Thursday, 15 August 2013

PAUL ROCKS MOSAIC STADIUM IN REGINA LAST NIGHT


With a sellout crowd of just over 40,000 anxiously awaiting the 8 p.m. start time, the show didn’t begin until 8:50 p.m. Although no official reason was given for the delay, it was speculated that additional time was necessary to get all the fans into the venue safely.
He kicked things off with the Beatles classic Eight Days A Week before setting the tempo for the evening by quickly working his way through Junior’s Farm, All My Loving and Listen To What The Man Said.
“These events are so cool I’ve got to take a minute to drink it in for myself,” he explained to the crowd.
With a catalogue of hits that could have kept McCartney playing for hours, he skimmed through the years to provide a wide mix of tunes from the Beatles, Wings and his solo work. For those who need the complete breakdown, the set consisted of 24 Beatles songs, 10 Wings songs and three songs McCartney recorded as a solo artist.
Throughout the evening McCartney demonstrated that he still has what it takes to deliver the goods.
His musicianship was also quite impressive as he split time playing electric guitar, acoustic guitar, bass guitar, piano and ukulele.
While Paul made what he does look incredibly easy, he admitted performing isn’t always a walk in the park.
After We Can Work It Out, Paul explained there are some challenges an artist faces while performing before a live audience. “People bring signs along and you’re looking at them while trying to remember the words, the chords, the tune,” said Paul. “Your brain is telling you not to look but one half of the brain says, ‘Go ahead, take a look.’ Sometimes it is a little harder than it looks.”
One of the signs that caught McCartney’s eye read ‘Please Sign My Tattoo.’ He playfully asked, “Where is your tattoo?” before moving on to the next few signs. The tattoo sign must have made an impression on McCartney because during his second encore he welcomed the creator of the sign, a young woman from Regina named Chelsea, to join him on stage. After looking at her tattoo, which was located on Chelsea’s right wrist, McCartney grabbed a Sharpie and signed just below the tattoo. According to Chelsea, the signature will soon become her next tattoo.
Paul’s allure is that he’s a witty and charismatic entertainer. He’s more than just a singer or a songwriter — he’s also a comic and a storyteller. His background stories to some of his songs were quite interesting. McCartney spoke about the motivation behind Blackbird, a song he wrote about the fight for civil rights in the United States in the 1960s.
“I wrote this song hoping that if it ever got to them that it might give them a little hope with their struggles,” he said.
If the content of the song wasn’t enough, Paul added some staging magic to the mix for Blackbird. Playing an acoustic guitar, Paul was taken 20 feet above the stage by a rising platform that revealed another video screen.
When introducing Here Today, Paul spoke about not letting opportunities pass to express feelings to friends and family members.
“I wrote this for my dear friend John (Lennon) and this is in the form of a conversation that we didn’t get to have.”
Memorable moments of the show:a wicked rendition of Band On The Run, watching the City of Regina Pipe Band joining Paul during Mull of Kintyre and the rocking version of Live And Let Die with all its pyro and fireworks.
Paul’s band of the last 10 years was also a vital part of the show as Abe Laboriel Jr. (drums), Rusty Anderson (guitar), Brian Ray (guitar) and Paul Wickens (keyboards) were simply outstanding.
Before he left the stage following his second encore, Paul told the crowd, “See you next time.”

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