Sir Paul. Macca. Beatle. Legend. Whatever you want to call him does not change the undeniable fact that he has played a major part in shaping the musical and cultural landscapes of history. And lucky me he decided to come back to San Diego for the first time since 2014 when I first “saw” him. I say it like that because if you recall the first time I attended a Paul McCartney concert I was sat on the side of the stage where I could hear perfectly but had to settle for watching his image projected onto the side of a wall. So technically this was the first time “seeing” him. Also lucky for me one of my co-workers hooked up tickets for Ingrid and I again with an exclusive presale she had access to.
What more could I say about a man who has had so much written about him before? The music has always spoken louder than anything and tonight was no different. He was on tour to promote his newest effort Egypt Station (free copy of the album came with the ticket) that was released on September 7, 2018, which marked his 17thsolo album! The remarkable thing about that number is that it does not even include his work with the Beatles or Wings. The guy is a machine. He has set the bar high for himself and he exceeded that bar again this particular evening by playing damn near 40 songs again!
The highlights for me were “Let ‘Em In,” which was blissful, “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da,” because the contagiously bouncy bass line had the whole place bouncing along and “Helter Skelter,” because it is about as close as I’m ever going to see Paul McCartney doing heavy metal and there is something very satisfying about seeing a 77 year old man just going for it with his screaming, probably because it gives me hope that I will never be anything but that guy when I get older.
There was a funny moment worth mentioning regarding me leaving at some point to relive myself and get refill $15 beers. Since we met up with some friends at the bar inside Spaghetti Factory prior to the concert I may have been “on a good one” by this time and could not find my way back to our seats after the refills. After walking up and down the aisles nearby and trying to text/call Ingrid someone close to me got my attention and pointed it towards Ingrid, who was standing up trying to wave me down. Once I registered this and started on my way back to our seats the entire section of people were cheering me on. They were probably just happy I was not wandering around distracting them from the show any longer. The funny part of the story is that is Ingrid’s signature move. Literally every time we go to a show and she leaves her seat she gets lost and cannot find her way back and I always shake my head thinking just retrace your steps. Now the joke’s on me. Cheers to beers.
SETLIST: A Hard Day’s Night, Junior’s Farm, Can’t Buy Me Love, Letting Go, Who Cares, Got to Get You Into My Life, Come On to Me, Let Me Roll It, I’ve Got a Feeling, Let ‘Em In, My Valentine, Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five, Maybe I’m Amazed, I’ve Just Seen a Face, In Spite of All the Danger, From Me to You, Dance Tonight, Love Me Do, Blackbird, Here Today, Queenie Eye, Lady Madonna, Eleanor Rigby, Fuh You, Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!, Something, Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da, Band on the Run, Back in the U.S.S.R., Let It Be, Live and Let Die, Hey Jude, Birthday, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise), Helter Skelter, Golden Slumbers, Carry That Weight, The End
