Well what can i say I was going to see a Beatle and that Beatle was Sir Paul McCartney. I had been looking foward to the gig since I got the tickets I was a little bit excited to going to the gig, but since i had the "Back in the World" cd and DVD, it made it all more exciting.Inside the venue I had a nice seat looking at the stage from the left hand side around four blocks in. The opening act with the dancers didn't get my seal of approval, but hey i wasn't going to see them. I was going for Sir Paul and his fantastic backing band!!
Opening song was "Hello, Goodbye" got most people up on to they feet. It was a fast and hard paced gig until Paul came out with his Martin d28 acoustic guitar and gave a rendition of "Blackbird," one of my personal favourites, so that really was something I enjoyed. Every song went down well with me and the audience its something that will stay in our memories forever and ever. Paul didnt play "Maybe I'm Amazed," which is a shame because its one song I would have loved to see him play but instead we got "Two of Us," which well what can i say was mind blowing performance, and a good choice for a replacement.
Before we knew it the end came with "The End" sounding sweet as ever.not many performers can put a show on like Sir Paul, if he tours again, just go and see him.
Update (4/16/03)
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| Paul sings "Something" in Birmingham. (Copyright John Morley.) |
We saw Paul's second Birmingham show last night (Monday 14th April) and, once again, it was an amazing evening. The text messages screen is a good idea and it was interesting to read the fans' requests. The climax of the theatrical pre-show provided a memorable entrance for Paul who launched into a brilliant "Hello Goodbye". The band were playing brilliantly and gave the rockers real power. The set list was the same as the first Manchester show. Paul's voice was strong and clear throughout, and he made reference to Birmingham saying he was amused by the motorway signs to "Historic Warwick". He mentioned that Shakespeare came from this region and commented that his great plays would have been pronounced in the (slightly comical) Birmingham accent. Paul went on to quote a bit of the "To be or not to be" Hamlet speech with a local accent! The solo acoustc set was great, and when Paul's fingers slipped up during "Blackbird" he said "oops". After that song he commented, "At least you know it's live now!" "I've Just Seen A Face" and "Things We Said Today" were very enjoyable, played by the band in acoustic mode and "Two Of Us" was a real highlight. It sounded really good and during the coda Abe provided the whistling while Paul sang "We're going home.all roads lead to Rome". After "Eleanor Rigby" Paul thanked two people in the audience: his brother Mike and George Martin. The band rocked through the final section of the set: classic after classic culminating in the energetic finale of "Sgt. Pepper (reprise)"/ "The End". As Paul sang the final line, the rising sun filled the giant bank of screens. A memorable end to a fantastic concert. Can't wait for Liverpool!
Paul arrived at the Arena at 5:35pm in the back seat of his car, (not surprised as traffic in Birmingham City Centre is terrible) slowing and waving to fans through the open car window before entering the building.Soundcheck started at 5:50pm and consisted of:- "All My Loving", "Coming Up", "Honey Don't", "Honey Hush", a piano instrumental, "C Moon", "Midnight Special", "Things We Said Today", "All Things Must Pass" (!!), "Blue Moon Of Kentucky", "You Never Give Me Your Money", "Fool On The Hill" and "Lady Madonna", concluding at 6:32pm.Pre-show started at 8:18 and Paul came on stage at 8:35. Set list was as previous night, as were Paul's jokes/anecdotes, at least the band varied their speech bits (Wix mentioned his Mum is from Birmingham and was in the audience). Michael McCartney and George Martin were in the audience and given special mentions after "Eleanor Rigby." Paul finally left the stage at 11:10pm. Once again, an excellent show. The band were really tight and together and seemed to really enjoy themselves.
(4/14/03) From Garry Owen from Leamington Spa, England, a review of the April 13 show:
Paul arrived at the NIA at 5:07pm driving himself, straight inside the building, not stopping for the many fans waiting outside. Soundcheck (which included "You Never Give Me Your Money" and "Lady Madonna" plus several jams) concluded at 6:15. Pre-show started at 8:08 and Paul came on stage at 8:25pm and played until exactly 11pm. The set was as previously reported from Manchester, with "Things We Said Today", "Two of Us" and "I've Just Seen A Face" being the new additions. Paul's voice was excellent, sound was good, lights were good and the video screens superb. He mentioned "Historic Warwick" and "Shakespeare's Stratford" as signs he'd seen on the motorway coming up from London, and suggested that Shakespeare's plays were originally written in a Birmingham (Brummie) accent and gave us a rendition of "To be or not to be ....." in said accent. All in all a fantastic night and I can't wait until tommorrow night when I have a seat much nearer the front.
I thoroughly enjoyed the show and agree with the review you've already posted. It was nice to hear Paul talk about 'Historic Warwick' as I actually live in Warwick! The set was excellent. Paul's voice when he was chatting sounded quite husky (as though he needed a good cough) but he hit all of the notes fine. Heather Mills was also in the audience and was shown waving her arms on the big screen during Hey Jude. She had a huge grin on her face and seemed to be enjoying herself! My favourite moments were:
Back in the USSR - sounded really rocking played live & loud.
Live and Let Die - you can't beat some well timed fireworks! A truly fantastic evening and one I won't forget in a hurry.