Well, were do I start. First I will start by saying this was the single greatest show I have ever seen! I am only 25 so it was safe to say I was one of the younger people in the crowd. The diversity of the crowd was unbelievable. I hate to admit this(being a guy) but there were a few different times during the show I wanted to cry. About a third of the way through the show Paul grabbed his acoustic and went into Blackbird. My brother and I often wondered if Paul could still finger pick the difficult song and stay in key at 60. He almost nailed it perfectly!! It was as if I just plugged in the White Album. Pauls tribute to John was also a tear jerker. He was saying how much he missed John and wished he could of told him how muched he loved him before he died. The crowd then gave John a standing O! Paul then goes into the song called "Here Today" which is a song Paul wrote that is an imaginary conversation he would have with John today. It was really hard to keep the tears from rolling. Then he did his tribute to George with the ukelele that George gave to Paul with Something. As he played Something there were pictures of George flashing on the screens behind him. I was very surprised of all the songs he did off Abbey Road (one of my personal favorites) including You Never Give Me All Your Money, Carry That Weight, Something, and The End which he ended the show with. All of which were amazing! I am not a huge fan of Paul's solo career but I must admit, Band on the Run was absolutely Rocking!! One of the highlights of the evening. Hey Jude was also very fun as he got the crowd involved in the singing. Other songs that were just awesome included; Hello Goodbye, All My Loving, We Can Work it Out, Mother Natures Son, Fool on the Hill, Getting Better(first time played in concert), Elenor Rigby, Here There and Everywhere, Back in the USSR, Can't Buy Me Love, Lady Madonna,Let it Be, and Saw Her Standing There. I could easily write a page of notes on how great all these songs were but I'll leave it to your imagination. I will end this like Paul did. On his second encore Paul grabbed his Epiphone acoustic and proceeded into Yesterday. I had to pinch myself to make sure this wasn't all just a dream. He nailed Yesterday perfectly and again was hard to hold the tears back. Then he ended the show with Sgt. Peppers reprise and The End. WOW! This was a perfect evening and a perfect show which far exceeded my expectations which were really high! This show is an absolute 10 out of 10!!! Bravo Paul keep rocking!! thank you,
Andrew S.
Update (10/31/02) From Karen:
Well, hello again from Karen. It took a while but I was able to find the site that I wrote to for the Macca Spring concert in Cleveland.
When I found out that Paul was coming back I knew I had to see him as the first concert was unbelievably awesome. It was worth the money to see him again and my seats were four rows closer to the stage. We were on the floor row "S". One disadvantage as to sitting on the floor, people were standing and to get a good view of Paul we had to stand also or look at the big screen. This time around I felt that the volume was turned way up. Sitting in the front I didn't turn around to see what was going on with the crowd behind us but I know that the audience that I did see rocked. I also felt that the fans were louder this time around. Security didn't seem to be as tight as it was in the spring. Paul seemed to be more relaxed and hit every note. I don't know how many fans caught Paul silently lip wording the words, "I love her still" after he sang "MY LOVE" (Linda's song) I got all choked up. I'm sure he will always love her. My husband did spot Heather in the audience. Paul referred to Heather as his new bride and several people yelled, we love Heather and Paul thanked them. Seeing the show a second time gave me the opportunity to see things I missed the first time around and the new and added attractions made it seem like a totally new concert. The effects to Live and Let Die were larger and more impressive, but then again the whole concert was. Its hard to believe that it took 38 years to see this man and I actually was lucky enough to see him twice in my life time in less than 6 months. After the show we met a correspondent from Beatlefan magazine and he said this was the 13th concert this year he saw of Paul's. He felt that the Cleveland concert was one of the best as far as Paul's voice was concerned. I can hardly wait for the release of the CD and DVD of the concert so that I can relive the memories over and over. Thank you again Sir Paul for giving me and your adoring fans the best times of our lives...THEN...NOW...and FOREVER. Karen
Update (10/23/02) From Tony Vournazos:
I flew to Cleveland to visit a friend and see "Back in the US" again on 10/4/02 (I had seen it in Hartford the previous Friday).
Prior to the show, we ate at the Hard Rock Cafe, which is a short walk from Gund Arena, and every second or third song was by The Beatles, and the whole place would erupt every time Paul came on the screen. Being surrounded by fellow Beatlefans, most of whom were probably also going to the show, really heightened the anticipation. The security in Cleveland was almost non-existent compared to the nightmare in Hartford, but fortunately there were no incidents. As for the concert, I thought the Cleveland show was not as energetic as the Hartford show, and that his voice was not as sharp as it had been the previous week. He struggled vocally for the first several tracks. When he sang "Hello Goodbye", he didn't sound like himself at all. I had to look around the stage to make sure that Abe wasn't covering for him. He eventually recovered like the pro that he is, of course. The crowd was very reverent, and politely applauded when he announced the new songs. In Hartford, there was an audible groan from the crowd and a mass exodus to the concession stands and bathrooms. The only fan idiocy came as a few fans started screaming his name as he was talking about John to introduce "Here Today". I see the strategy of yelling things when it is quiet in the arena, but they should have paid enough attention to the subject matter and had a little more class than to act like yahoos while Paul pours his heart out regarding John's murder. To his credit, he kept talking and didn't miss a beat. The next day, we went to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and I was told by three separate employees that Sir Paul arranged for a private tour at 1:00 AM after the concert.
(10/8/02) From Colista:
Sir Paul was everything and more. I took all six of my children, Mike 16, Joe and Tim 14, Katie 12, Lizzie 8, and CJ 5. They all said it was a night they would remember for the rest of their lives. The two oldest girls are begging me to take them to the Columbus show. I wish I could get good tickets for the 8 year old's birthday is October 9th. Thanks for doing such a wonderful job.
From Jay Burns:
On October 4, 2002, Paul and his band played the Gund Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. I drove from the Pittsburgh area to the venue with a couple of friends.The concert was exceptional and I was fortunate enough to have one of the best seats (though I didn't sit in it much) in the house. I was in the third row exactly in front of Abe and his drum kit and just about exactly in front of The Man himself!
Security seemed to be light with no body patdowns, wands or questions asked. I regret not having smuggled my 35 mm camera in. I did take a disposable camera in and was able to get some decent shots of Paul from about 15-20 feet away. The best pictures resulted from the bright lighting during "Freedom" and "Can't Buy Me Love." I saw Heather standing (and dancing) there to my left, ironically enough, during "I Saw Her Standing There"! I snapped a photo of her, but the distance was too great to produce a good image of her. At a later point in the show, Paul looked over Heather's way as he played and walked over to her. I had my camera ready and when I had them both in my viewfinder, I snapped a picture of them. Unfortunately the distance between them and me and the lack of stage lighting at that particular moment resulted in a dark picture in which Heather was not visible at all. Pity. Would have been a great picture. A lady in the front row held a sign informing Paul that it was her birthday. He nodded to her when he read it. Later in the show, when he commented on all the signs in the audience and the difficulty he was having remembering the lyrics to the songs he was singing and playing as he tried to read the various signs, he said he knew it was that lady's birthday and sang a brief "Happy Birthday" to her. She later appeared to seek Paul's permission to photograph him with a camera she had. He must have nodded his consent because she took pictures of him with a zoom lens and she wasn't hassled by the security people. Lady, if you're reading this, I'd love to have copies of those pictures you took! I took along an Abbey Road LP cover with a black Sharpie taped to the inside and a little card saying "Thanks Paul....Jay from PA" in the hopes that Paul would autograph it at the end of the show. I saw him sign albums at the end of his concerts during the Spring leg of this tour. My plan was to make sure Paul was aware of my album by holding it up throughout the show (after Beatle songs and especially during songs from the Abbey Road album) in the hopes that come the end of the show, he'd remember it and offer to sign it for me. After Paul sang "Something" as his tribute to George, I held Abbey Road up high and Paul acknowledged it by looking at me, nodding and pointing to the album! Just before the George tribute was the John tribute. Just before Paul sang "Here Today," as he was talking about John, I was able to see in his face that he was getting choked up. It was very touching, that even after all these years since John's passing, Paul still gets emotional about John. Wow! I didn't think "Live and Let Die" could get much more explosive than it was during the "Driving USA" leg this Spring, but it has! The flames increased the temperature in my center section about thirty degrees! I can't imagine how much hotter it was for those closer to the flames on either side of the stage! During the "NA NA NA NA's" of "Hey Jude" I held up my Abbey Road cover because the cameras were focused on the audience and I thought I'd be able to see it on the big screens. Finally, near the end of the song, a camera zoomed in on my album. There it was - huge - on a number of screens! I also held the album up real high at the end of the concert during "The End." I really wanted to get Paul's autograph, but I reminded myself of all my good fortune that night with the incredible seat, the great shots with my camera, and Paul's interaction with me, so I told myself that if I didn't get the autograph, I wouldn't be disappointed. Paul was waving good-bye to the audience from stage left, to my far right. I saw him autograph an album, "McCartney ll," I believe, then he signed something else and appeared to be ready to leave the stage. I thought I had to get his attention somehow or get my album to him immediately if I was to have a chance at getting his autograph. So I borrowed someone's shoulder and hoisted myself up onto a second row chair and flung my Abbey Road cover just as Paul was turning toward center stage and waving good-bye to all. The album cover landed at the perfect time and place for him to spot it! He picked it up and signed it as he walked t! oward stage right. I was concerned about him walking too far away from me and not knowing who to return the cover to, so I started walking chair by chair in the same direction he was moving. I had wanted to snap a picture of him autographing the album, but everything happened so fast and I was so concentrated on not stumbling off the chairs that I didn't have a chance to do it. In fact, I must have had my eyes looking downward when Paul threw my album back into the audience because I didn't see where it landed. Kind people pointed out the area where my album landed and the nice guy that caught it, tapped me and gave me the Abbey Road, resplendent in its new adornment, "Paul McCartney!". The catcher congratulated me as did others who witnessed my good fortune. And just when I didn't think things could be much cooler, I came off the chairs and found a baby blue "Rusty Anderson/Driving" guitar pick on the floor near the first row. That was the cherry on a very delicious cake of an evening! If anyone has photos, especially of Paul autographing my Abbey Road cover, I'd love to get copies! Well, next stop Columbus for my fifth and, alas, final MACCA show this year!>