© 2005 COPYRIGHT JORIE GRACEN
November 3 - Seattle, WA - KeyArena
© 2005 COPYRIGHT JORIE GRACENPaul's Lexus entourage flew
past the waiting fans around 5:15 pm. Paul did his usual thumbs
up and wave as the car drove by.
Songs heard at the 40 minute sound check:
"Yakety-Yak," "Honey Don't," "Matchbox,"
"C Moon," "Friends to Go," "Midnight
Special," All My Loving," "Coming Up," "Lady
Madonna.
Freelance Hellraiser came on at 8:30 pm wearing a Twin Freaks
face mask (green). The audience gave him a cool reception. Nobody
booed and there was a smattering of applause. When Paul got onstage
at 9 pm the audience went nuts. Macca fed off the crowd's energy
and was very interactive, mugging and teasing the audience, however
the venue's poor acoustics muffled the sound quality.
"Greetings, See-at-el! We have come
for many miles to rock you tonight. And we will," said Paul
after "Jet." Then he said, "I just want to take
a moment to drink this all in.." which got a huge crowd response.
Paul took a long pause as he soaked up the audience's adoration.
"Let Me Roll It"
featured the usual snippet of Seattle born Jimi Hendrix's "Foxey
Lady." Nothing special was performed in Jimi's honor for
the song.
There were several Canadian flags in the audience and signs. Paul
read a sign that said, "Mother Mary Loves You." He rubbed
his eye like he had a tear and gave the sign holder a thumbs up.
Rusty read a fortune cookie aloud: "Now is the time to try something new... in bed." He tossed the cookie out into the audience.
Paul's voice cracked a few times on "Jenny Wren." On "I've Got A Feeling" he avoided the higher notes though he belted out the rockers with no effort.
Macca reversed the lyrics on "Blackbird" singing the first verse as second. He realized his mistake and sang the second verse before the end of the song.
The audience gave a standing ovation for "a moment of appreciation for our dear departed love ones John, George and Linda."
There was no "Baby Face" intro for "Hey Jude."
Paul was doing a lot of poses after songs besides the guitar salutes and the guitar struts. He did more exaggerated poses during "Hey Jude" with a mix of the muscle-man bicep curl and the effeminate Marilyn Monroe pose: one hand behind the head, and the other on his gyrating hip. The audience loved it.
Paul and band feigned shell-shock at the end of "Live and Let Die," humorously plugging their ears with their fingers. Paul did apologetic gestures.
When Macca was leaving the
stage he noticed a woman holding an infant in a sling and did
a rock-a-bye-baby gesture to her before he left the stage. (see
Tennant family below)
Brian had nice things to say about Seattle namely: "The air
is clear and clean and I always love it here." He also nodded
with a smile to a sign that had his Web address www.brianray.com.
For the last encore Paul carried the American flag and Brian carried the Washington State flag.
In the audience was a family
of five: a month old infant, two girls ages 3 and 5 and a husband
and wife all dressed in Pepper outfits. The infant had on a set
of headphones as a nod to the fifth Beatle George Martin. At the
end of "Let It Be" security escorted the family who
had been sitting in the mezzanine to follow them to the photo
pit. Paul launched into "Sgt. Pepper/The End with the two
young girls rocking on top of shoulders borrowed from daddy and
a friend. The family was photographed by Bill Bernstein and videotaped
by Mark Haefeli.
Paul waved to the kids and made faces.
Then the concert ended and Paul and the band took their bows.
Macca signed a few autographs and left the stage, but it was not
over for the family of five. They were led to the backstage area
where they met the band and Paul who kissed and hugged them all.
Congrats to the Tennant family of Vancouver B.C., Canada!
Autographed by Paul:
Paul signed an album and a poster.
Signs in the audience:
"PMS Paul McCartney Syndrome," "It's my 16th Birthday"
Paul sang "Happy birthday to you..." for the sign holder.
"High in the Clouds," "I (heart) YOUR BASS,"
"I'LL TAKE YOU FOR A RIDE IN MY CADILAC," "1985,"
"LET'S MAKE (HEART) UNDERNEATH THE BED."
30 Fans met Paul after the show at get autographs!
THE STORY (Congrats to David Duggan)
At about 11:30, a black Lexus pulled up at out came Paul McCartney's
head of security. He lined us all up and moved us about 50 feet
from the hotel back door. He told us that Paul may or may not
sign, and inspected all of our items (apparently, Paul won't sign
guitar related items). He counted us all of (I think there were
about 30 of us) and designated a guy as the end of the line. Those
that showed up later were told that they may not get an autograph.
The security guard gave everyone in line a "Chaos and Creation
in the Back Yard" promo piece and told us that after we got
Paul's autograph, we could ask the band to sign the promo. After
that we had to walk away from the hotel. At 11:45 pm a police
motorcade arrived followed by three more black Lexus vehicles
and McCartney's tour bus. About 10 minutes later, Sir Paul got
off the bus and started an interview with a camera crew. The security
guy let us down 1 or 2 at a time and we were able to get Paul's
autograph (I got my "Beatles 1" CD cover signed, joining
my Ringo autograph). After getting the band to sign the promo,
my friend and I walked away from the hotel as instructed. By the
time we got back around Paul was inside the hotel. This was the
most organized hotel autograph gathering I've ever seen!
Paul's Lexus entourage arrived
at 5:20pm. The cars sped by the 30 diehard, drenched fans waiting
in the cold pouring rain. Paul did not open his window or wave.
The show started a 8:15 with Freelance Hellraiser wearing the
Twin Freaks green mask. He got an OK reception. Paul got onstage
at 8:50 pm and was very interactive with the audience, striking
poses, gesturing and pulling faces for a laugh. He seemed to tire
by the second half of the show but put on a great performance
for the 16,000 strong sellout crowd.
Paul wore his usual stage garb with black corduroy trousers that were now too big on him. He kept tugging at them and pulling them up. His hair was longer than at the start of the tour which gave him a more youthful appearance.
The audience was at times very subdued. It took time to get them on their feet while many preferred to sit. It may have been because it was a Friday and people had worked a full week.
During
"Drive My Car" someone held up a sign that read: "I'm
here for the wardrobe malfunction." Paul saw it and commented
after the song, "We did that ("Drive My Car") at
the Super Bowl. As one of the signs pointed out, we did it WITHOUT
a wardrobe malfunction."
Paul introduced Abe saying, "I'd like to introduce to you our entirely splendid, lovable, talented, scintillating, drummer, MISTER ABE LABORIEL, JUNIOR!"
"Let Me Roll It" had the "Foxey Lady" ending.
Rusty read a fortune cookie which said: "You will win success in whatever calling you adopt." Then he added, "in bed."
Right before "Got To Get You Into My Life" and after switching guitars, Paul quickly pushed up his sleeves and almost missed the first note of the song. He had a look on his face like "just in the nick of time."
Paul stood up at the piano for the applause after "The Long And Winding Road." He said, "Thank you very much. Ta!" (British slang for 'thank you')
The band left the stage and
Paul said this was his time to be alone with the audience. He
said, "Welcome to my living room. [looks around] Nice place?
Like the decor?" The audience laughed.
After Paul performed "I Will," he started his story
about why he picked that song, "You know, I was kind of wondering
if I should put 'I Will' into the tour or not . . .." and
at that point, there was a thunderous applause for the song. Paul
stood back in amazement from the reaction of the audience. He
was literally taken aback by the applause and cheers for the song.
When the applause died down, he said very humbly, "Thank
you. I'm glad you enjoyed it. Now I'm glad we're doing it on the
tour."
His voice cracked several times on "Jenny Wren." The audience sat silently during the song, in awe of him. You could hear a pin drop. When he finished the last note there was a burst of applause.
After "English Tea"
he plugged the album saying," Thank you very much. That was
'English Tea'... again off the new album."
He did four reprises for "I'll Follow the Sun," with
the usual gestures indicating that he wasn't going to do it again.
Paul dedicated "Follow Me" to "my lovely wife Heather and our baby daughter who just turned two." He also thanked people in the audience for the "Follow me" signs. There were quite a few.
"Are you having a good time?"said Paul as the audience roared. "Portland Oregon and surrounding areas?" Just then a man yelled out "IDAHO!" Paul stopped, looked at the guy and said, "What's that mean? Oh, YOU come from Idaho. All right? But what about Liverpool?" Paul joked. The audience screamed with laughter.
Just as Paul was beginning his introduction for Wix someone screamed out. "The guy..." said Paul. [scream from audience member] Paul paused and repeated, "The guy... "AHHHHHHHHHH!" and went on with his introduction.
Wix said, "Occasionally we insert a bit of jazz, but there will no jazz on the next number because I play one of these. [holds up a guitar] Paul found this humorous and was laughing.
Macca said, "This for the Wings fans" when he introduced "Too Many People." Several fans held up their hands and did the 'Wings sign' during the song.
For his introduction, Brian mentioned that Portland was the home of the Trail Blazers basketball team which prompted many groans and boos from the crowd. He and Paul must have found this humorous, because, when they started the next song, "Band on the Run" they both had their heads together, talking. They strummed their guitars and laughed.
After "Back in the USSR" Paul said, "Boy you're rockin' dudes tonight!"
While Paul was deciding whether to sing "Baby Face" he played a flowery arpeggio on the piano with a dainty chord at the end and then began "Hey Jude." He did the silly poses during the song: the bicep curl with the manly spit and the 'girly' pose with a hip wiggle. Fans couldn't get enough!
For the second encore Paul came back with the American and had a flag waving duel with a fan in the front row who had a British flag. He waved it over her saying "You ROCK!" "You ROCK!" as she waved her flag at him. Paul waved the flag gesturing that his flag was bigger than hers! (Congrats to Sandy Lopez)
During "Let It Be" there were very few 'lights in the audience.'
Towards the end of the "Sgt. Pepper Reprise" Paul struck a pose with the Les Paul almost as if he was having his photo taken. He thrust out his left hip and posed like a male stripper!
The band took their final bows holding hands, shuffling and closing in on Paul, making a 'Macca sandwich!'
Autographed by Paul:
A Paul doll which he held up and did an imitation of before tossing it back to the owner. Two programs and a Beatles 45 rpm picture sleeve.
Signs in the audience:
"Sarah and Jamie love Paul," "Paul is All," "You Guys Rock," "Thank You," "I Love Paul," "Please Please Me."
After the show 25 fans were
waiting at the private airport for Paul's jet to leave. Paul and
the band arrived on the tour bus. Security checked out the fans
and told three that their photos were too big and would not be
autographed by Paul for fear they would be auctioned off on ebay.
These were 'real' fans by the way not autograph collectors. Paul
signed an autograph for everyone else. Security handed out 25,
"Chaos" promo pieces for the band to sign.
Paul's Lexus arrived around 5:30 pm. He was in the second of three Lexus SUV's led by a police escort . Behind the last SUV were more police cars. Paul did his usual wave and was talking on the cell phone to a radio station. Jeff Foskett (Brian Wilson's vocalist and guitarist) was seen hanging out waiting for Paul's Lexus to arrive. Afterwards he went inside for the sound check.
The San Jose shows were videotaped in
High-Definition for a future broadcast and DVD. There were two
huge boom cameras; one in back and one on Brian's side. A suspended
'robot' camera moved over the floor all night on guide wires.
In the audience and around the stage were several cameramen. Posted
on the venue doors were "you are being filmed" notices.
Because the shows were being showcased, 'poseurs' were brought
in to fill-in the first three rows. These young, blonde, model-type
women were there to 'act out' their concert experience for the
cameras. That included jumping, screaming, jiggling and dancing
while being videotaped. They were escorted by security and had
"US" passes. Unfortunately, the 'real' fans who paid
over a thousand dollars for Fan Asylum tickets, were out of luck.
The seats they should have had were not made available for these
shows. Instead they were given to the 'fake fans' to enhance the
concert visuals for the home theater audience.
Freelance Hellraiser started the show at 8:20 pm wearing his Twin Freaks mask. By the end of his set there were boos heard in the audience. Paul got onstage at 8:50 pm.
There was no "Foxey Lady" ending for "Let Me Roll It" or the "Baby Face" fake-out before "Hey Jude."
When Paul told his story about falling into the piano pit in Tampa, his assistant, John Hammel was seen off stage laughing on Paul's line, "How deep is this hole?"
Rusty's fortune cookie said: "You are the master of every situation... in bed."
As Paul neared the end of "I
Will" the audience burst out in applause. That put a grin
on Paul's face which widened into a big smile as he sang the last
long note.
"Jenny Wren" was plagued with Paul's inability to hit
some of the higher notes but it didn't ruin the momentum of the
song. Paul compensated by lowering the register of a few lines.
Paul blew the first line of "I'll Follow the Sun" but made up for it with FIVE reprises!
The San Jose crowd wasn't overly enthusiastic. It was a 'sitting audience' that lacked energy. It took them a long time to warm-up though they did give Paul good applause after each song. At one point, a worried Paul said, "Well you were here when we got here, but we seemed to have lost some of you."
Rusty flipped over his Firebird
guitar to show "THANKX" written on the back with black
tape after ''Too Many People."
When Paul did his intro about the shuttle astronauts for "Good
Day Sunshine" and mentioned the commander was a woman, there
were cheers. He said, "The girls always like that."
Before "Band on the Run"
Brian Ray said, "I have a special guest in the audience,
my niece who attends San Francisco University." Brian also
did a shirt change during the show, coming back with a snazzy
glittered shirt.
Paul flubbed a few lines of "Penny Lane" but carried
on with the song.
There were extra fireworks for "Live and Let Die" probably because they were taping.
Paul got a huge ovation for "Yesterday" and joked afterwards off mic "it was nothing."
When the band left the stage
for the first encore Abe was seen drinking wine (?) and whirling
it around in a glass with a "I'm posh" look on his face.
For the last encore Paul had the American flag, Brian had the
California State flag, and Wix had the tiny British flag placed
on top of his head.
After a big applause for "Please, Please Me" Paul taunted
the crowd with, "Yeah, but will you still need me when I'm
64?" after someone held up a sign that read "We will
still love you when you're 64!"
Autographed by Paul:
Four albums and a book
Signs in the audience:
"Fans on the Run,""Paul
was the Walrus," "Yoko is a bitch," "She's
not the brightest of buttons" got a wide-eyed Macca eye roll
and a held back laugh. "Liverpool 2003, remember us signs"
Paul smiled and nodded (Congrats to harleyblues and Cyrone).
Afterwards Paul and the band took the tour bus back to Hotel De
Anza which was blocks away from the HP Pavilion (a.k.a The Shark
Tank).
Paul's Lexus arrived at the HP Pavilion around 4:50 pm after the short drive from Hotel De Anza. The car slowed down as it approached the entrance. Paul waved and said, "Hey guys!" as he passed the fans.
The audience at this show was very energetic and on their feet, a sharp contrast to the night before. Paul picked up on the audience's enthusiasm and hammed it up for crowd and the video cameras. Even Freelance Hellraiser was cheered after his set. The crowd was pumped, hot and ready to rock by the time Macca hit the stage at 8:55 pm.
This show was also taped for High-Definition and the 'poseurs' from the first night were brought in to fill-in the seats again in the first couple of rows. Paul paid a lot of attention to the blonde babes who had video cameras in their faces as they 'acted out' for the cameras.
The band was very tight and Macca's voice was, for the most part, solid. He had some trouble with "Jenny Wren" but was vocally stronger on the hard rockers.
Some songs were noticeably faster paced than usual. "Flaming Pie" was sped up, and rocked better with the faster pace. "A Fine Line" and "Eleanor Rigby" were faster, as was an intense version of "The Long And Winding Road."
After "Flaming Pie" someone held up a sign that said, "My Grandma saw you at Candlestick Park" which made Paul chuckle because, he frequently mentions a fictitious sign at shows that says, "My mother saw you at Shea Stadium." Paul pointed to the sign several times which alerted the camera crew. When Paul finished "Jenny Wren," he pointed to the sign and read it aloud with an 'elderly-like' voice as it was shown on the video screen. Paul laughed and put his hands over his eyes as if to say 'oh, no.' "...but we love the signs!" he said, and added, "Here's to grandmas!" The audience howled with laughter. (Congrats to Mark Homen)
"Let Me Roll It" was hot and
gritty. It had an extended "Foxey Lady" ending. And
"Hey Jude" had the "Baby Face" intro tonight.
Rusty's fortune cookie said: "A series of trouble will bypass you ...in bed."
Paul pointed to the crowd and did a little dance after he performed "A Fine Line." There was a noticeable exodus by concertgoers during the song.
"I'll Follow the Sun" had four reprises.
Paul rested on the piano with his elbows after he played "For No One" and waved to the crowd.
Brian said hello to the people from the Bay area. He waved and pointed to people in the upper deck nosebleed seats and to those at the back of the floor, and on the floor. The crowd roared their approval. He also mentioned the Keystone in Berkeley as a great venue for music.
The cord on Paul's Epiphone Texas was not plugged in when he started "Yesterday." John Hammel ran out to fix the problem. Paul rolled his eyes and elbowed John as he put the plug in.
During the show Paul was mugging and doing the 'finger wiggle' to a camera mounted on a boom that was inches away from him.
Paul was very into his performance
of "Let It Be." He closed his eyes as he sang and swayed
his head to the music.
At the end of the show Paul announced that the concerts were being
filmed (videotaped).
Autographed by Paul:
A "McCartney" album (Congrats to Cyrone Overton), a very large poster, another album, a huge sign which said "Hello, Hello Paul, Its a Beautiful Night (Heart) Christina USA" (Congrats to harleyblues - the poster was previously signed by Heather Mills, Eddie Porter and Sam Leach).
Paul also signed a painting of himself and then struck a pose with one hand behind his head and the other on his hip for a camera phone snapper.
Signs in the audience:
Some signs seen the first night
were also at the second show. "Fans on the Run" shown
on the video screen during "Hey Jude" filling up the
whole screen (Congrats to Rick Glover of Beatlefan), "She's
not the brightest of buttons," "Follow Me Paul,"
"Paul - still raising the bar" (with the cell phone
bars) Paul gave that the thumbs up. A pink 'Paul and Heather'
(heart), that he also gave the thumbs up. "We will still
love you when you're 64!" read by Paul again tonight. "We
love Paul & Brian," "We are Friends of the Glastonbury
Three, Chris and Ron, England," Paul read and acknowledged
the sign with a hand gesture to indicate 'cool.'
Paul arrived with the Lexus
entourage at approximately 4:50 pm. There were two groups of about
50 fans waiting for him. One on the corner leading to the entrance
r
amp and one at the entrance ramp. Paul
sat on one side of the car and leaned over to the opposite window
to point, wave and gave the thumbs up to fans holding a sign with
two small children. The sign said: "NEW PAUL FANS."
Paul's car actually stopped in front of them. Another fan had
a sign that read, "ABSOLUTELY {psychedelic HEART with blinking
lights!} CHAOS & CREATION." Paul looked at the sign,
gave a "thumbs-up" and said "All right!" (Congrats
to Lisa Tonguis)
Another fan was walking around playing "Mull of Kintyre"
on her bagpipes in Scottish dress. Paul leaned out the window
to wave to her. (Congrats to Macca Betty).
Songs heard at the sound check:
"Honey Don't," "Honey Hush," "Coming
Up," "All My Loving," "C Moon (extended),"
"Celebration," "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On,"
"Friends To Go," "Midnight Special," "Things
We Said Today."
The DJ came on around 8:25pm
with the crowd showing some interest. Paul got on around 8:50
pm and was charming and chatty with the audience. He was relaxed
and at times silly. The crowd was very enthusiastic, except for
the people in the nosebleed sections, where people preferred to
sit. Security was confiscating albums and cameras (to be returned
after the show) though some people were able to take photos without
being hassled.
When Paul sang a Wings song there was a group that did the Wings
sign with their hands.
"Let Me Roll It" did not have the "Foxey"
Lady ending.
After "Fine Line" Paul said ,"That's a new song
from the album 'Chaos & Creation In the Backyard." Lisa
held up her sign that she had at the Lexus arrival, "ABSOLUTELY
{psychedelic blinking HEART} CHAOS & CREATION. "Paul
pointed to it and said, "Yeah, that's the one!"
Paul sang "Jenny Wren"
well. His voice didn't crack though he struggled as he sang it
softly. At the end of the song he said, "By the way, the
last song was written in California." The crowd applauded.
All the "Chaos" songs got a good response.
When Paul introduced Rusty, who is an Orange County native, Rusty
said he was happy to be playing back home. He said "Hi"
to friends in the
audience,
and said he met the some Mighty Duck players backstage. When he
said that, Paul flapped his arms like a duck. Then Rusty read
a fortune cookie he said he got at a Santa Ana Chinese restaurant.
It said, "The person next to you will give you inspiration...
in bed."
"I'll Follow the Sun" had 4 reprises.
Paul talked about signs in
the audience and read one that wasn't really there, "My mother
saw you at Candlestick Park." He said that fans are always
holding up signs at shows. He pointed to Lisa holding her sign
and said, "See, you're doing it right now!!"
Just before "Hey Jude," Paul played a short piece on
the piano and looked at Abe as if to say "do you think we
should play it?" Abe shrugged his shoulders and that's when
Paul smiled and launched into "Baby Face." The crowd
chuckled.
Paul did some 'posing' during and after "Hey Jude" for fans in the front rows. He'd strike an effeminate pose with one hand behind his head and the other on his swaying hip. The fans loved it and Paul was laughing as he did it.
Brian Ray said it was nice to be playing back home and that he had friends in the audience. He also said, "This must be the happiest place on earth" noting all the Disneyland items being worn in the audience.
During "Let It Be" there was a group of fans holding candles that formed a "P" in their section. Paul acknowledged them and said "Amazing display. Thanks for the lights." (Congrats to Trini Schultz) Trini passed out the candles (she had 216!) to people in her section and by coincidence the lit candles formed a "P"!!!
Heather was seen in the mezzanine on left side of the stage near the doors.
Someone threw a small pink stuffed monkey onstage to Paul after the first encore. Paul picked up the monkey and danced around with it. (Congrats to Elsa Buckingham)
After the second encore, a young boy stood
on his chair and held up the sign that Paul acknowledged at the
Lexus arrival: "NEW PAUL FANS." Paul saw the sign, pointed,
waved - and then made a gesture indicating two small children
(bent down and showed a thigh-high level with his hand) and waved
again. (Congrats to Vicky and Cory Nelson)
At the end of the show a fan
threw a gold Disneyland 50th Anniversary Mickey Mouse hat up to
Paul who put it on and wore it when he and the band took their
bows (Congrats to Casey McKenna). Then he put the hat on Abe who
was holding a giant Mickey Mouse glove (a white glove with four
fingers). Paul looked at the white glove and whispered something
to Abe. Then Paul, Wix, Rusty and Brian walked to stage left to
wave to the crowd. Abe did a moonwalk (ala Michael Jackson) with
the white Mickey glove and moved toward stage right. When the
band turned around to leave they saw Abe moonwalking and started
laughing.
Many stuffed animals were thrown to the stage.
Autographed by Paul:
A "Band On the Run" album, a sign that amused Paul, and a "Sgt. Pepper's" album.
In the house:
Brian Wilson, Joe Elliot (Def Leppard), Gary Oldman and Gary Sinise.
Signs in the audience:
"Wings best band ever,"
"We love Wings," Wings at the Speed of Sound is my favorite
album," "Band on the Run," "Follow Me."
These two signs were held up one after another to form a sentence.
"New Orleans Katrina Survivors," "Your music helped
us through the 'Chaos.'" Paul pointed and nodded to the survivors
in a compassionate manner. (Congrats to Allison Young and Lisa
Tonguis)
Paul's Lexus flew by around 5:30 pm. Macca's video crew was out and about capturing the arrival. Paul opened the window and put his arm out to wave as the car traveled past fans and down the entrance ramp.
Songs heard at the sound check:
"Honey Hush," "Honey
Don't," "Coming Up," "All My Loving,"
"How Kind of You," "Midnight Special," "Things
We Said Today," "Lady Madonna."
Unlike the first show, this crowd loud
and ready to rock. Paul was very chatty and attentive to the audience.
He stuck to the script but when he didn't, he was quite witty.
The first two rows were taken by guests of the tour sponsors.
When Paul took the stage and began "Magical Mystery Tour"
they continued to sit.
"Foxey Lady" made it into the performance after "Let Me Roll It" and "Baby Face" was done this night as well as last.
Just before "Fine Line" the piano door started to open and Paul's assistant, John Hammel inadvertently stepped on the sliding door which caught him as it moved. He quickly stepped off coming close to losing his balance. The audience near the front gasp. Paul evidently didn't notice.
Paul's voice was better on "Jenny Wren." He sang it softly. The audience seemed familiar with the song and cheered encouragement as Paul struggled on the higher notes. One drunken guy yelled out "JENNY WREN!" as loud as he could during one of the quiet moments. Paul ignored him.
The Friday show got Paul's
"peradventure" word lesson, but tonight the set list
was rearranged to allow for an 'special event.' Paul was very
nervous as the time approached. He spoke about what was going
to happen.
"As you probably know we're going to do something reeeeeally
special tonight. We're gonna to transmit to these two astronauts
who are up in the International Space Station right now about
220 miles up there somewhere..."
He was just about to instruct the audience, when he said, "No
I'll tell you more in a little bit." He seemed unsure of
what to say and what to do realizing how important this recorded
moment would be in history. "What AM I going to say to them?"
he said aloud. Then he answered his own question, "Okay,
I'll figure it out."
Paul told the audience that in a few minutes they were going to
broadcast LIVE to NASA and do a 'wake up call' to the International
Space Station orbiting Earth. The astronauts, NASA's Commander
Bill McArthur and Russian Cosmonaut Valery Tokarev, were 44 days
into a 6 month mission aboard the space station.
Paul had the audience practice
the "GOOD MORNING" shout a few times before the link-up.
When he counted "1-2-3'" the audience was supposed to
say "Good Morning."
"I do believe that pretty shortly we'll be able to go over
there," said Paul. "So, are you ready? OK! We're gonna
go now to the International Space Station. Check it out. Here
we go. Let's go! There they are! Wooooo! All right! Shown on the
video screen behind Paul were the two space station astronauts
in a live hook-up.
"Hey Bill and Valery! We want to say 'hi' to you and want to say 'good morning' from Anaheim, CA. [audience cheers] Well, Bill and Valery, we have a greeting for you from all the audience here. Check it out. 1-2-3 GOOD MORNING!!! [The audience and Paul shout in unison]
"All right. This is really exciting for us guys to be seeing you guys, and actually, can't believe that we're actually just, you know, transmitting to space!" This is sensational. I love it!" said Paul.
"What we thought we'd do for you guys is, we'd like to do a song for you. Are you ready for that?"
"Absolutely!" said McArthur.
"OK, I'll tell you what, just before we go, can we see another one of those somersaults? [McArthur does a somersault and the crowd cheers]
"OK you guys! For you Bill, and Valery, we'd like to do a little song for you. We'd like to wake you up with a little bit of 'English Tea.' Here we go... [the music starts]
[Paul speaks the first line] "Would you care to sit with me, for a cup of English tea..."
The weightless astronauts produced breakfast drink bags which they sipped during the song. [song finishes]
"Did you enjoy your tea?" said Paul.
"Paul we certainly did," said McArthur. We're each both drinking a bag of English... well in this case, afternoon tea."
"Fantastic! And what's
that you got in there Valery? A little vodka?" McCartney
joked.
"It's a little early today," answered Tokarev grinning.
"Listen, this is so exciting. Such a pleasure. I mean, I can't believe were doing this, but I love it. I know everyone is loving it. Isn't this great? [audience screams their appproval]
"Well, Sir Paul, the opportunity to fly in space brings along many, many exciting events. I must tell you though, this ranks at the very top. It's such an honor for you to join us," said McArthur. "We're so thrilled that you can participate in our flight with us, and again, thank you very much."
"The pleasure is all ours guys. I tell ya, we are loving it," gushed McCartney
"OK listen. We would like to now, do another song for you," said Paul. Then he told the story about how the Discovery astronauts had trouble during their flight. He said when they were due to come home, NASA postponed the landing because of bad weather. As a result their supplies were running low. He joked, "They didn't have as much English tea as you've got there." [laughter]
"We're very proud to say that on the morning that NASA actually told them that they were cleared to re-enter into the Earth's atmosphere and come home, they actually woke 'em up with one our songs--the next song we're gonna do. So we'd like to do this song for you two guys especially today. And we send our love from Earth!" said Paul. [applause]
"OK you guys, listen. So here' s how it went on that morning that NASA woke up the crew of the Discovery," Paul said.
The actual recording of the NASA "wake up call" was played and Paul launched into "Good Day Sunshine." [song ends]
"All right guys...did that come up your way ok? Did you hear that fine?" asked Paul.
"That was simply magnificent," McArthur said. "We consider you an explorer just as we are." [audience cheers]
"Well, I think we all go along with that Bill, and you Valery. Listen, I think this audience just wants to give you a real big cheer for everything you're doing in joining us here tonight. LET'S HEAR IT! [audience applauds, the astronauts wave]
"We wish you all the best
for the rest of your mission... We can't wait to meet you when
you get back down to Earth," said Paul. "We send so
much love from here. From everybody here in Anaheim, CA... from
the whole world... all of us on Earth. See ya guys! Bye! Spasibo
Valery! ...Privet rebyata!
"They're gone. Well, All right! How about that? He, he...
[Paul giggles] That was fantastic. The timing you won't believe...
[laughs] Well, you will believe the timing [that] went into doing
that. That's so cool."
"I'll Follow the Sun" had four encores.
Paul dedicated "Follow Me" to "Heather and our baby daughter who just turned two." He didn't do a shout out for John, George and Linda.
During "I've Got a Feeling," several fans in the front held up signs that said, "Oh Yeah" and "Oh No," whenever Paul sang those lyrics. They kept flipping the signs which were two-sided. Paul was very amused.
For the second encore Brian had the California State flag and Paul had the American flag. Macca dipped the flag into the front row so fans could touch it.
Fans near the stage who took
note of Trini's impressive candle display from the previous night,
passed out dozens of candles right before "Let It Be."
Paul was very appreciative and made eye contact with the candle
holders. At the song's end he said, "Thanks for the lights!"
During "Sgt. Pepper" a fan held up a sign that said:
"TEETH Jimi". Paul responded by turning his Les Paul
up to his face and pretended to play with his teeth like Jimi
Hendrix for a moment. He aborted the attempt and pointed an accusing
finger at the sign holder as if to say, "you made me do it!"
(Congrats to Doug Brown)
When Paul was onstage alone with the audience, Rusty was seen entertaining friends/relatives? at the left side of the stage. Both Rusty and Wix were hugging them while Paul did his solo acoustic set. They remained at that side of the stage and danced throughout the concert.
At the end of the show, somebody threw something that hit Paul. Other items were thrown onstage.
Autographed by Paul:
A "Rubber Soul" album, and a sign.
Signs in the audience :
"Paul a tour at 64?"
"PAUL, YOU SHINE ON MY SOUL AND ALWAYS LIFT MY SPIRITS! LOVE
YOU, PAUL! LISA, NEW ORLEANS" acknowledged by Paul with a
wave. The sign had small white lights on it. (Congrats to Lisa
Tonguis)
McCartney's chartered jet landed
at Mather Field (private airfield) at approximately 5:15pm. Fans
were waiting as the entire entourage deplaned and got into various
vehicles (6 black Lexus SUV's and a white van). They had a motorcycle
police escort and left the airport around 5:25 pm.
Paul's Lexus motorcade arrived at the Arco Arena around 6:00 pm.
It was already dark and hard to see who was in the cars. Paul
had the window down as his Lexus slowly rolled by the small group
of fans. The car almost came to a stop. A fan yelled out, "Hey
Paul which car are you in?" Paul responded with, "I'm
right here!" He smiled and waved. (Congrats to harleyblues)
The
show started late because Paul did a sound check after he came
in. Freelance Hellraiser got onstage around 8:30 pm and received
a good response. By the time Macca appeared at 8:58 pm the sellout
crowd of 16,000 was energized and on their feet. Paul and the
band fed off the audience's enthusiasm and energy. They were tighter
than ever putting on a superb performance for the screaming and
stomping crowd.
Paul picked up the tempo for "Flaming Pie" and it rocked.
"Greetings Sac-ra-men-ton-ians!!!" said Paul to the crowd.
Macca was chatty, charming, interactive and playful, striking comical poses for females in the audience with silly on-the-spot dances in-between songs. Paul's vocals were exceptionally strong and clear with only a noticeable hint of strain when he sang the higher notes on "Jenny Wren. "
Abe said, "Hell-ooooo Sacramento! How are the families and the kids?ARE YOU READY TO RAWKKKKKKK???" The crowd yelled a unanimous, "YES!"
Sacramento was treated to an extended "Foxey Lady" jam at the end of "Let Me Roll It." This was an exceptionally longer than jam than at previous shows.
After "English Tea" Paul gave his "peradventure" word lesson. A fan held up a sign that said "Peradventure" to which Paul joked, "That is just one more example of how the word is sweeping the nation." (Congrats to Matt Culley)
After "Jenny Wren" a fan held up a sign that read "My Grandma saw you at Candlestick Park." Paul read it wrong and said "My Mother saw you at Candlestick Park" and added ...in 1966! Oh, my!" Paul gave the sign holder a thumbs up. (Congrats to Mark Homen who had his "Grandma" sign acknowledged by Paul and read correctly at the second San Jose show).
"I'll Follow the Sun"
had six reprises (a Macca 2005 US Tour record!) After the fourth
one Paul stood back and emphatically waved, "no more, no
more!" As the crowd screamed for "more," he did
another and then finally six.
Paul talked about being distracted by signs in the audience and
how he has the urge to read them but tries to resist so he can
concentrate on his performance. As he was saying that, up came
a sign that read, "SHE'S NOT THE BRIGHTEST OF BUTTONS."
He smiled as he pointed to the sign and said, "I'm reading
yours now." The crowd cheered. (Congrats to harleyblues)
He also read, "Hi, Paul You're My Birthday Gift" and
said to the birthday girl, "Me? I'm your birthday present?"
She nodded and shouted "YES!" which made Paul laugh.
He sang in a very fast tempo, "happy birthday to you. Happy
birthday to you..." in a very fast tempo! She blew him a
kiss. Paul pointed to her husband and said, "Very smart man."
The husband bowed to Paul. (Congrats to Teresa and Dan Dankoski)
When Paul took "a moment to remember our dear departed loved ones, John, George and Linda," a woman (Congrats to Grace Olson) in the seventh row yelled "Where's RINGO!?" Paul said, "No, luv, Ringo is still with us!" Someone else yelled, (Congrats to Mark Homen) "Then bring him up!" to which Paul said, "Sorry, I can't do that!" Paul acknowledged the pink glowsticks being held in the shape of an "L" for Linda (Congrats to Teresa and Dan Dankoski).
During "Follow Me" the audience 'swayed' in rhythm to the song. After the song Paul acknowledged the "Follow Me" signs. (Congrats to harleyblues and Teresa Dankoski)
Since this was the first concert after the historic link-up to the International Space Station Paul stated that they were "doubly proud" and "double-spaced out" to have played "Good Day Sunshine" live to the space station crew "a few days ago." He said, "And how proud are we to have that song awake the Discovery crew earlier this year?" There was a huge applause.
There was no "Baby Face"
intro for "Hey Jude."
After the last explosion for "Live and Let Die" Paul
and the band and put their fingers in their ears and grimaced.
They did a lot of pantomiming feigning pain from the loud bangs.
Paul pointed to someone near the front row and said as if he was
in the audience, "Don't do that one again. That was way too
loud." He shook his head emphatically as he said it.
Paul and Brian did lots of waving and posturing to the uppers
decks at Arco Arena. More so than at other shows.
Wix said he had an old friend in the audience from the wine country that he used to hang out with and play shows with in Napa area. The friend was a lead guitarist. Wix played a little bit of guitar in honor of his friend.
"Too Many People" was HOT with Paul ripping it up for both instrumental breaks. Many double-handed Wings 'signs' in the air during that one.
Brian was familiar with Arco Arena and announced that he was very happy to be there. He wanted to hear foot pounding on the wooden platforms and the audience was happy to oblige. He asked if people still brought cowbells there and got no response. (The reference was to the Sacramento Kings who play basketball in the arena. A disgruntled player once said, "Sacramento is 'cow town'" which prompted many fans years to bring cowbells to the games). Brian said, "Guess not," laughed, and began greeting fans around the arena as spotlights shined on them.
For "Let It Be" there was a bonfire of candles in Section 118 which Paul acknowledged.
For the last encore Paul and Brian came out with the US and California State flags respectively and Abe came out with a huge snifter of wine or brandy.
Autographed by Paul:
Three to four items tossed onstage.
At the door people were told they couldn't bring signs in though some smuggled them in.
Signs in the audience:
"Chaos In sacRAMento," "RAM ON," "How Kind Of You to Please Please Me," Wix Kicks" acknowledged by Paul and Wix (Congrats to Teresa Dankoski), "I've Got a Feeling I'll Get You In The End" acknowledged by Paul, "WE Love Paul & Brian" acknowledged by Paul and Brian with smiles, and a wave from Brian during "Magical Mystery Tour" (Congrats to harleyblues) "I will love you at 64 (heart) Beatlebarb" acknowledged by Paul who put his hand over his heard and gave an "I know" nod.
Jorie Gracen