Beatlemania 2002 - The Paul McCartney Concert by Terry 'Moses' Preston Class of '64
Jan and I drove over to Anaheim on Sunday evening to the Paul McCartney concert at the Arrowhead Pond, met up with her brother Merlin, and experienced an entire evening filled with golden moments. What a fantastic show! What an incredible performance! What a thrill! It was 1964 Beatlemania all over again, but this time you could hear the music! And it was 10 times better!
The concert had its bittersweet moments, including touching tributes to John Lennon, George Harrison, and his beloved Linda, and the September 11 - inspired "Freedom", but the overall tenor of the evening was the classic upbeat, uplifting, feel good music that McCartney has come to symbolize.
The staging was simple - a really great 4 piece band and Paul, who variously played bass, lead guitar, acoustic guitar, piano, a psychedelic colored organ, and even a ukulele! But several banks of video screens supplied colored backgrounds, close-ups, movie clips, photographs, incredible lighting and special effects, and real fireworks were used to accentuate his classic James Bond theme "Live and Let Die". It came off as spectacular!
I loved what Cathy Maestri had to say about his concert in the Press-Enterprise: "His tours are few and far between, but McCartney (who turns - can it be? 60 next month) appears to be relishing the latest round of shows. His voice is still great...he looks to be having loads of fun and he's clearly enamored of his fiancée, Heather Mills. Rather than bemoan the deaths of dear ones, McCartney is celebrating life in general. 'Hello, Goodbye' was an appropriate opener due to its upbeat greeting as well as its ambiguity. Is the Beatles-heavy tour a goodbye? Could be. Does it mark his return to more frequent performances? Perhaps. But the show seems to be designed to let Paul have some fun as well as indulge the crowd".
And he did have fun. And so did the packed house. And the music was awesome! As we danced, laughed, sang, cheered, and devoured the music, I was struck to the core by the musical genius of this man who wrote the lyrics, composed the music, played the instruments, and performed it all with such a high degree of skill and charisma. (Not to mention that he has looks to kill for). It is easy to see why this man is the most prolific songwriter in the history of the planet, and why the Beatles and Wings were such a huge hit.
There was no warm-up group, just the avant-garde Circus Chalet that paraded around the arena and among us in their 19th century circus costumes with large balloons and effects, and really strange music. I suppose that some people would really be impressed, but I agreed with Jan when she called it cereal (filler).
But then the man's huge shadow was on the screen, holding his bass guitar above his head. The screen lifted and there he was, bathed in white light, live on stage! Then the music! "You say hi, I say low! You say stop, I say go go!" And the show was on! Concluding this song before a frenzied audience, he next launched into the driving, hard rock "Jet", raising the excitement level in the place to near delirium. Then launching immediately into "All My Loving" with the video screens reliving the arrival of the Beatles in New York and dozens of other historic Beatles moments. What a rush!! He concluded the opening set with two Wings songs, "Coming Up" and "Let Me Roll It" before he finally stopped for breath (his and ours).
The next set was three songs from his new album "Driving Rain", much of which he composed in Southern California. The new material is awesome, and shows that he is capable of continuing to take Rock music to a higher level. This set included a song that he dedicated to his fiancé, Heather Mills, "Your Loving Flame".
Then alternating back and forth between his acoustic guitar and piano, he did several unaccompanied solos of classic lyrical compositions "Blackbird" (written to encourage young black girls in the sixties American south) "Every Night", "We Can Work It Out", "Mother Nature's Son", "Vanilla Sky", "Carry That Weight" (from the Abbey Road album), and "Fool on the Hill". He spoke wistfully of John Lennon, confessing that there were some things that he would like to have said to him before he died, and then he sang an emotional "Here Today" in memory of his lost friend and co-worker. It was a touching moment. His tribute to George was more upbeat, telling of George's love for the Ukulele (he had about 20 of them and would pass them around after dinner), and accompanying himself on the Uke that George gave him, he did "Something".
That led into a lively "Eleanor Rigby" (Synthesizers replaced the cellos and violins of the original very well), and the beautiful "Here, There, Everywhere". Then he took his bass and brought the crowd back to its feet with "Band On The Run" and "Back In The USSR" while the screens went wild with special effects. Back to his piano, he crooned his super hit "Maybe I'm Amazed", did a lively rendition of the Reggae-tinged "C-Moon", and brought us to tears with his tribute to his late wife Linda: "My Love".
But as if to keep us from dwelling on death, he again took his bass and sprang back with "Can't Buy Me Love", replete with video scene after scene featuring the Beatles. It was like a trip back to 1964. With the whole place on its feet, he launched into "Freedom" while a giant sheet rolled down (a replica of the one in New York that was filled with hand-written messages to the victims of the Sept 1l terrorist attack) and the screens rolled with American flags and scenes. Returning to his piano he raised the bar even higher with "Live And Let Die", complete with pyrotechnics. He scared the hell out of us when the sound of a shot rang out at the end of the song and Paul lurched forward onto his piano. Then he smiled, stood up, raised his arms, and took a bow. It was just part of the show!
He again sat at his piano and gave us yet another moment to cherish: "Let It Be". I looked around and noticed that huge throngs of people in the audience were singing along with their eyes closed and a worshipful hand up, as though in church. It was a gripping tribute to the Holy Mother, and a stirring communion of Christian love. This is a scene that I will never forget! He closed with "Hey Jude", and asked us all to sing along at the end. Another great moment! Twenty thousand people in unison singing "Da, da, da, da-da-da-da, da-da-da-da, Hey Jude!", smiling at one another, having fun! Paul left the stage to a thunderous ovation.
But it wasn't over. The crowd cheered long and loud for an encore in the darkened arena. Suddenly there was a nearly blinding flash of white light and Paul was back on stage, smiling and waving. Pandemonium!! And this crowd wasn't children, but mature adults. I wandered if anyone, even Elvis, had ever been this loved! He settled at his piano and thrilled us again with his classic "Long and Winding Road", then again took his bass and launched into "Lady Madonna", followed by the Beatlesque "I Saw Her Standing There", again to an arena of people on their feet dancing. He then left the stage again, and the crowd cheered feverishly for one more encore. We were rewarded! Repeat of the nearly blinding white light, Paul back on stage. Pandemonium, at about 120 decibels!
Taking his acoustic guitar, he gave us the most-recorded song in the history of the world: "Yesterday". Then the finale, a reprise from "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" and "The End" (from the Abbey Road album). As the final words rang through the arena ("And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make"), we realized that we had seen one of the truly great performers of all time. Nearly three hours of performing, 36 songs, all but one of which were his own compositions.
I remember crying when John Lennon died, and feeling deeply saddened when my personal favorite Beatle George Harrison passed on. But on a Spring night in a crowded arena near Disneyland, Paul McCartney renewed my spirits and inspired me to continue to focus on the positive and upbeat! Life is too short to wallow in misery, which is optional! Keep your 'Tear in my beer and the world is an awful place" attitudes if you must, but as for me I shall spend the rest of my days on this planet feeling happy, saved by the grace of God, winging my way through a beautiful world, singing Beatle songs and other great feel-good music. I hope you will join me!
Sno-Wite Menu
Paula Spencer Kephart, Class of '65 had the winning entry to last week's Price Is Right Trivia contest. Paula also had the ONLY entry into the contest and had two of the answers correct. Even though we didn't have much participation in the contest, we hope that you at least enjoyed seeing the menu prices from back then. The real prices for the items are listed below in red. You can click on the small picture of the ad to go to a larger picture. At least this week we have gone back to one of the most popular trivia topics - music.
Subject: Re: Trivia answers and more trivia at LHS 64-65-66 Date: Mon, 13 May 2002 18:58:45 -0500 From: Paula <paulakay7@comcast.net>
1. $1.25 (99) 2. $1.99 (1.99) 3. .99 (85) 4. .95 (85) 5. .85 (85) 6. .85 (1.25) 7. .35 (95) 8..12 (12) 9..39 (35) 10..35 (39)
This was strictly guesswork--I went to Krystal because their burgers were still 10 cents. Where do you get some of this stuff? PS. Congrats to the new graduate.
Paula S. Kephart Class of '65 ________________________________________________________
From Our Mailbox
Subject: Dianne Date: Mon, 13 May 2002 20:21:20 -0500 From: Ginger <gcmoore@mindspring.com>
I was really excited to see the news about my long time friend Dianne. I'm very proud of her and what she has done. I'm also very envious of her. And you are right, what a role model she is to us all.
Ginger Cagle Moore Class of '66 ________________________________________________________
Subject: Class of '66 Unofficial Song Date: Sun, 12 May 2002 21:54:10 -0500 From: "Jim Bannister" <jbann@hotmail.com>
Since I have sworn a vow of celibacy......sorry, secrecy for this weeks trivia.....I will tell you the Unofficial Song for the Class of '66.....The song is "Double Shot" by the Swinging Medalions....I would like for other classmates to confirm this or submit their selection....
Thanks, Jim Bannister Class of '66 ________________________________________________________
Subject: Class of 66 song Date: Sat, 11 May 2002 23:07:40 -0500 From: "Lynn VanPelt" <bamayaya@knology.net>
I can't pinpoint one song as our unofficial anthem many songs take me back to that time: American Pie, Double Shot of my Baby's Love, In the Midnight Hour. Louie Louie is one song that will get me the dance floor immediately.
Lynn Bozeman VanPelt Class of '66 ________________________________________________________
Subject: Breakfast Get-Together Date: Sat, 18 May 2002 15:40:34 EDT From: NJKINCAID@aol.com
Reminder: Saturday May 25th 9:00 a.m. breakfast at Mullins
Judy ________________________________________________________
|