The seven-week
"Driving USA" tour covered, two countries, 14 states,
20 cities with 27 shows grossing approximately $53 million with
an attendance of 407,000 people. The top-grossing event was the
two Las Vegas shows which made $5.6 million. Shows in Chicago,
New York and Dallas grossed over $4 million in each city.
Paul McCartney is hotter than
ever! His first tour to rock American in nine years is selling
out venues at record rates. Maccamania is rocking America,"
said Brad Wavra, vice president Clear Channel Touring. "Nearly
200,000 tickets sold, for 14 shows, in minutes. McCartney
fans have spoken and they've spoken quickly."
Tickets were snatched up at
a feverish pace from San Jose (23 minutes) to Toronto (30 minutes)
to Philadelphia (19 minutes) to Boston (15 minutes) to Chicago
(15 minutes) to Washington (15 minutes) and New York City (15
minutes). Some cities added second shows because of the demand.
Three shows were added during the "drive" for tickets.
April 11th in Chicago, April 24th in Washington and April 27th
at New York's Madison Square Garden; roughly 78,000 tickets sold
for 6 performances in almost 90 minutes, a rate of almost 867
tickets sold a minute!
Paul's "Driving USA" tour ("Back in the
US" DVD) is documented on CD/DVD. It includes
a behind the scenes look at his shows, concert, fan footage, and
Paul and band jamming with the apes in Atlanta.
FOR THOSE IN THE UK: "Back in the World Live 2002"
Double CD Click here. 
April 1 --- Oakland, CA --- The Oakland Arena
April 3 --- San Jose, CA --- The Compaq Center
April 5, 6 --- Las Vegas, NV --- MGM Grand
April 10, 11 --- Chicago, IL --- The United Center
April 13 --- Toronto, Canada --- Air Canada Center
April 16 --- Philadelphia, PA --- First Union Center
April 17 --- Rutherford, NJ --- Continental Arena
April 19 --- Boston, MA --- Fleet Center
April 21 --- Long Island, NY--- Nassau Coliseium
April 23, 24 --- Washington, D.C. --- MCI Center (video clip)
April 26, 27 --- New York, NY --- Madison Square Garden
April 29 --- Cleveland, OH --- Gund Arena
May 1 --- Detroit, MI --- Palace at Auburn Hills
May 4 --- Los Angeles, CA --- The Staples Center
May 5 --- Anaheim, CA --- The Pond
May 7 --- Denver, CO --- Pepsi Center
May 9, 10--- Dallas, TX --- Reunion Arena
May 12, 13 --- Atlanta, GA --- Philips Arena
May 15 --- Tampa, FL --- Ice Palace
May 17, 18 --- Ft. Lauderdale, FL --- National Car Rental Center
Paul performed 36 songs - 21 by The Beatles, and 10 from his Wings days, including 13 number one songs to a sellout crowd of 15,000. The set lasted 2 hours and 20 minutes.
A parade of costumed characters, from court jesters carrying balloons to contortionists to a man on stilts and a woman walking on a gigantic rolling ball, began the evening's entertainment ala Cirque du Soleil. They frolicked in the audience and on stage until a giant Hofner sillouette appeared on a screen with Paul in sillouette holding his famous violin-shaped Hofner bass guitar high in the air.
It also included the first live performance of 1967 Beatles track "Getting Better."
And for the first time he performed "Here Today," the song he wrote after Lennon's murder in New York, which saw the arena erupt with a tearful standing ovation. "When people are around, it's not always easy to tell them what you feel," McCartney told the 14,000 fans. "After my dear friend John passed on, I wrote this song."
McCartney also played "My Love," which he wrote for Linda when they formed Wings together but there was no actual tribute to Linda.
He played George Harrison's "Something" on a ukulele .
He told fans, "George was a great ukulele player and whenever you went to his house, he'd play it at the end of the night. I showed him I could play the song on the ukulele and tonight I'd like to do it now as my tribute." McCartney said the ukulele was a present from George.
Women screamed when, after a few songs, McCartney stripped off his charcoal jacket and rolled up the sleeves of his gray shirt.
During "Freedom" a banner (from the SuperBowl) with the statue of liberty was lowered.
The band was tight and McCartney was in good voice, straining to hit some high notes but nailing "Maybe I'm Amazed."
He sang "All My Loving,'' against a bank of 20' x 20' video screens that played black-and-white Beatles footage. He told the story of "Blackbird'' and how it was meant to tell about the Civil Rights-era struggle of a young black woman.
The stripped-down, acoustic set, which McCartney says is the first time he's ever played guitar onstage without accompaniment, also featured "We Can Work it Out,'' (where he messed up the words) "Mother Nature's Son,'' and "Carry That Weight,'' during which he was forced to improvise, "This is the part where I don't remember the words. Maybe I'll remember them by the end of the tour,'' he sang.
Heather was seen dancing in the aisles during "Getting Better."
Thanks to Karen Pederson, Larry Davis and Ed Beebout, for their help in gathering this report.
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Paul and Heather stayed in the MGM Mansion
during their stay in Las Vegas. Alice Cooper, Susan Anton, Larry
King and Tony Orlando were in the audience. Orlando met Paul before
the show and was showing off photos that he took with Paul with
his digital camera.
At the show Paul said, "Mike Tyson, eh?" alluding to
the fight that his concert replaced. After the show Paul checked out the casino at the MGM Grand with Heather
and a group of security guards in tow. He joined the high rollers
at 2:30am in a game of blackjack and roulette. The minimum bet
is $3,000 in the high rollers area.Ringo
did not turn up at either show as was rumored. There was a meet
and greet with Paul after show and Tony Curtis was in attendance.
Paul mentioned playing blackjack the night
before and won, but lost it afterwards at the roulette wheel.
Referring to Mike Tyson he said, "I don't bite ears like
Mike, not this evening!" He also messed up a few lines during
"Hey Jude" where he stuck out his tongue in a funny
way and looked over at Rusty, who mouthed, "Oh it's O.K.!"
Eric Burton of the Animals was in the audience that night.
During Saturday's show the video system failed to work for 3/4
of the show with only one screen working.
What did Paul
do with his free time in Las
Vegas? On Saturday, April 6, Paul and Heather cruised the Strip,
in a limo and drove toward downtown. After spotting the "Wee
Kirk O'Heather Wedding Chapel," Paul ordered the driver to
stop so he could take Heather's picture in front of the chapel
with the sign behind her. Paul ran across several lanes of traffic
wearing pool sandals dodging cars, and at least one car had to
stop for him! Next they stopped at the Walgreen's at Charleston
and Las Vegas Blvd. to pick up a few items. They were approached
a few times in the store, with Paul winking and waving people
off. Then, after getting back in the limo, he said he thought
the people in the store seemed OK, and went back to the store
to say "hi "and sign a few autographs.
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Paul was in great voice for the first show.
He nailed "Maybe I'm Amazed" and the band was very tight.
Paul wore a red T-shirt with white trim and loose fitting blue
jeans and a black tux jacket with satin lapels. The show started
about an 45 minutes late because the video screens were not working.
Heather Mills was taking photos with Linda's beloved Nikon camera
during the concert and eventually sat in the 6th row. Paul mentioned
that his dad used to play "Chicago" on the piano and
since he was Liverpool Irish he asked if there were any Irish
in the audience which got a big applause. Professional video cameras
on tracks were in the photo pit taping for a DVD and providing
a live feed for the video screens showing Paul at different angles.
Louise Harrison was in the audience and met Paul backstage before
the show. Before Paul left the stage after "The End"
he signed a "Hard Day's Night" album (vinyl) cover for
a fan in the front row. That got a huge applause.
Paul's voice was top notch at the second Chicago show on April 11. Paul wore a red button dress shirt, pin-striped black pants with a black tux jacket. He did manage to mess up the words to "Yesterday" repeating a line which was instantly recognized by the audience who started laughing and cheering. Paul couldn't keep from grinning as he finished the song saying, "Spot the deliberate mistake in the song!" he said. Before "The Fool on the Hill" he mentioned having a massage in the hotel that morning and talked about his experiences with massages in Brazil and Japan which he told at his poetry readings. He said, "I don't know why I'm telling you all this, but it's all true." Before "We Can Work It Out" he talked about Chicago. "Chicago is thought of as a magical place in Liverpool." He mentioned that the ukulele he used was given to him by George Harrison. When he left the stage he signed a Beatles logo drumhead, a white album and a hat for lucky fans in the front row. Paul went under the name of "Johnson" at the hotel he was staying at in Chicago. Paul left Chicago Saturday for Toronto making his stay in Chicago seven days.
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Paul did "Mull of Kintrye"
at the Toronto show complete with bagpipers
and the drum corp from Toronto's Peel Regional Police Pipe Band.
The song was performed after "Yesterday" during the
last encore. Paul said during the show, "A lot of people
hold up banners and some people hold up babies!" A couple
was holding a baby above their heads and at times waving it at
Paul which got Paul's attention. At a rare press conference McCartney
said with a fake Scottish accent, "I always love coming here.
It gives us a chance to get out the pipe band because of all the
great Scottish folks that live here. And any excuse to do that
is cool with me." When asked if he collected Beatles memorabilia
and what he would like in his collection he joked, "I wouldn't
mind a pair of Beatles knickers. They did appear in Japan and
I often think about them. But then I smack myself about the face
and get on with it."
Paul 's and fiancee Heather Mills spent a good 2 1/2 hours at the Rizzieri Salon and Spa in Marlton near Philadelphia before the concert. The couple got full treatment: haircuts, pedicures, micro-derm facials, Thai massages, and heavy breathing in the yoga studio. Doing the honors for the haircuts, at $80 a mop, was owner Frank Rizzieri, a three-time North American Hair Stylist of the Year, and his makeup-artist wife, Ana Marie, who know McCartney and Mills from the New York benefit circuit.
Backstage at the center, McCartney and crew feasted on an all-veggie spread while Paul did one-on-one interviews with local radio and Access Hollywood.
Paul wiped a tear from his eye after he sang "My Love" at the Philly show and after "Something." He said that the Philly audience was better than the Chicago audience, more enthusiastic. Though he has been saying that every show. He wore a red shirt and a shiny gray jacket with Nike shoes. He tossed his Hofner to assistant John Hammel as he does at every show only to have it intercepted by Wix, startling Paul who thought Wix was going to drop it.
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Paul performed in New Jersey on the fourth
year anniversary of Linda's death . He paused to remember her before
singing, "My Love" patting his heart. A hush a fell
over the audience as Linda was remembered.
Paul rocked the Fleet Center in Boston Friday night. He choked up at the end of "Here Today," and introduced drummer, Abe Laboriel, Jr. as a hometown boy. Abe told the audience he was born at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston and his parents still live in Lexington. After "Freedom" Abe carried the Massachusetts state flag and Paul carried the American flag. Lead guitarist Rusty Anderson addressed the crowd and said, "Boston you are LOUD!" And then made a reference to smell of marijuana in the air saying, "It smells like you are having a good time!" Gone were the film clips of Tom Cruise from "Vanilla Sky" now replaced with a cloud projection. Paul mentioned in jest after the song that "Randy Newman had to go and win!" Paul did his silly pseudo opera voice for the intro to "The Fool On The Hill" and congratulated one of his crew on his new marriage. Heather Mills was seen shooting photos of Paul from the photo pit.
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Paul arrived in his limo for the sound check
around 5pm stopping for a group of fans, shaking some hands and
signing a CD for one lucky fan. Video crews were everywhere documenting
the show and fans. During the concert Paul introduced "My
Love" as a song he wrote for Linda. This is the first time
the song was dedicated to Linda since the NJ (April 17) show where
he mentioned her before the song because of the four year anniversary
of her death. The performance was close to flawless with Paul
sounding better than ever. For the encore Paul came out wearing
a red T-shirt that read: "No More Land Mines" and the
back had the Adopt-A-Minefield logo. Fans handed flowers to Paul
which he took. He left promptly after the show via a helicopter
from the parking lot.
Paul arrived late for the sound check (around 6pm) with a police escort, sirens blaring. He rolled the window down and waved to fans but did not stop. Camera crews were videotaping fans outside for a DVD of the tour that will come out sometime this year. The show was much the same with Paul's voice starting to show signs of strain. "This is rock information of the highest order," Paul explained during one of his storytelling moments and joked that he would be teaching a course in rock history at Harvard. Wix talked about playing the board game called Cranium after a show and Paul getting the question, "Who was the oldest Beatle?" Paul said, "I knew that one!"
Paul left right after the show with a police escort in his black stretch limo accompanied by two white tour buses. He and the band stayed at the Four Seasons Hotel. Paul, Heather, security guards and the band visited the hotel bar right after the show and stayed until 2:30am drinking and eating in a special roped off area. Fans approached him for photos and autographs but Paul declined. One lucky fan grabbed his hand as he was heading for the bathroom and said, "Can I tell you how much I love you?" Paul said "Ooooh, you can tell me that anytime!" Then his body guard pulled hustled him away. (No report for second show)
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INDEX 2002 "DRIVING RAIN" TOUR
Paul arrived at MSG for the
PC and sound check where only ten fans were waiting. Security
was so tight they searched HIM when he entered and scanned him
with a wand. Paul goofed around acting silly as he got searched
and twirled around when he got wanded.
Paul did a rare press conference before the show and did a photo
op from the stage with a group of 17 children from the "CityKids Foundation." Photo The CityKids created the 4-story (90
foot) banner backdrop called "CityKids Speak on Liberty"
that is used during the song, "Freedom." It was originally
created in 1986 for the 100th anniversary of the Statue of Liberty
through a collaboration between the CityKids and late artist,
Keith Haring who died of AIDs in 1990. The banner took 3 days
to produce with the help of inner-city kids asked to write their
personal thoughts with drawings about the meaning of liberty and
freedom. Haring drew the black outline of the statue with happy
dancing figures around it and the kids filled-in the rest.
Howard Stern sat in the audience with his girlfriend and the following Monday praised Paul on his radio show.
Stella McCartney was at the show and went backstage before the show to say hi to her dad.
At the beginning of the pre-show the characters moved through the audience and were blocked or pushed aside by oblivious concertgoers going to their seats, talking on cell phones or to friends while standing in the aisles.
Paul told the audience, "I want to thank you for the warm welcome New York. It really made us feel good!"
Paul choked-up on Linda's name when he dedicated "My Love" to her.
Paul hit a piano clinker during "You Never Give Me Your Money" and showed his embarrassment with a mocked wide-eyed horrified expression that broke into a big smile. When he finished the song he got up and slapped his own hand.
Rusty did a fake collapse after "Live and Let Die."
A fan threw a NY Yankee beanie bear on the stage and Paul tried to attach it to his belt but the bear wouldn't clip on, so he put the bear on his shoulder when he left after the encore and came out with it clipped to his belt.
When Paul sang "Freedom" the audience stood and sang along. When he finished they chanted "USA! USA! USA!" and Paul said, "We're all in this together." The crowd roared with approval.
Paul mentioned that before the show the NY Police Department was backstage and made him an honorary detective. He stood proudly with his chest puffed out. Then he warned the audience, "So whoever is smoking that stuff I can smell, I am going to bust ya!"
"Here Today" received a standing ovation with the crowd cheering for over a minute after Paul said, "Let's hear it for John." Paul seemed to be acknowledging someone in the audience, possibly Sean or Julian as he looked to a certain area of the audience.
He dedicated "My Love" as a song he wrote for Linda that he said used to be dedicated to all the lovers in the audience. Paul mentioned that there were a lot of friends and family in the audience tonight. During the song he sung an unusual crescendo of high notes in an emotional tribute to Linda.
Before "The Fool on the Hill" Paul recounted the massage story that has evolved during the course of the tour. This time he told the story about the masseuse in New Orleans who asked said to him to look intensely at him and told him, "I want you to burn a hole in my eyes with your eyes." Paul said, "I just want a massage, not a relationship!" The audience howled with laughter.
After "Something" Paul said that his ukulele was given to him by George Harrison and he held it up and gave it a kiss.
Paul's psychedelic piano is usually wheeled out by the strong man character who wears a costume of foam formed musculature. It appeared that Abe with a pasted on handlebar mustache was doing the task dressed as the strongman. Paul noticed the personnel change and started to laugh. He pantomimed a person stuffing great amounts of food into his mouth alluding to the man's overweight appearance.
Wix brought out his accordion for "Mother Nature's Son" and Paul mentioned as he has at other shows that Wix bought the shiny accordion in Italy. But this time he did it with an Italian accent noting that there were probably a lot of Italians in NYC!
During "Blackbird" there were a lot of bird whistles coming from the audience. "Let It Be" had a good showing of the undulating sea of bics. Paul thanked the audience "for the lights."
At one point Wix brought out a bottle of champagne to celebrate his 200th show with Paul! And made a toast after he poured a glass for himself. Paul then noted that Wix would be playing the guitar and knew only five chords. Wix, admitted he only knew the five chords and then Paul joked, "Will you get them in the right order tonight? Wix replied, "Probably not!"
For the encore Paul came running
out of the wings at top speed wearing the red T-shirt that read
"no more land mines."
Paul arrived alone at MSG in a Town Car, not a limo. Before he got out of the car, a dog was taken around the car by security to sniff for????
Mike McCartney and his wife Rowena and John Eastman (Paul's brother-in-law) were at the VIP private pre-party where Paul and the band showed up briefly before the show.
In the audience were: Lorne Michaels, John McEnroe, Billie Crystal and Chevy Chase.
Paul was in good voice but his performance was not as energetic as the first night's show.
After "Hello Goodbye" he said, "New York City! This is the place! Right here!" "Let's boogie woogie somewhat," he said and launched into "Coming Up."
"It's getting hot in here," Paul said and took off his jacket.
For the first time Paul dedicated "Your Loving Flame" to Heather by name.
Before "The Fool On the Hill" he talked about sometimes getting "dodgy massages" while on tour. Then he mentioned getting a massage in Tokyo and the audience howled thinking he was referring to the time he was busted. Paul caught on and said, "No, not THAT time."
When Paul was
on the grand piano Rusty pulled out a point and shoot camera to
take a photo of the audience for his scrapbook admitting he didn't
have a photo pass to Paul. He asked people to hold up their signs
and took a photo. Paul yelled, "Hey NO PHOTOS! I'm going
to have to confiscate your camera!"
Fans held up a banner during the John tribute song "Here
Today" that read "John Loves You." McCartney was
moved and close to tears after reading the banner.
At the end of "Live and Let Die" Rusty collapsed on the floor like he did the first night, lying on his back with his feet up in the air. Paul jumped off the piano platform feigning concern clutching his chest and then shaking his fist at Rusty after Rusty jumped up.
He hit a wrong note at the
beginning of "C-Moon" stopped and said, "Hang on,
let's start again."
Paul did an Italian accent intro at the beginning of "Mother
Nature's Son" which he did the night before that had the
audience in stitches.
During one of the songs Paul said that he was "losing it to Rusty" and feigned grief. He talked about the band while wiggling his hips and said, "Thanks to that sensational band of mine."
People threw flowers on the stage which Paul took and signed a Beatles album and some programs before he left saying, "See ya next time!
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INDEX 2002 "DRIVING RAIN" TOUR
Paul arrived at the venue around 4:30 and rolled down the window of the limo to wave to fans but did not stop. (Photo and story) Some of the songs he did at the sound check included: "Coming Up," "Lady Madonna," "Let It Be," "Midnight Special," "Let Me Roll It," "Calico Skies," and "C Moon."
The venue stuck to the rules not to let anyone in who arrived late until pre-show ended causing major congestion and angry concertgoers who couldn't get to their seats before Paul appeared.
For the most part Paul nailed most of the tunes with just a slight hint of strain on some of the early vocals. He kept drinking from his red solo cup of water and his voice improved.
Paul dedicated "My Love" to Linda and said her family came from Shaker Heights (Her mother was Louise Linder from the Sterling Linder Davis chain of department stores). The crowd cheered.
The concert was pretty much like the previous shows with the same dialog by Paul.
It appears
that "C-Moon" is becoming the "bathroom break,
let's get a beer song" on this tour. Casual fans and non-fans
think this song is from "Driving Rain." Cleveland joins
the ranks of the cities disinterested in this gem of a B-side.
Paul signed a "Beatles '65" album before he left the
stage.
Paul and the
band were staying at the Ritz-Carlton. Wix showed up in the bar
after the show.
Paul arrived later than usual at the venue around 6:30pm. He was on the passenger side of the limo and the fans were on the driver's side but he rolled down the window and leaned over to wave. The car did not stop. Paul did a sound check and concertgoers were not allowed to enter the venue until he was finished. The concert started 20 minutes late.
Paul wore a sharkskin jacket, red T-shsirt and jeans. Right after "Jet" Paul said, "Hello Detroit! We have come to rock you!"
Just before Paul sang "Coming Up" he told the audience in his fake Wolfman Jack DJ voice, "Let's boogie woogie!"
Someone tossed a T-shirt to Paul that landed at his feet during "Let Me Roll It." When he finished the song he told the crowd, "WE DON'T DO LAUNDRY!"
The crowd sang
along to "Blackbird" and "We Can Work It Out"
after which Paul said humorously, "You know there's people
holding up all these signs and I'm readin' 'em as I'm singin'
and it's hard to remember the werds right."
After "Mother Nature's Son" Paul said, "There's
a lady up front who wants me to say 'hi to Rick' and it turns
out it's her husband and he's standing RIGHT NEXT TO HER!"
Paul then rolled his eyes. "So hi Rick and hello to all you
other Ricks out there as well!"
The Tom Cruise movie footage was
back again when Paul performed "Vanilla Sky." After
the song Paul complained, "And then we lost to Randy Newman."
He pretended to spit on the stage floor and said, "Just kidding!
I LOVE him!"
The Detroit crowd clapped and sang all the way through "Something" and there were many lights during "Let It Be."
After he sang "My Love" he made a heart shape with his arms over his head.
When he came out for "Yesterday" he pointed to a sticker on his acoustic guitar below the sound hole that was the logo for the Detroit Red Wings hockey team. The audience let out a big cheer. After the song he pointed to it again and waved the guitar over his head for a huge applause.
Just before the "Sgt. Pepper Reprise" Paul paused to tell the audience, "I just have to tell you one more story. He mentioned being ill while on a previous tour with a sore throat and not thinking properly. Paul said, "When we were on tour nine years ago ( it was actually over 12 years ago; February 4, 1990) you know how you always mention the name of the city you're playing in? Well we came to Pittsburgh and true story, I said really loud, 'PEOPLE OF DETROIT!' to NO reaction. So I yelled again, PEOPLE OF DETROIT!' and then it suddenly came to me where I really was. So I said 'People of Detroit, you are NOT! People of Pittsburgh, YOU ARE!' So now it's PEOPLE OF DETROIT YOU ARE!!!" Then Paul launched right into the song.
Two more T-shirts
were tossed on stage which Paul scooped up and he signed a vinyl
copy of "Driving Rain" (congrats to Don Krueger on that
autograph) and "Revolver" before he left.
Thanks to
S.Lo for for the Detroit and MSG report and Peter Reed
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Paul's concert at the Staples Center in Los Angeles Saturday night (May 4) drew a star-studded audience. Celebs were invited to a special VIP party before and after the show. Some of the celebs there were, Brian Wilson, Tom Cruise with Penelope Cruz, Mickey Dolenz, Pat Boone, Sylvester Stallone, Ted Danson, Jack Nicholson, Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons of Kiss, Jeff Lynne, David Spade, John Cusak and Cameron Crowe. Paul's voice started to show signs of strain from a sore throat but got better. He changed the words to "You Never Give Me Your Money" where he usually says that he will learn the words by the end of the tour to he to he doesn't think he will learn the words by the end of the tour. The LA audience was wildly enthusiastic even for the new music. Jack Nicholson was seen on the video screens singing along to "Hey Jude." Paul arrived at the venue at 5pm and immediately started his sound check. He performed, "Coming Up," "Let Me Roll It," "C Moon," "Midnight Special," "Blackbird," "You Never Give Me Your Money," "Lady Madonna," and a 50's sounding song with the lyrics: "back to my lovin' arms."
He did thank his crew during the show saying, "To bring you a show like this, we've got a lot of people out there working on the show. We've got the sound guys, the video screen...and the girls and boys of the stage crew - they're a fantastic crew, so I want to thank them. And I want to say a Happy Birthday to Missy!"
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INDEX 2002 "DRIVING RAIN" TOUR
Paul rocked the sold out Anaheim show at the Pond (May 5). People were so desperate for seats they sold last minute tickets behind the stage. McCartney arrived at 5:30 for the sound check and stuck his head out of the limo to wave to fans. In the audience was former band-mate Laurence Juber who conversed with Paul backstage at the VIP before the show. Also at the party was Alan Parsons.
Macca wore wearing a white suit jacket, red shirt with a zipper neck and pin-striped black pants. In the beginning of the show Paul's voice was rough but got better. He seemed to be over his sore throat. The audience for the most part remained sitting throughout the show.
Paul was choked-up and emotionally moved during "My Love" which he dedicated to Linda. Paul signed a "Sgt. Pepper" album before he left coaxing the lucky fan to pass it up to him. He picked up a stuffed bear someone threw and put it over his heart.
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INDEX 2002 "DRIVING RAIN" TOUR
Paul arrived at the sound check around 5:30pm, rolled down the window of his limo and waved to the fans. Once inside he refused to go into his dressing room because all the seats were leather. The venue had to scramble to find non-leather furniture to accommodate him. All personnel was banned from the sound check which has been the policy on this tour.
Paul was in excellent voice, at times just a bit hoarse but didn't seem to have any problems with the higher altitude. He wore a grey blazer, red polo shirt with a zipper at the neck, jeans sans belt! and black shoes. When he came out he almost hit his head on the screen as it lifted up.
Cameron Crowe was in the audience and it was no surprise that the movie footage was shown behind Paul when he sang "Vanilla Sky." Paul said he lost out to Randy Newman and did a mock spit on the stage and said, "PHOOEY!" Brian Ray mentioned that his parents and sister were in the audience and drove up from Durango to see the concert.
During the introduction to "Driving Rain" Paul talked about driving in his black covertte with Heather up Pacific Coast Highway in California as he's done at all the show. He mentioned stopping at a restaurant called Marie Callender's and a fan in the 4th row screamed "MARIE CALLENDER'S!" Paul said to her, "Oh you know that one do you?" He substituted "black corvette" at the end of the song where he usually sings "Driving Rain. "Let's go for a ride in a black Corvette." And also substituted the abbreviation, "PCH" (Pacific Coast Highway) in the song.
Paul dedicated "Your Loving Flame" to Heather and referred to her as, "My lovely fiancee Heather." He also mentioned Linda in his dedication for "My Love." The audience's applause was definitely stacked in Linda's favor.
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INDEX 2002 "DRIVING RAIN" TOUR
Paul came into the venue later than usual around 6:15pm and waved to fans. He was late for the Web Chat and answered only twelve questions in a period of twenty minutes.
Paul wore a long sleeve red knit shirt, pin-striped dark pants and a white unbuttoned dress shirt over the red shirt which he had difficulty removing because of the cuffs. He had so much trouble removing the shirt that the band started to play a 'strip tease' number while Paul struggled holding the Hofner between his knees! Paul finally just tore the shirt off with a "F *K THIS!" expression.
Paul was in
good voice. He introduced George Martin after he sang"Yesterday"
as "The man who originally arranged the strings for that
record, Sir George Martin, is here in the audience in Dallas tonight."
He said George came all this way just to see him. George was there
with his wife Judy.
When Paul introduced and sang "My Love," which he dedicated
to Linda, he was very emotional and a lone lava lamp was projected
on the screen. Linda was quite fond of lava lamps and lavished
her keyboards with an assortment on previous tours.
Brian Ray Brian joked about the band struggling in Culver City before Paul joined THEM!
Paul screwed up a guitar chord to "We Can Work It Out," grinned and started over.
A fan held up a sign during "Maybe I'm Amazed" that read, "Remembering Linda L.I.L.Y." Paul strained to read it as he was at the grand piano at the far end of the stage. Once he read it he he pointed to the fan and gave three thumbs up in rapid succession. Heather, wearing a Cowboy hat was seen leaving after the song. She came back later and bopped to "I Saw Her Standing There."
For the last
encore Paul came out jogging and acted like a prize-fighter punching
an imaginary bag with Wix in tow rubbing him down. Before he left
the stage he signed a "Meet The Beatles" album and got
a hug from Rusty who put his arm around him as they walked off
the stage.
Paul wore the a red T-shirt with the zipper neck, baggy blue jeans and a black jacket. He was more chatty with the audience than on the previous nights and was in good voice. He did a lot of waving to the audience in various remote sections to acknowledge them.
Security was tight at both Dallas shows. Lighters are no longer allowed and it was not surprising that during "Let It Be" there were few lights. But Paul thanked the audience anyway. Concertgoers can bring glowsticks instead of lighter or penlights.
For "My
Love" he made a heart over his head with his arms and patted
his heart which is now becoming standard at the shows.
A female fan from the back of the arena screamed so loud that
she got Paul's attention right after "Hello Goodbye."
Looking in her direction he said, "So, are YOU having fun
in the back?"
After getting beaned in the head with a stuffed animal Paul said, "You gotta watch out! It used to be jelly babies."
Wix failed miserably when he tried to joke about knowing only five chords on guitar. Paul scolded him and said, "Would YOU like another drink?"
For the encore for after "Yesterday" Paul was holding a yellow rose given to him earlier and tried to plant it on the headstock of his acoustic guitar under the strings. By doing so his guitar went out of tune. Wix offered a note on the keyboards for Paul to tune the guitar which seemed to take Paul forever. "Five hours later..." he mumbled and still the guitar wasn't in tune. Then it dawned on him that the stem of the flower was preventing the strings from tuning correctly. "It's the little flower," he explained. "I'll stick it in me trousers then." To the delight of the hooting audience Paul stuck the rose into the waistband of his jeans.
He noticed that there were quite a few cell phones being held up during the show and said accusingly to the people down in front, "I saw YA! Give 'em my best regards!"
During "Hey Jude" Paul leaves the piano and lets the audience sing the "nah, nah, nahs." Men first and then women. Usually he will do a strong man pose for the men when they sing and for the women this time in Dallas he did a Betty Boop imitation with one hand on his hip and the other playing with his hair.
Before he left the stage, Paul signed a "Magical Mystery Tour" album that he selected from a collection of stuff thrown on the stage. He had to find the pen first and did a little hop, skip and jump when he found it.
Thanks to Corey Gossett and others.
CITY
INDEX 2002 "DRIVING RAIN" TOUR
Paul's limo came down the wrong street to enter the venue and had to make a U-turn which put the car directly next to the waiting fans. Paul rolled the window half-way down and pointed to the fans. He signed a few things including a "Fans on the Run" banner and a CD. Photo
Macca's voice was a bit rougher than early on in the tour but he pulled off the songs without a hitch with his voice recovering as the show went on. The band was tight and on fire. Brian and Wix remarked about the audience's enthusiasm and said, "Now I know why they call it HOTLANTA!" Wix mentioned that he was good friends with the keyboardist of Little Feat and after the crowd reaction this evening Wix understood why the keyboardist was always looking forward to returning to Atlanta as mentioned in the Little Feat song, "Oh, Atlanta!" Rusty mentioned how incredible it was to be on stage every night and feel the energy from the crowd and suggested that "everyone should come up and try it sometime."
Paul dedicated "My Love" to "the Lovely Linda and all the lovely mothers out there". Paul encouraged the crowd to applaude when he asked after the song if there were any mothers in the audience.
After "Back in the USSR" Paul mentioned the line from the song, "that Georgia's always on my mind" line as he would again during the encore.
Emmylou Harris was in the audience and Paul mentioned that she did a cover of "Here, There and Everywhere."
So just what is in that red solo cup that Paul sips from time to time? During Paul's change over to the acoustic set, water? was brought out to Paul and Wix made a remark that it was Scotch. Paul said he needed it to loosen up and took a sip. He said, "No really, it's just water." Then he gave the audience a sly wink before he sat down at the piano.
Just before Paul did his massage stories, a fan held up a sign that read, "Time for your massage" which made Paul laugh.
Paul was so emotional on "Here Today" he choked-up on the words "I love you."
The band and Paul walked around the stage acting like gorillas after "Hey Jude."
Paul got off
the white tour bus at the Four Seasons Hotel and didn't stop for
the waiting fans. He was ushered into the lobby where he stopped
for a man and his young son who handed Paul a drawing that he
did. Paul posed for photos with the two of them and headed for
his suite. Around midnight he, Heather and the band enjoyed a
private catered meal in the hotel lounge. Paul performed an impromtu
mini-concert for invited VIPs banging away at the baby grand piano,
well after midnight, giving shocked onlookers a treat.
Thanks to
Brian Peterson and other contributors.
Paul wore a white jacket over
a white T-shirt at the sound check. He played "Hey Jude"
on the psychedelic piano and was acting silly and laughing. Then
he got up, took off his jacket and put it over his head and started
acting like a gorrilla!
For the show, the entire band including Paul came out wearing
white jackets over their shirts. Paul wore a red T-shirt and blue
jeans. Macca's energy level was in top form and his voice only
strained during the acoustic set.
For the first time ever on his tours, Paul introduced his personal assistant John Hammel to the audience right after "Mother's Nature's Son" when he handed him his acoustic guitar. "I want to introduce John Hammel, who has been with me forever". After John left the stage Macca said, "That is the first time I have ever done that, I think I embarrassed him tremendously."
He told the usual massage stories but added, "I had a massage THIS afternoon. Thank you Will!" He also said that he just heard the mayor of Atlanta declared Sunday and Monday "McCartney Days."
After playing "Something" and saying this is how George would have played it Paul said, "God bless him."
Paul and the band hopped around like gorillas after "Hey Jude" like they did the first night but only briefly.
When Paul left the stage he
said, "See you next time Atlanta!" and put a hat on
someone threw to him as he exited.
Thanks to
Debbie McGaha
CITY
INDEX 2002 "DRIVING RAIN" TOUR
Paul's limo arrived at about 6pm. He waved to fans but did not stop.
Paul wore an unbuttoned black jacket with a red T- shirt and dark gray pants with striping. Reports are that Paul was more low-key at this show and seemed tired. "Hello Goodbye" got off to a shaky start but by mid-song it got back on track with the help of Wix. His voice was flawless except for a few strained vocals here and there.
After "Let Me Roll It" he said, "Great to be here in Florida!"
The masseuse stories are taking on a life of their own evolving at every show. This time in his "Mass sages I have known" segment, he talked about a clumsy masseuse and said, "I'm hoping he hears about this and stops doing it to other people," Most of the other jokes stayed the same.
Heather was in the photo pit for most of the show.
Paul's been staying in Miami since May 14, and flew into Tampa for the show and then back to Miami.
CITY
INDEX 2002 "DRIVING RAIN" TOUR
Paul arrived at 5:05pm in his limo, rolled the window down and gave the thumbs up to waiting fans. He was sunburned from playing golf that day at a resort on Key Biscayne where he was staying. At 5:15 he started his sound check.
He wore tighter fitting jeans, a red zipper T-shirt and a black sport jacket with satin lapels. The band wore all black. His voice was a little rough at the start and then got better but during the acoustic set he started to strain on the high note.
Paul welcomed the crowd and said, "We have come here tonight to rock you Fort Lauderdale. Later in the show he said, "Thank you, lovely Floridians or is it Floridinos?" He had a hard time saying Ft. Lauderdale towards the end of the show and tried to say it four times, each time with it coming out wrong. He finally said it very slowly and got it right.
He looked teary eyed during "My Love, " "Here Today" and "Something."
When Paul conducted the "Hey Jude" singalong, for the men he made a muscleman posed, slapped his left thigh, turned his head to the right and pretended to spit. For the women, he put one hand behind his head, the other on his hip and girated his hips. Paul looked at Heather several times winking and making faces which made her laugh.
After "Vanilla Sky" Paul said that the Academy Awards people were going to give him the award but he told them to give it to Randy Newman instead.
Wix did his bit about learning to play the guitar and that tonight he would be playing the six chords he learned hopefully in the right order. Paul said, "Six? I thought you only knew five?" Wix said, "I learned one more!" Paul laughed and they launched into "We Can Work It Out."
On "Driving Rain" he changed the end chorus to "Go for a ride in my black corvette. Driving on PCH." (Pacific Coast Highway)
Paul sang, "I Saw Her Standing There" to Heather who was on the left side of the photo pit. She mouthed the words as the cameras showed her on screen and bopped to the music.
After the show Paul and Heather partied on with a friend of hers who has a house on Biscayne Bay. They also spent some time on South Beach in Miami Beach. The couple were staying at the Turnberry Isle Hotel in north Miami.
He signed a
"Hard Day's Night" and a "Band on the Run"
album before he left the stage
Paul arrived about 5:45 after sneaking in the backway of the NCRC. Security was so uptight seeing 30 fans waiting at the ramp where Paul came the day before that they forced fans to move away from the ramp area. Most fans protested but cooperated and Paul's limo with police escort came in the backway of the building where only 15 fans were waiting. He rolled the window down and waved.
People with VIP tickets were let in the building early while Paul was performing his sound check but not let inside the arena. He could be heard performing "Hey Jude" and "You Never Give Me Your Money." Some of the skyboxes were left open and Paul could be seen onstage and on the video screens directing a photo op for the crew who gathered in front of the stage to take the final tour group photo.
There was so much demand for tickets for this last show that the NCRC added 1,500 more seats to the side and behind the stage the day of the show. Making the capacity over 16,000.
The chinese mime from the pre-show asked a concertgoer for his cup of beer and chugged it from the photo pit to the delight of the audience.
Paul was energetic and emotional
during the show and in good voice. He wore grey corded trousers,
a red long-sleeved T-shirt and a light-weight black button down
jacket with a Nehru collar simular to a Shea Stadium jacket with
no pockets. 
The jacket
was unbuttoned and he had on the black Nike shoes. The band wore
all black. In the audience was Jimmy Buffet.
"We have come to rock you Fort Lauderdale! Oh yeah, oh yeah! OK this is the last show of our American tour. I've got a feeling we are going to have some fun!"
There were some interesting signs in he audience. One said "YOKO OH NO!" Paul laughed and pointed to it!
After "Let Me Roll" it when Paul took his jacket off he did a strip tease with the band playing strip tease music. Paul wiggled his hips as he took off the jacket with the female fans screaming "Take IT OFF!"
Before "We Can Work It Out" he sang a teaser with an Irish accent that went, "As I was walking down te street one fine and lovely day..." Then he stopped himself and began the song.
He screwed up the words at
the end of "Lady Madonna" and smiled.
When his pychedelic piano was brought out for "You Never
Give Me Your Money" by the strong man, there was a woman
also dressed up in the strong man outfit. Paul started to laugh.
He said, "That's the promoter's wife Jenny. Hey you never
looked so good! I warned her of the over use of steroids but she
didn't listen to me!"
Sitting at the psychedelic piano Paul said, "It's time for you mass-sage." Then he told the usual stories, with more animated gestures and some really funny expressions. He talked about having dodgy massages on tour and he's thinking about writing a book called, "Massages I Have Known." He said, "In fact I had one today. Excellent!" Then he told the story about the masseuse in New Orleans. "Please sit upright on the table... Uh, OH... I'd like you look into my eyes with your eyes and burn a hole in my eyes with yours. I want a massage not a relationship!" Then he said, "People bring along signs. There's a guy in the audience I've just spotted: 'I'm your Chiropractor and I want to massage you now.' ...I'm busy man, sorry, another time."
At the end of "Eleanor Rigby" Paul started wiggling his hips at the female fans in the front section.
Wix was quite dramatic during "Maybe I'm Amazed" mouthing the lyrics humorously with exaggerated expressions of angst for Paul's benefit. Paul was trying hard to ignore him but he couldn't help but smile as Wix continued his overacting, egging Paul on to give the song it's all.
"Band On the Run" brought the house down though Ft. Lauderdale was one of the most enthusiastic audiences. The main floor was on it's feet the entire show.
Paul kept with the script on "You Never Give Me Your Money" by saying he didn't know the words and doubted that he'd learn them now that it was the end of the tour.
Tonight he purposely mispronounced Fort Lauderdale the way he did it the night before as joke. He had no trouble saying it throughout the show.
One of the highlights of the show was when Paul performed the "Long and Winding Road." As he began the song placards with red hearts were held up by people in the section right in front of the stage. Paul could barely get the words out because he was so choked up. Tears were visible in his eyes as he struggled to regain his composure and finish the song. At it's end he apologized for the 'lousy' singing and told us that the people holding the hearts were the cast and crew of hundred people that made up the tour personnel. Some were still in costume. He thanked them all.
And the best moment of this tour and a first for Paul was when he chose two lucky fans from the audience to come on stage and join him when he sang "I Saw Her Standing There." The two fans were Casey and Tessa who have gone to nearly 90 concerts and are seen in "Get Back" and the "Paul is Live" videos. Neither one had a clue that Paul was going to choose them. Two strong security men lifted them onto the stage and they both ran up and hugged Paul. Then he started the song and they danced almost in unison like they were '60s go-go dancers. Paul was obviously getting a kick out of them bopping. When it was over he kissed Casey on the cheek and Tessa got a kiss on the lips!!! Paul and the band walked off the stage and Paul who wasn't looking where he was going bumped right into Rusty and started mock-punching him for being in his way.
After "Yesterday" Heather came out wearing white, sequin long pants with a red "no more land mines" T-shirt, holding Paul's Les Paul guitar. Paul bent down almost on one knee like she was royalty, hugged and kissed her and said she was his new roadie. Then Heather did a little wiggle when the audience cheered.
Paul hugged each member of the band and signed two albums from a pile of stuff thrown on the stage. One of the albums was "Ram" and the other was "Revolver." Then he said, "See you next time!"
The after party was at a friend's
house on Biscayne Bay. Paul and Heather were staying at Turnberry
Isle in north Miami.
(Above, congrats
to Sandy Lopez for winning the VIP Party autographed poster!)
CITY INDEX 2002 "DRIVING RAIN" TOUR
Should WINGS
be nominated into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? There's a debate
amongst Beatles/Paul McCartney fans whether Wings is covered by
Paul's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a "solo
artist." Does Wings qualify as a band and are they worthy
with a string of number one hits during the '70s? Should its band
members be recognized for their contributions?
Jorie Gracen