Freshen Up

I GOT TO SEE PAUL MCCARTNEY!

Paul McCartney brought his Freshen Up world tour to Moline, Illinois on June 11, 2019. My friend and his wife managed to get tickets to the show, and I tagged along as the third wheel. 

The show was amazing, completely sold out, the Tax Slayer Center filled to capacity. Sir Paul played for about 2.5 hours, with a good mix of old and new songs, Beatles and Wings music, some of his solo stuff.

His band included three horn players, and the usual line up of guitar, piano and backing

vocalists. The showmanship was top-notch, as you'd expect from a world-class

performer. He played tunes with his bass, a guitar, a mandolin (Dance Tonight),

and piano. The first hour was a fairly straight-forward shake down

of tunes, opening with an energetic Hard Days Night.

Amidst all the Beatles worship from the clearly aged-up majority of

fans, McCartney boldly played several new songs. He's such an

adept songwriter though, I enjoy hearing new songs. With certain

musicians, anything they offer is simply gold. And between

tunes he was gracious enough to share some stories from

his amazing life in music.

I did wonder, though, if he ever tired of the ever-present Beatles

worship. Maybe it's the nostalgia for many fans. And perhaps Paul

has come to terms with that, and accepted that he is forever 

expected to concede to his adoring fans who can't get over

one of the most celebrated rock bands in the history of rock bands.

So okay, Beatles music, but also a good selection of tunes from

his Wings era, which I tend to prefer, as it was on the radio

more as I was growing up. (There's that nostalgia thing again.)

 

About mid way through the show, the stage lit up. Literally.

Pyrotechnics shot us all awake during Live and Let Die.

We all participated in a sing along on Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da

and Hey Jude. Before the encore, Paul and a few band members came back out onstage

with a US flag, the British flag, a pride flag and what appeared to 

be the Illinois state flag. A sweet gesture, I thought.

An electrifying encore brought us all gently back to reality with the closing

triptych from Abbey Road: Golden Slumbers, Carry That Weight,

and The End. A smashing end to an amazing show.

I'm grateful I got the opportunity to see such a legend.

Thank you, Sir Paul, for an absolutely incredible concert experience.

And in the end, the love you take, is equal to the love you make..