paul mccartney: us on tour

i would like to take this opportunity (just as i have already taken many opportunities in the past two days) to say that somehow, although i didn't think it possible, paul mccartney was SO MUCH BETTER than anything i could have anticipated. OH MY FRIGGIN WORD!

an approximate playing list (hopefully i remember everything...)

drive my car
magical mystery tour
flaming pie
jet
i'll get you
drive my car
til there was you
let me roll it
got to get you into my life
fine line
maybe i'm amazed
the long and winding road
in spite of all the danger
i will
jenny wren
for no one
fixing a hole
english tea
i'll follow the sun
blackbird
eleanor rigby
too many people
she came in through the bathroom window (!!)
good day sunshine
band on the run
penny lane
I'VE GOT A FEELING (my current fav beatles song)
back in the ussr
hey jude
live and let die

encores:
yesterday
get back
helter skelter
let it be
please please me
sgt. pepper
the end

there were like two or three other songs he sang from his solo career that i didn't recognize. an that's right, he did no less than SEVEN encores. the crowd would not shut up! and he did some of the best songs in the encore (helter skelter, get back, the end....oh girly sighing..)

wednesday was definitely one of the most amazing experiences EVER. jenna and i left at like 2:00 for st. paul, and arrived with no large hitches at the xcel energy center at around 6:30. the concert didn't end up starting until like 8:30. i was a little worried at first, because i didn't know like two of the first four songs...they were more obscure ones from his solo career -- but it just kept getting better and better and better and better and better...

i was totally expecting him to play mostly early beatles stuff, like most of the songs you find on the beatles 1 album. this would have been fine, but i am definitely partial to their later more experimental stuff -- aka abbey road, revolver, white album, let it be...and he TOTALLY played like almost every song i secretly wished him to play but didn't think he would...
my favorite moments? when he played she came in through the bathroom window..and soon afterward he played i've got a feeling..and the whole encore sequence was AMAZING.

the band he played with was completely unlike anything i've ever seen. i pretty much expected them to be just in the background supporting paul, but they were right up front with him, and they were fabulous musicians. the two guitarists were pretty much the definition of rock stars, and the drummer was SO entertaining to watch. the guy who played the synthesizer/accordion/other random instruments was great too. the band blended together SO incredibly well! it was like they all had the same mind -- their timing and balance was absolutely perfect. i don't care what dmg says, you do NOT have to be a classical musician to be a quality musician. paul may not read music, but he does not NEED to. he has such amazingly natural musical sense...oh man. what a legend is he.

jenna and i were kind of worried about our seats (they were in a balcony to the side of and kind of behind the stage), but they actually turned out to be not bad at all. we could see the back of him, and there was a big screen up so we could get the whole view there. plus, and i don't know how many people will actually believe this, but he TOTALLY waved at jenna and i. we were sitting amidst a group of old farts who stayed in their seats the whole time, and paul would turn around to acknowledge us up in the boonies every once in awhile. one time when he turned to us jenna and i got up and started yelling and jumping and flailing around, and he definitely beyond doubt gave us a thumbs-up and waved. i don't care what anyone says, IT HAPPENED, and it was amazing.

there was this really scary kid in line for the souvenir stand thingy in front of jenna and i before the concert. he was wearing a blue sgt. pepper costume, which was at first quite endearing, but after standing in line with him for twenty minutes or so, we decided that he was pretty dang creepy. creepy because he kept rattling off the most obscure facts about the beatles EVER...and then he was talking about how he wore his costume to school that day and all those "fools" didn't even know who he was supposed to be. i think if i were his mother i would go crazy. that kind of obsession just can't be healthy. although, as my mom pointed out, i guess some kids are that obsessed with like pokemon or something, and the beatles beat out pokemon in pretty much every respect, except for loseriness or bad animation. there was some pretty bad animation on that yellow submarine album. yechh.

the set completely blew me away. the whole stage was set up to be a huge screen that played video clips during each song. i don't really know how to explain it better than that. and there were definitely things blowing up during "live and let die." it was terrific. scared the crap out of me, but it was the coolest thing ever. they also showers of sparks and such during "follow me," which really accomplished a great effect.

what else to say? some scary guy trying to buy my ticket outside the stadium told me my eyes were beautiful. ha. loser. but i bet paul thought my eyes were beautiful too...after all, he waved at me...

so...yeah. jenna and i got back home at around 4:30. we made pretty dang good time. we both now suffer from pps (post paul syndrome), symptoms of which include, but are not limited to, back pain, excessive loopiness, and milky-white pee. don't ask.

every once in blue moon you have an experience that will stand out to you for the rest of your life, no matter if other people can understand why. this was one of those experiences. i am SOOO blessed to have had this opportunity (even if it does cause my grades in band and choir to drop...) i am still on a high, and will be for many weeks/months/years to come. i will never again listen to the beatles without remember what it was like to hear their music live, by the one who wrote so many of them. i will continue to blab on about it to anyone who wants to listen (and some who don't...mwa ha).

the only other thing i have to say is....
i can't wait for the next tour.