Paul McCartney & Wings - Mrs. Vandebilt

So this past Sunday night I had the utmost privilege of seeing a Knight, a Beatle, a Living Legend. I got to see Sir James Paul McCartney perform to over 50,000 hollering fans at BC Place. This show had "HUGE" written all over it. The entire city was talking about it and was completely pumped for it. From the rumour that even my dog had heard about Springsteen being a special guest to the lights at the stadium flashing the union jack all week long. It was the first show of this magnitude that I had been to (or even remember hearing about) since The Stones were last in town (also the only other show I've seen at BC Place and the only band on the planet worthy of that stage). A few months back I managed to score four lower bowl tickets ($186 bones each, yeesh!) within the first 4 minutes that it took to sell out the whole stadium. Now I could officially get excited! I saw several shows in between purchase time and the show itself but they were all pretty much warm up for the show of the year, and likely the decade, for BC and myself. 

McCartney kicked off with "Magical Mystery Tour" at 8:45 pm and, oh boy, better buckle in cuz we were in for one helluva ride. Literally the second he started he had the entire crowd glued to his every move. Dressed in a cool blue jacket (pictured above) McCartney quickly kicked into "All My Loving" after saying to the crowd "It's been a long time, Vancouver. It can't have been 48 years... I'm not even 48!". This was one of many witty statements Paul made in his wonderful Liverpool drawl. A few Wings and solo classics later he removed the jacket for "the only wardrobe change of the evening". Then came the Help! track "The Night Before", a personal favourite and not very popular tune that I never thought he'd play in a million years. This night was gonna be really special! The bluesy Wings track, "Let Me Roll It", followed and featured top notch guitar work from McCartney and Rusty Anderson as they segued into a snippet of the Hendrix classic "Foxy Lady". Epic!

After a rockin' "Paperback Writer", Paul started to move off stage but it turned out he was only going to the piano in the back corner of the stage. He played the lovely ballad "The Long And Winding Road" before kicking it into another gear with "Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five". He was especially at home playing the keys and this version was particularly groovy. Kudos to McCartney's and BC Place's sound teams for making the enormous arena sound as amazing and intimate as the Commodore Ballroom. Next came the newest track, "My Valentine" which featured cool images of Johnny Depp and Natalie Portman signing the song. Then his greatest solo song "Maybe I'm Amazed" which he dedicated to his late wife Linda and sang with a passionate fury. Despite his 70 years of age, McCartney's voice is still full of power and range which is truly incredible to see.

Sir Paul moved away from the piano to take centre stage for a solo acoustic set that featured the Beatles hits "Blackbird" and "And I Love Her" as well as a tribute to his old friend John, "Here Today". McCartney told a few stories about Hendrix and the Civil Rights movement in the 60's (to which he played "Blackbird"). He followed with another personal favourite that he played to my dismay, "Mrs. Vanderbilt". This was a real crowd pleaser that had everyone chanting "Ho, Hey-Ho". He and drummer, Abe Laboriel Jr. really hammed it up on this one, taking turns doing goofy dance moves. Then an excellent version of "Eleanor Rigby" before another great tribute, this time for George as he played "Something" on ukulele. This was a very touching moment in the show, especially as images of Paul with George appeared on the big screen.

Now the show had already been worth the ticket price and 48 years of waiting but, as the Stones did a few years ago, McCartney found a way to raise the bar even more. What followed were a slew of Beatles hits as well as his 2 most popular tracks with Wings. "Band On The Run" kicked it off then the rocker "Back In The U.S.S.R.", "A Day In The Life" (Holy shit he actually played it?!?!?!) and "Let It Be" among others. The show then hit its craziest, rockingest peak with the pyro-charged "Live And Let Die" followed by the greatest sing along of all time "Hey Jude" to close the set.

Cue the encores and even more Beatles classics. The great riffage of "Day Tripper" followed by "Get Back" and the most recorded single of all time, "Yesterday". McCartney then started the Wings track "Mull Of Kintyre" and right on cue the Delta Police Pipe Band joined him on stage. Quite a proud moment for British Columbian police and a special song for Vancouver as he has not performed this at any other stops on the tour so far. One final epic rocker, "Helter Skelter" lead into the last trilogy of Abbey Road classics "Golden Slumbers", "Carry That Weight" and, fittingly, "The End". "And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make" were his final words as the crowd was showered with confetti after almost 3 hours of outstanding rock and roll. A fitting end to the greatest and most memorable concert that I have ever been to. No, the heavily rumoured appearance of Bruce Springsteen never did occur. But it did not matter as the night belonged to Paul McCartney and his trove of timeless classics that will live on as long as humans continue to record history. I feel so blessed to have seen them performed by a true living legend... one of the most famous people on planet erf. A once in a lifetime experience that I will never, ever forget!

The Beatles - The Night Before

Both of the songs I have chosen are personal favourites that I was genuinely shocked when Paul played them. The "Ho, Hey-Ho's" of Mrs. Vandebilt along with its brilliant sax solo and clanging guitars make this a great foot-stomper and sing-along. "The Night Before" features one of Paul's most ferocious lead vocals and this video is fucking sick.