at 8:15. The
crowd rose to their feet with a thunderous ovation as Paul walked
onstage.
Paul was in good mood and treated the Milwaukee crowd to a lot of antics and interacted with the audience. He addressed the audience after "Jet" with "Greetings Milwaukee!" He did the 'you're so HOT' gesture a few times and took a moment to "drink this all in."
After "Drive My Car"
he said, "I don't know why, but I have a feeling we're going
to have fun tonight."
He told the 'smootchy' cabaret story for "Till There Was
You" and did some very pronounced hip-swaying during the
'cha-cha' instrumental part.
Paul introduced Abe who said, "MILWAUKEE! Good to be back. My question for you is the same as it's always been. ARE YOU READY TO ROOOOOOOCCCK?" The band launched into "Let Me Roll It." Paul punched the air as he sang, "in the palm of my hand." He ran his hand up and down the frets clenching the neck of the guitar during the silent pause after Rusty's lead guitar part. They played the "Foxy Lady" ending which is becoming a longer jam. After the song, Paul raised the Les Paul horizontally over his head before he handed it over to John Hammel with his jacket.
Rusty and Brian stood shoulder to shoulder with Paul during "Got To Get You Into My Life." Paul did the Hofner salute after the song, raising the bass up in the air with his right hand and putting his left hand on his left hip as he thrust out his hip. The audience squealed!
The piano rose up for "Fine Line" and Paul said, "Just before the piano appears there' a big hole." He told the Tampa story and did a funny falling back motion with his arms flying as he closed his eyes. Paul mentioned seeing the audience signs that warned "Mind the Gap." He said, "And I do!"
Rusty read a fortune cookie: "Friends long absent are coming back to you." The audience roared.
"Fine Line" was very well received with Paul vamping on the piano. He stood up and did a silly wave with one arm up and then alternated bringing the arm up.
After "The Long And Winding
Road," he paused and said, "Thank you, wonderful MIL-WALK-E-INS!
O-Kay!"
Paul's
voice was a little rough on "Maybe I'm Amazed," but
he managed pulled it off. When he finished the song he stood up
and pointed to a sign requesting that he do the song. He pointed
at the sign holder and said, "Who me? You want me to do it?
We got people who hold up these signs. It's great, but a little
bit distracting if you're trying to focus on a new song and you've
got the words and chords, and you're trying to work it all out.
Then the sign comes up comes up and you've got to look at it and
you've gotta read it and your mind splits in two. One bit of your
mind is going "Yeah go on, read it, that looks interesting."
And the other bit is going, "No don't! Look at the chords,
the words. Don't read it!" So you do... and we got one over
here that says "Will You Play 'Maybe I'm Amazed' at my Wedding?"
Hmm...who knows? Congrats!" (Congrats to Chris Mandle and
Kristen Blake)
"There's a sign that says, 'Mother's 76th Birthday Today' and it's also Paula's birthday. Happy birthday Paula!"
The "I Will" story was the same with the man offering him a drink and Paul deciding to do the song because the man's daughter performed a flawless version at her high school. He said, "That clinches it! And I think I'll take the drink off him next time!"
Paul's voice cracked a few times on "Jenny Wren" and you could see that it really bothered him from the expression on his face. The crowd clapped along and loved the new song. "Thank you. That was a new song called "Jenny Wren..." said Paul.
Next was "For No One" and Paul joked, "The piano is coming up again. Can't hold it down!" He leaned on the piano with his elbows in a pose before she started the song.
On "Fixing A Hole" he was either 'inventing' new piano fills or was losing his place in the song. When he stood up from the piano the crowd cheered and he shook his head with surprised look on his face.
The crowd reacted well to "English Tea." Paul told the "Peradventure" story afterwards. "Own up! You didn't think you'd learn something at a concert like this did you? Give it up! Give it up! [puts hands up] Try it on your friends tomorrow. Amaze them all..." The audience laughed.
"I'll Follow the Sun" had three reprises. Fans held out a finger count and begged for more. Paul acted like he wasn't going to do a reprise it and then he did. After the third time Abe played drums to start the next one but Paul decided that three was enough.
He said to the audience, "Love ya!" [big cheer] "Let's have a moment of appreciation for our dear departed love ones John, George and LINDA!" Paul stood with his arms up in the air and mouthed 'thank you' as he looked away from the audience teary-eyed.
There was no dedication to Heather or Bea before "Follow Me." Heather was not at the show.
Paul mentioned the "Bach" story exaggerating the "ca" sound again and said, "J. S. Bach? You've heard of him?" The audience didn't quite get the name the first time, but cheered when he said that.
Wix produced his electric guitar and said, "Thank you. Yes it is true. I have strings on my fingers and on my toes... The payoff on the next song is that I get to play one of these!" [holds up electric guitar] The next song was "Too Many People" where Wix stands behind the keyboards and plays the electric guitar.
Before "Too Many People," John Hammel switched Hofner's and handed Paul his vintage 1961 Hofner bass, because there was a problem with the Hofner he had been using. Paul used the bass for "She Came In Through the Bathroom Window," also and switched back to his original 1963 Hofner which was apparently fixed.
The crowd when nuts on "Too Many
People." And even more so when it segued into "She Came
In Through the Bathroom Window." After the song Paul looked
out into the audience, smiled and scratched his head.
Paul was still on a roll with "Good Day Sunshine." The crowd got off on the space shuttle footage flashing behind him.
Brian said, "You guys ROCK! Feels good to hear. What a great crowd. There's a couple of people standing to my left. There's not a single seat left empty! Thanks a lot for having us."
Paul did the 'airplane wings' when the sounds of the jet engine started on "Back in the USSR." The jet sounds went on longer than usual. After the song he went over to Abe and did a 'finger wiggle' with him.
"You're a rocking bunch tonight," said Paul. "The Ruskies rock!" He told the story about the Russian jets, which he called "air force jets," spraying the clouds to stop bad weather from happening. He pointed to his head like "this is a brilliant idea."
Before "Hey Jude," Paul noticed a handicapped child to his left in the 4th row. Her father was steadying her so she could stand on a chair and wave to Paul. Macca looked at her and waved back so she would know it was for her, which made the little girl's night!
"Baby Face" was omitted from the beginning of "Hey Jude." Brian waltzed with his bass at the end of the song. Paul did another "You're HOT" gesture to the audience.
After "Live and Let Die" Paul walked around with his fingers in his ears grimacing in mock pain. He blew a kiss to some lucky person in the audience.
At the end of the song the band grabbed hold of each other's hand and bowed down together and did the side-step shuffle with their feet. They walked from one side of the stage to the other as the audience cheered. Paul scooped up a bouquet of flowers.
For the last encore Paul came out waving the American flag in his red "no more land mines" T-shirt. Rusty had the Wisconsin flag. Wix had his tiny British flag and Brian had the red napkin. Paul said, "Oh YEAH!" when the crowd applauded.
Paul
goofed up the words to "Please, Please, Me" on the line,
"why do I always have to try girl" and rolled his eyes
when he did it.
He told the audience, "Such a great crowd. We LOVE ya!"
Macca had a hard time getting the candle lit for "Let It Be." He lit it and it went out. Fans yelled out encouragement, "Come ON PAUL!" When he finally lit the candle he looked at Brian and said, "I burned my finger."
"Sgt. Pepper/The End" rocked the house. The band did an extended jam with Rusty, Paul and Brian trading licks. Paul would make faces and exaggerated movements to be silly when he played his guitar parts.
At the end of the show Paul pointed to a sign that read, "Peradventure will you kiss me?" He shook his index finger at the woman as if to say, 'behave yourself!'
Paul and the band did their 'bent hands' holding as they gathered for a bow. Paul started the side-step shuffle making sure he went in the WRONG direction so as to collide with the rest of the band. He laughed as he did it. Paul put the palms of his hands together and bowed by himself.
Macca gestured to people in the front to throw items on stage to be autographed. Someone whipped a league baseball onstage which Paul caught in mid-air with his left hand. Paul looked at it like "You want me sign a baseball?" He signed it and tossed it back.
Before he left he said, "Milwaukee you were fantastic. See you next time!"
Paul autographed:
Two "High in the Clouds" books (congrats to John Jagler and his daughter Sarah who had one of the books), A "Flaming Pie" album and a "Sgt. Pepper" album.
Signs in the audience:
"2 Nurses trying to make it better," "Get a Job Cop!" acknowledged by Paul who said, "YEAH!" (Congrats to Larry and Courtney Brewer), "Haven't Been This Close Since 1966," "We're High in the Clouds Tonight," "Ram On," "How Kind of You To Please Please Me" (shown on big screen during "Please Please Me"), "WIX KICKS" acknowledged by the band (Congrats to Teresa Dankoski for BOTH signs), "My Mom Loves Paul," "I Will Follow U," "Peraventure Follow Me," "HAPPY HALF-A-TOUR GIG!! 2006??"
Paul's Lexus arrived very early
at 3:20 pm. Macca waved to the fans and stuck the upper part of
his body out the window and yelled "HEY!" He had on
a brown pin-striped suit 
jacket and a white shirt.
Songs heard at the sound check:
"Junior's Farm," "Matchbox," "Honey Don't," "Friends to Go," "Massage Jam (long)," "Lady Madonna."
Freelance Hellraiser opened
the show at 8:15 pm. The crowd did not warm up to him. Paul got
onstage at 8:45 pm to a standing ovation and a sellout crowd.
He wore his usual stage outfit with jeans that seemed to be one
size too big. Macca kept pulling them up during the show.
Macca was very playful with the audience, doing little impromptu
dances and interacting with people. He went with the usual scripted
dialog interspersed with moments of spontaneity. Paul even posed
for photos. Apparently, the "no camera policy" was not
being enforced to the delight of fans.
There was such a high demand for tickets at the Xcel, that general
admissions seats were sold for the first time in the press box.
Fans were treated to many winks, thumbs up and pointing. Paul's voice was excellent and he didn't make any noticeable mistakes. Macca nailed the Bach piece on the first try.
The audience responded well
to the new songs, but it wasn't until the second half of the show
before they were all rocking. Everyone was on their feet by "Band
on the Run." Once they got going, the audience was very loud
and rowdy especially on "Helter Skelter" where Paul
did an amazing scream fueled by the pumped up audience.
"Hello, Des Moines" Paul said addressing the audience.
"Let Me Roll It" ended with a lengthy "Foxy Lady" jam.
Rusty said that his mom was from Red Wing, Minnesota which got a big cheer from the audience.
Paul said during the intro
of "In Spite of All the Danger" that his cousin Pete
was at the show and mentioned what the only copy of the record
sounded like. He said,"My cousin Pete is in the audience
tonight. [winks and points to Pete]. Pete knows what it [the recording]
sounded like."
When Paul nailed the high note (that he's been missing) in "Jenny Wren" the whole audience applauded.
The audience also applauded
the "English Tea" garden video when it 'stretched' during
the song.
A fan standing on a chair held up a sign, "Paul, Care to
sit with me for a cup of English Tea?" Paul saw it, nodded
and motioned for her to come forward. She yelled out "ME?"
and he did the "come on" thing with his hand teasing
her. (Congrats to Debbie Stifter who got to move up four rows
for part of the show)
Paul read aloud one sign that said "Please read this sign, Paul, but don't forget the words to the song."
Paul saw another sign and said, "Yeah, yeah, that one too right there," and read "St. Paul Loves Sir Paul" pointing to the sign maker and saying "Saw you at Madison Square Garden!" (Congrats to Brenda Spencer)
"I'll Follow the Sun"
had three reprises. There was a big crowd response begging for
more after the second reprise. They also clapped along to "Fixing
A Hole."
Paul dedicated "Follow Me" to Heather and their daughter.
Heather was not seen at the concert.
Macca told the audience, "You
have Xcel-lent energy!"
Brian Ray made a special wave and acknowledgement to the people
who had the worst seats in the house -- the nosebleed sections
to the side and behind the stage. Both he and Paul waved and thanked
the fans in these seats.
"Hey
Jude" was preceded by about 10 seconds of "Baby Face."
Paul did his 'muscle man' pose for both sides of the stage.
After "Live and Let Die"
and before the band left the stage, they bowed and did the 'side-step
shuffle'. They went so far across the stage with Paul leading
that he nearly toppled off the edge of the stage.
Paul seemed to be having some back pain. After some bows he would
put his hand on his back and grimace.
Someone had a toddler size white T-shirt with a note that read, "For Beatrice." The shirt was white with a pink heart and said "vegetarian." It caught Paul's eye and he asked that it be tossed up after "Helter Skelter." Paul caught it, nodded "thank you," held it up and took it backstage. (Congrats to Erica Mohs)
For the last encore, Paul came out with the American flag and Brian had the Minnesota State flag. After "The End" they did the "monkey dance."
Autographed by Paul:
A "Chaos and Creation" LP and a "Ram" (Congrats to Erica Mohs for both albums) and a "Flaming Pie" album.
Soon to be collector's items:
The T-shirts sold at the venue listed "Minneapolis"
instead of "St. Paul."
Signs in the audience:
"Home is were the 'heart'
is" acknowledged by Paul with a left-handed thumbs up (Congrats
to Brenda Spencer)
"George our eternal inner light," A sign with a red
heart and Linda's name on it, "Go ahead, have a vision"
with a drawing of John. All were acknowledged by a teary-eyed
Paul during the dedication to John, George and Linda.
A police motorcycle escort with sirens blaring drove Paul out
of St. Paul to the Marquette Hotel in Minneapolis.
McCartney's
Lexus motorcade arrived directly from the airport around 5 pm.
There were about 50 fans waiting and Channel 13's helicopter circled
above prompting Macca to wave out of the sunroof. Paul was sitting
on the right side of the car where he opened the window and waved
to the fans on both sides of the car as the car zoomed by.
Paul's band members were in the other car's that pulled in with Paul. Brian and Rusty got out of one Lexus and waved to the crowd.
Songs heard at the sound check:
"Coming Up," "All My Loving," "C Moon," "Celebration," "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On," unidentified rockabilly song, "Things We Said Today," Message Jam instrumental, "Lady Madonna."
Des Moines was fired up for the concert. There were Paul 'US" Tour banners all over the city, not just at the venue. Paul opened the sold out brand new Wells Fargo Arena -- as the first rock act -- toted as the Premier Opening of the arena.
Very few people sat down from the first note to the last. After the first song, Paul did his "too hot to touch" gesture to the audience.
The band did the "Foxy Lady" jam after "Let Me Roll It" and there were 4 reprises of "I'll Follow the Sun."
Rusty's read a fortune cookie: "A friend never asks for your money, only your time, in bed."
Someone had a sign with a photo of a 7-month-old boy with the caption under the photo saying "Great Nephew Drew." That caught Paul's attention.
Paul said, "There's a sign here that says 'Great Nephew Drew'. MY great nephew Drew???" Paul denied paternity and joked, "I NEVER met her!" (Congrats to Nancy and Fred Akers)
Later
Nancy and Fred raised another sign that had a cartoon bubble of
Drew saying, "Got Me Hooked, sign my pic?" Paul recognized
the sign holders and joked, "Got me hooked, by Great Nephew
Drew!"
Paul scolded a fan who tried to engage him in conversation while he was introducing a song. "They can't hear you," he informed the person. Paul proceeded with the intro, stating, "I'm determined to do this..."
Macca asked for "a moment of appreciation for our dear departed loved ones, John, George and Linda" to which the audience responded with a standing ovation.
Paul made a special dedication
to Heather and Bea for "Follow Me" saying, "I'd
like to dedicate this next song to my lovely wife and our baby
daughter whose birthday is tomorrow."
There was no "Baby Face" intro for "Hey Jude."
Paul's gave his concert lesson of the word "Peradventure"
which was passed along to Wells Fargo employees the next day as
"The Word Of The Day." In fact one of the banks posted
it as "Today's Word" the day after the show.
Brian said, "Des Moines is my favorite crowd so far..." Paul said that he wished he hadn't waited so long to perform in Des Moines.
For the last encore, Paul came out with
the American flag. Rusty had the Iowa State flag and Wix carried
his tiny British flag.
At the end of the show someone threw a stuffed monkey on stage which Paul picked up. Macca began acting like a monkey which encouraged the rest of the band to do the 'monkey dance."
A "CHOBA B CCCP" Russian album (Congrats to Craig and Kathy Cermak), a White Album (with "Happy Birthday Beatrice" written on it), a "Let It Be" album, and a portrait of Paul and Heather (Congrats to artist Tom Vaccaro CLICK to read story)
Signs in the audience:
"My Irish eyes are smiling" acknowledged by Paul after mentioning 'Irish girl" astronaut Irene Collins (Congrats to Kathy and Craig Cermak), "Happy Birthday Bea," "Please sign my Clouds book," "Paul Rocks Des Moines" acknowledged by Paul (Congrats to Linda Robbins), "Hello From Los Angeles," "Paul Rocks US."
Paul's six car Lexus entourage
made it's way along the main road towards the venue entrance at
4:15 pm. Fans were lined up on the opposite side of the street.
Paul was in the 
first car which slowed down as it passed
the fans. John Hammel was in the back seat with Paul and was on
the side closest to the fans. Paul was on the passenger side and
leaned over Hammel to wave, point and give the thumbs up to fans
as the car drove by.
Songs heard at the sound check:
"Midnight Special," "Things We Said Today," "Coming Up," "All My Loving," "Celebration," "C Moon," "Friends To Go," "Lady Madonna."
The pre-show started at 8:11 with Freelance Hellraiser once again getting a lukewarm reaction. Paul got onstage to a packed house of over 16,000 at 8:37 pm wearing his usual stage outfit. This was the first time McCartney ever played Omaha and the audience erupted when he hit the stage.
Security was hassling fans with signs making them check them even though they were told by Paul's people that signs were allowed. Some signs were given back.
Some fans wore Halloween costumes hoping to grab Paul's attention.
Paul did his "too hot to touch" gesture (licked his finger and pointed to the audience, pulling it back quickly like it was burned) right after "Magical Mystery Tour."
"Greetings Omaha, Nebraska! We've come from many miles to rock you tonight and rock you we will," said Paul after "Jet."
Rusty's fortune cookie for the evening was "Your talents will be greatly rewarded ... in bed." Evidently "in bed" added to a fortune, is a Chinese restaurant joke.
After "English Tea"
Paul started his story about the word "Peradventure"
saying that people bring signs that read, "Peradventure an
autograph?" Then he pointed to a sign that said, "Peradventure
I'm Amazed!" (Congrats to Jim and Kim Juno) "That sign's
upside down! We're not going to deal with that one," said
Paul as he scanned the audience for more reading material. (The
upside down sign read: 'Peradventure might you play English Tea
and Junior's Farm today?' Congrats to Danny Goldstein) Paul continued,
"This one says 'Please wish Erica a happy birthday'. Happy
birthday, Erica!" (Congrats to Erica Argyropoulos) The audience
cheered!
Paul didn't tell the "I Will" story after the song.
There were multiple reprises
for "I'll Follow the Sun." Macca did his, "I'm
not going to do anymore" fake-out pantomime after each one
as the crowd begged for more. Someone kept holding a sign that
read, "5 TIMES!" Paul looked at the sign, shook his
head "no" and went into a fifth reprise, followed by
a SIXTH!!! That same fan brought several 8 1/2" x 11"
signs which he held up in succession throughout the the show.
Paul was noticeably reading them. (Congrats to Danny Goldstein)
Danny held up a sign during "Hey Jude" which said, "Have
you heard from Ben and Melissa?" That made Paul and Brian
laugh and got a "no" response from Paul.
Paul dedicated "Follow Me" to "my wife and our little baby who just turned two."
Venue security was 'overdoing'
their job confiscating glow sticks from super fans near the front
of the stage. Paul noticed the glow sticks being taken away and
stopped the show to publicly reprimand the concert worker after
"She Came In Through The Bathroom Window." "I noticed
that there were fans down here in front with glow sticks and security
took them away. I'd appreciate it if you'd give them back. Hey!
Give them back MAN!" he shouted. "It's silly of them
to take them away. This
is the bureaucracy run amok."
The "glow stick nazi" was shown
on video screens giving the sticks back to the fans as the audience
booed and then cheered when the sticks were given back. You never
know
what kind of trouble you're going to get into with those,"
said Paul. And then he pointed to the people in the nosebleed
seats with glow sticks and said, "You'll be next to get busted."
Paul cautioned with sarcasm, "Now don't hurt yourselves with
those things!"
Brian Ray had his say about the glow sticks when he was introduced, "Don't let them ever tell you that you cannot bring those glow sticks in!"
A female fan threw flowers
to the stage during "Band on the Run." Paul mouthed
"For me?" and she nodded "yes."
Paul screwed up second verse of "Penny Lane" and looked
at Rusty with an "Oh sh*t!" look.
Wix said, "One of our spirtual centers is in the Bahamas the other one is Omaha" which got a huge cheer.
Paul did the "Baby Face" intro before "Hey Jude."
After "Helter Skelter"
Macca did the finger wiggle with Abe. He also gave one to Rusty
earlier in the show.
For the final encore Paul came out wearing his red "no more
land mines" T-shirt as usual and waved the American flag.
Rusty had the Nebraska State flag.
During "Sgt. Pepper" Rusty was laughing about something as he played his guitar. Brian caught the joke, laughed at Rusty and playfully picked the guitar strings with his TEETH! Paul shook his head at the both of them. All three pushed each other as they played dueling riffs.
Since it was the day before
Halloween, Paul's crew dressed in awesome Halloween costumes and
stood in the photo pit during "Please Please Me." At
the end of the song he invited them all onstage saying, "Yeah,
they're getting ready for tomorrow." The audience cheered.
Some of the band members were laughing at the costumed crew. Bill
Bernstein was dressed up like Frankenstein, others were dressed
as Darth Vader, Yoda and Freddie Krueger.
"OK get off my stage," joked
Paul before he started "Let It Be." The crew made their
exit.
At end of the show Paul pointed to a light blue T-shirt that said, "Mind the Gap, Mac" which he caught. Paul picked up a white stuffed monkey with a "I Love (heart) NY" on the front. The "NY" was crossed out and a "NJ" was there instead. A fan threw roses. Paul put one of them in his mouth before he left the stage.
Autographed by Paul:
He signed several items including a "Revolver" album, a "White" album and a British flag with "MCCARTNEY '05" on it (Congrats to Michael Klinski). Paul signed 3-4 items at both ends of the stage and got pelted by the confetti machines at either sides of the stage.
Signs in the audience:
"We named our daughter
'Cartney' after Sir Paul" pointed to by Paul (Congrats to
Billy and Rachelle McGuigan), "Happy Birthday Erica"
also pointed out by Paul. "I've Got Blisters on my fingers,"
"Oh Yeah!" and "Oh No" pointed to by Paul
during "She Came In Through the Bathroom Window" and
"I've Got A Feeling" (Congrats to Ann McDermott and
Mary Diassi),
Some of Danny Goldstein's signs (he had 27!) acknowledged by Paul:
"Junior's Farm please, please us!" "We're Thinking of Linda," "Rocky
Raccoon," "Too Many People" acknowledged by Paul
with a thumbs up during the song, "We flew in from NJ"
(shown during "Back in the USSR) and getting a smile from
Paul. "I've waited 15 years for this, would you please sign
our poster?" Paul nodded. "THIS IS LOUDER THAN THE WHO!!"
got a nod from Paul during "Helter Skelter."
Paul' s Lexus arrived at 5:30 pm with
about 50 fans waiting. Paul waved at the line of fans as he passed.
Songs heard at the sound check:
"Honey Don't," "Matchbox," "C Moon,"
"Celebration," "Massage Jam" Paul sang, "All
I need is a mas-sage... When can I get a mas-sage..." "Lady
Madonna."
The concert started late at
8:45 pm because venue security was meticulously wanding and searching
everyone from head to toe. Some of the wands were set too high
and were going off when individuals did not have any items that
were contraband. Consequently those individuals kept getting wanded
and held up the line. At 8 pm the venue was half full.
Concertgoers with tickets that had 'obstructed view' were moved
from the nosebleed sections behind the stage to the main floor
where two rows were reserved for them in the second section from
the stage.
Memorabilia such as albums were banned and signs were being taken away, so unfortunately very few signs made it through. When Paul did his story about 'signs' he had to fall back on "My mom saw you at Shea Stadium" which got a big laugh from the Denver audience.
Freelance Hellraiser did little
more than make the Denver audience more restless after the long
wait for McCartney. Paul got onstage at 9:15. He was in excellent
voice and had no trouble nailing the difficult high notes on Jenny
Wren. There was a high energy level displayed in the audience
with some people standing for the entire concert. For the slower
numbers the audience was more subdued. The "Chaos" numbers
got a good response.
Paul got saw a sign that read "Fan on the Run" (Congrats
to Carlos Alejandro Garcia) which he gave a 'thumbs up' right
at the beginning of "Magical Mystery Tour." He almost
missed his cue on "Roll up..."
Paul made fun of his fall in
Tampa and playfully kept a lookout for the piano door opening
up "from the bowels of the earth."
"Let Me Roll It" had the "Foxy Lady" ending
and Paul pulled out an abbreviated "Baby Face" for the
intro to "Hey Jude."
He messed up the first line
of "Fine Line" singing, "There is a long way between
chaos and creation.." instead of "There is a fine line
between recklessness and courage..." Paul recovered nicely
and looked over at Abe like "Uh oh!" and they both laughed.
There was a nice showing of pink glow sticks for "Maybe I'm
Amazed" in Linda's honor.
"Ah, you're good people," said Paul praising the crowd.
He would go from one side of the stage to the other acknowledging
the nosebleed sections who stood and cheered. The people on the
main floor rocked pointing to Paul who pointed back at them.
Paul
dedicated "Follow Me" to his lovely wife and baby daughter.
Heather was not spotted in the audience.
The audience was mesmerized by Paul during the acoustic set and on the Beatles numbers, especially "Eleanor Rigby."
At one point in the show, Brian and Rusty switched sides and played a little bit for the opposite side of the stage.
"It's great to be in Den-vah Colorado!" said Paul. "Hello Denver, hello Colorado..." and then he mentioned the surrounding towns.
"I'll Follow the Sun" had SIX reprises! (a Macca "US" Tour world record tie with the Omaha show!)
Brian said hello to his mom
who had come all the way from Durango for the show. Brian said,
"At the count of three, let's have all 18,000 of you say,
'Hi Mom.'" At the count of three everyone did say, "Hi
Mom."
The band high-fived each other when they left the stage.
Autographed by Paul:
A "Band on the Run" album (Congrats to Barbara and Thomas Whitford), a "High in the Clouds" book, a "Blackbird Singing" book and one other item. Congrats to Kevin Kincaid for catching Paul's Sharpie that he used to sign autographs.
Signs smuggled in:
"Follow Me" signs
acknowledged by Paul with a "Thank you" after the song,
"Ken Mansfield says hello, 'ANYWAY' Love you, Mary from Pittsburgh,
PA," "SHAG ME!"
Signs by Carlos Alejandro Garcia and his wife Mitzi Solano
of Mexico City acknowledged by
Paul:
"Home is Where the Heart is Liverpool, Kings Dock June 1,
2003" got the thumbs up from Paul during "The Long and
Winding Road," "Come
to Mexico" shown on the video screen during "Hey Jude,"
"Remember Earls Court Cigarrete Lighters?" "Please!
Please! Sign My LP" got a wink from Paul.
During "The Long and Winding Road", my wife and I held
throughout the whole son our two hearts we got from Liverpool
"Home is Where the Heart is Liverpool, Kings Dock June 1,
2003". He acknowledged with a right finger thumbs up during
the second verse.
Jorie Gracen