What a difference two days make! Two days after the Chris Brown show, there was another concert I hadn’t bought a ticket to in the first place (mainly because it was a seated concert and I hate seated concerts – I may have mentioned that already 1-2 times ;)), but this time it turned out to be so worth it, it would have actually been a sin to miss it!
Rewind: When I think about Paul McCartney, I think back to my days at high school, when a friend of mine, who was a huge fan and even ran a McCartney Fanclub, used to share stories, music and books with me. Actually, Paul and especially his wife Linda were a prime reason for me to go completely vegetarian at that time. And that’s, btw, what I meant with stars being a role model and inspiration in my last post. Unfortunately, I somehow lost track of Paul afterwards, although I was always glad to see that he’s still involved with PETA (attention with the video, heavy stuff).
Anyway, last Friday was a beautiful sunny evening in the Olympic Stadium in Munich, everyone was chilling and chatting along – and suddenly Paul McCartney stepped on stage. It was three minutes to eight. I wouldn’t have expected him to come that early without any supporting act – and it was obvious that many others weren’t prepared either, because they were not even on their seats yet. But what a positive surprise to get going without having to wait! “A hard day’s night” was a perfect opener to get everyone off their seats. From that moment we were on our feet dancing and singing throughout the show, which made the seating arrangement bearable.
I’d say I’m semi-literate regarding the Beatles, but I’m not very Wings- and Paul-literate. Still I definitely also enjoyed those songs I didn’t know! No, this does not go without saying, because sometimes I can get bored if I don’t know the songs. I guess it’s all a matter of quality – and of course mixture. And Paul made sure there were enough popular songs in his program to fulfil the needs of those who came to hear the big hits.
Ok, some highlights:
- “Blackbird” with the stage lifting Paul and his guitar up and becoming an LED-screen for flowers and waterfalls.
- “FourFiveSeconds” – sounds so good in his version (who was that McCartney guy again??? lol)
- “Live and let die” with the pyrotechniques – firefountains and fireworks – a truly monumental performance! (Where’s Roger Moore when you need him?)
- “Hey Jude” of course. That finish! In a stadium! With thousands of lights and voices! Could have gone on forever!
- The end. That Medley that actually ends with “The End” on “Abbey Road” was so powerful and at the same time so beautiful! I love that last line – and what a wonderful message it is to take home at the end of the show: “And in the end the love you take is equal to the love you make”.
- apart from specific songs: I loved that he had learned some German. Actually a lot of German, he did most of his introductions in German – and in pretty good pronunciation! I also thought it was cute that he got four people up on stage who had painted different banners – shows a lot of respect for his fans. And they had come from near and far to see the show. There were even quite a lot of people from outside Germany! I always adore fan-craziness! 😉
After 2,5 hours of non-stop playing bass, guitar, piano, ukulele aaaaand singing, the show was over. (I hope I’ll be as fit as he is at almost 74!) Although there were some screens and fireworks, it was basically all about the music! I liked his little joking but telling comment when he pulled off his jacket: “This is going to be the only wardrobe change!” He just doesn’t need wardrobe changes…
And the moral of these 1,5 weeks with four concerts? The “old stars” are waaaaay ahead of most of those new wanna-bes! They sing live, they play instruments, they connect with the audience, they rock for two hours plus… We really need to cherish them while we have them! (- and I know that’s my constant mantra, but it simply is the truth!)
music, the world & me 