Here, today: Dallas, May 9th The first Dallas concert, as I read, was the best concert of the Driving USA tour. Well, probably it was. I was waiting to watch Paul McCartney live since I was 10 years old, and now I am 25. At last my dream came true. Since I knew that Paul would be on tour, I made every kind of proceedings to obtain the necessary permissions to go and watch Sir Paul. That was a very hard work but at last I was flying to Dallas!!! My friend, Francisco Velázquez and I, were just the few mexicans there, we came late: 8:45 PM but thanks to the Circus we could see the entire Macca show. Sir Paul was just great. My fav Macca - Beatles songs are the "Long and Winding Road" and "You never give me your money". Both was sang and in a really cool mode. I think that Macca put some ballad style to "You never give me your money".

My fav Macca - post Beatles songs are "Band on the run", "Vanilla Sky", "Long leather coat" and "Suicide". Hey 2/4 is just a good score.

The songs were really tight, and in fact, for the first time in my life I was there watching Paul McCartney (... in the audience, watching the show, with a paper in his hand ...)

The tributes were just great. "Something" easily stealed the night as "Back in the USSR" did. I think that there were just a few hardcore Macca fans, because almost nobody seems to knew the really cool Driving Rain songs. The only one new Paul song that seems to deserve a big handclap from the audience was Vanilla Sky (in fact a GREAT song). As a nice comment my friend and I sang in chorus the "Lonely Road" song (more rocker than ever).

Well, in no more words I can describe the concert as "the most incredible experience of my life".

Long live sir Paul!
Put it there,
Edmundo Chávez, from Tampico, Tamaulipas, Mexic

Update (5/14/02) From Diego Sada Jr.:

Hi Steve,

I was in Dallas last Thursday night for the first of the two shows Paul played there. Here are my impressions:

A bunch of friends from Monterrey travelled to Dallas to see the show. Some took their wives, and one friend took his son. A few of us arrived at the Reunion Arena in downtown Dallas to pick up our tickets early, about three hours before the show was scheduled to start. There was a table already set up for the sale of souvenirs, but the people in charge were still putting stuff out and we were told that they could not start selling anything yet.

Around 7:00 PM, we went back to the Reunion Arena. There was already a huge crowd waiting for the doors to open. One of our friends said he saw Paul arriving in a black stretch limousine and he waved at the crowd. The doors opened but it took a long time to get in because of the security measures. After buying some souvenirs and refreshments, we tried to get to our floor seats but we were told we had to get a special bracelet (like the ones they give you in hospitals) before we could get into the floor area. There was tension amongst those of us waiting in a long line to get these bracelets, as we heard noise and thought that the show had started and that Paul was already singing. It turned out that the pre show act with the acrobats had begun. There were some problems with the bracelets and the Arena people ran out and had to wait for more to be brought to the table where they would check your ticket and put it on your arm. I thought this was rather clumsy of the people running things at the Arena. I heard many people grumble about this and I think they could have been better prepared and maybe done this in a quicker way, or simply punch a hole in the floor tickets and not make people miss part of the opening act, but I blame the Reunion Arena people for this, and not Paul.

Finally, we were able to enter the floor area. We missed the first few minutes of the opening act but I did not mind too much. The opening show had begun around 8:20 or so and at 8:47 Paul´s silhouette appeared behind a white screen. The crowd went wild.

Paul and the band appeared quickly. Paul looked really cool in a white jacket, red long sleeved t shirt and black pants. The first few notes of “Hello Goodbye” had everybody on their feet and screaming. Paul seemed surprised by the reaction of the crowd. Several times during the concert he and the guys in the band mentioned how good this audience was. I was amazed at how well Paul´s voice sounded. There was one large video screen and several smaller ones. The lights were really cool and during different songs, there were different video and light effects. I particularly enjoyed the different video effects during different songs. Also, during the Beatles songs, the video would turn black and white and look like an old scratchy film. This was a really cool effect.

During “Freedom” a gigantic drawing of the Statue of Liberty was rolled down. It blocked the main video screen but the remaining screens showed pieces of it in close up, which allowed to see the detail. There seemed to be names and little messages written all over it, which I thought was very cool.

The crowd seemed to quiet down during the songs from Driving Rain. I found this a little irritating but I was too busy having a splendid time to mind too much. Whenever Paul played a Wings or an early solo song (i.e. the songs from “McCartney”), it seemed that half the audience on the floor sat down, which forced all of us to sit. I did see that the applause and cheers were just as strong on most of the early Wings hits as it was on the Beatles songs, and after most non Beatles songs a good portion of the floor crowd would stand up and cheer and clap.

The most moving moments for me were when Paul was alone onstage during the acoustic set when he played “Here Today” and later “Something” on Ukelele. Also, when he introduced “My Love”, he said he wrote it for Linda and that it was “for all the lovers out there, you know who you are”. I held my wife tight during this song. We had seen Paul play in San Antonio in 1993 a few months before we got married, and we were seeing him again, together. A few rows in front of me, a young woman whom I only saw in silhouette, who would stand up and raise her arms after every song, stood dancing gently with her husband during the entire song.

Also, during “Let It Be”, to my amazement, what seemed like several hundred Bic lighters came on. I don´t know how these people got them through security, because a guy in front of me on the way in was told he could not take his inside and had to leave it and pick it up when he left, but I was glad that they appeared. During “Hey Jude” Paul asked the crowd to sing a long and then first asked “the boys” and then “the girls” while he responded things like “oh you sound so sweet to me”. Maybe he had done this before, but it still was a very cool way to involve the audience in the song.

I was very impressed with this show. Paul did not miss a single note the entire evening, his voice never sounding hoarse or scratchy, never straining to hit a hight note. He seemed to glide effortlessly between the high notes on “Let It Be” and the low notes on songs like “Lady Madonna”. Also, the guy can still scream like no one else in rock and roll!! I confirmed this on “Can´t Buy Me Love”. I don´t think he has ever sounded better in concert. The whole band was first rate. Abe the drummer was superb, Rusty was brilliant on the guitar, Wix amazing as ever on keyboards and Brian Ray was superb on guitar and especially on bass when Paul was busy playing guitar or piano.

I especially liked the arrangements on the Beatles songs, and I thought the guys were fantastic in backing up Paul on harmonies, not just on the Beatles songs but on all the songs. When the show ended, the rain was falling down hard, so appropriately enough, we all drove in the rain.

I have been fortunate enough to see Paul play live three times; in 1990, in Dallas, at Texas Stadium; in 1993 in San Antonio at the Alamodome, and now last Thursday night at the Reunion Arena, also in Dallas on this 2002 tour, and although I thoroughly enjoyed all of them, I think Thursday´s show was by far the best of the three.

Update (5/12/02) From Alan Dean:

Hi Steve- Since so much has been written by the fans for all the shows so far i will try and only point out some things that haven't been mentioned yet (unless i missed the posts)

My first taste of the show came when we entered the arena and immediately smelled the incense. I noticed later at the merchandise tables that incense is one of the items that can be purchased. As i listened to the music that accompanied the pre-show i not only noticed the Fireman music from "Rushes"- but I noticed that it was a different mix- even my 15 yr old son noticed it was different than the cd. The other music that stood out was from the CD-The Family Way: Variations Concertantes Opus 1 (on Phillips ) I love this CD and have been playing it frequently since it came out. So, if the fans want to capture the full concert experience-go out and get the above 2 CD's.

When Macca greeted Dallas and Texas he held up the "Hook 'em Horns" sign with his left hand (index finger and pinky are raised, with the thumb holding down the middle two fingers) which all the Texans in the audience loved!

the biggest surprise of the night came when at the end of the Thursday show he announced that George Martin was in the audience- this made all of us feel like the Dallas show was really unique and maybe even Paul performed even a little more special because of it.

Went back for the Friday show and the only difference to me was the crowd on Friday was definitely a "louder audience"- even during Yesterday the everyone sang with Mac during the entire song. When he did "Here Today" it just seemed to me that he was more emotionally involved and even a little choked up at the end- you could have heard a pin drop during that on both nights.

Stories during both nights were for the most part identical-with the exception of an additional "massage" story on Friday.

The other thing that happened on Friday was that when he came out to do Yesterday in the encore -quite a number of flowers were thrown up on stage and he attemted to place one in the neck of his guitar-but couldnt and when he started to play the song his gutiar was out of tune so he had to re-tune it- that made for a nice unplanned moment.

I'm so glad i went back on Friday and saw it 2 nights in a row. So for those of you in Atlanta & Ft. Lauderdale that have 2 nights -dont hesitate- go! even if you buy a balcony seat.

oh that reminds me- plenty of scalpers out on thursday nite and selling tickets at decent prices-even had 1 guy approach us with 8th row on the floor and was willing to sell for $50 less than face value! Not as many tickets to be had on Friday but i did have friends that went back after going to the Thursday show and they were able to get seats.

Words really can't express the greatness of this show- to me what makes it better than the last tour that i saw in 90 was the interaction by macca and his personal touch with the audience. Even hearing from the different band members made it that much more special- fun to hear Wix speak!

And as Macca says (which gives me hope for another leg of the tour) "Thank you Dallas- We'll see you next time!"

From Rodney Hammack:

My review of the Paul McCartney concert in Dallas on May 10 is a miracle. What I mean, is that it is a miracle that I saw the concert at all.

Paul did two shows in Dallas - the first on Thursday May 9 and the second on Friday May 10. Both shows were immediately sold out so I had no tickets to either show and had resigned myself to missing the event entirely.

However, when I got home from work Friday evening, my 7 year old grandson Vincent (who is a big Beatles fan) immediately asked: "Wanna go see Paul McCartney tonight?. Turns out he didn't have any tickets either, but a friend of my daughter had dropped the bombshell that she had shown up at Reunion Arena for the May 9 show and purchased tickets (shortly after the 8 pm start time) for 40 bucks! Now my daughter and grandson had decided to try the same thing for the Friday night show.

I was not optimistic. In fact I was downright negative. I told my daughter and grandson that - first of all, I had not budgeted money to buy scalped tickets and, secondly, the Friday night show was going to be more popular than the previous night's show. But they persisted. When I mentioned my grandson's desire to see McCartney's show to my wife - she insisted I go. I worked hard - I deserved it, she said.

So off we went - heading off for the Paul McCartney concert less than a half hour before start time with no tickets among us. Along the way, we stopped to pick up my daughter's boyfriend (Mick) and gas up the car. The traffic was terrible, I grew more and more frustrated as the eight o'clock start time approached and then passed. My daughter and her boyfriend Mick urged me to "relax - these shows never start on time anyway ...". Vincent, on the other hand, worried about missing the opening song "Hello Goodbye" - his favorite Beatle song.

At 8:15 we arrived at Reunion Arena. My daughter and her boyfriend were confident that we would be greeted by scalpers willing to sell the precious tickets. However, any hope of buying cheap tickets vanished in my mind when we were immediately flagged down by people wanting to BUY tickets. As we drove deeper into the Reunion Arena complex it was obvious that it was a seller's market - not a buyer's market. I was resigned to turning around and heading home when my daughter suggest that I drop her, Vincent and Mick off to see what they could find while I circled the arena. I dropped them off with no hope whatsoever.

Circling Reunion Arena turned out to be no simple matter. After dropping them off I found myself forced to follow a route that took me completely out of Reunion Arena and across the Trinity River before I could turn around and head back. Once back in the vicinity of the Arena, a sudden detour forced be back across the Trinity River AGAIN before I could finally work my way back to where I had dropped Kristy, Vincent and Mick.

There, I learned that had secured the purchase of tickets - but only two. I told my daughter to take Vincent (explaining that I had seen McCartney already during his Wings Over America tour back in the 70's. However, my grandson insisted that he want to go with "papa" - and my daughter agreed (bless her heart).

The miracle I'm referring to is that the two tickets should not have been available. My daughter just happened to be there when a woman who had purchased the tickets had a disagreement with Reunion Arena and demanded a refund. When they balked, my daughter piped in that she wouldn't mind purchasing the tickets and the lady agreed. She asked a hundred for the pair but agreed to 83 dollars when my daughter and boyfriend explained that was all they had. It was only after the concert that we noticed that the face value of each ticket was $150..

By now, the concert was well underway as Vincent and I were escorted to our seats by Arena employees. Paul was finishing up Driving Rain by the time we took our seats.

My thoughts on the show?

Excellent! Sir McCartney was in top form and put an amazing amount of energy into each and every song performed. The backdrop of video monitors was top notch and made my oversight of not bringing or renting binoculars for the show acceptable. The choice of images for the monitors spanned the proper mix of "history" and "music video" for the show. Like other reviewers, I was puzzled by the lack of Lennon images for the "Here Today" performance, but otherwise quite pleased.

Overall, the show was much more enjoyable than the "Wings Over America" performance. McCartney seemed quite proud of his Beatles roots - quite a contrast to his seventies tour.

Afterwards, I was asked about the songs that were performed at the show. That's when it hit me that despite the 30 + songs that McCartney had performed - he had only scratched the surface.

Sir McCartney - come back again soon!

From Rick Lindholtz:

My friend Doug saw Paul in LA and wrote to say "You're going to see the best concert of your life". He was correct. I loved the pre-show carnival/circus - so surreal and impressionistic, with french aristocracy, flamenco dancers, tumblers and acrobats, contortionists, etc - like watching "For the Benefit of Mr. kite" on stage. Paul was in his best form and has a fantastic band with a drummer that surpasses all expectations - WOW. Great job Abe and the rest as well. Paul announced that Sir George Martin was in the audience there in Dallas - one wonders whether he was assisting with a tour recording. A splendid time was had by all.

From Lloyd H.:

I've been a Beatles fan as long as I can remember listening to music. When I heard that Paul was touring, I began to do my homework and find out what hte tour schedule was, set list, etc.I found abbeyrd's beatle page, purused the links there, and made my decision- whatever it takes, I'm going to see Paul. I took off from work early and flew out of Corpus Christi, TX to Dallas, "made the bus in seconds flat" as it were. I had seen him on Jay Leno previously and was wondering how his voice would be, he seemed a little hoarse on the tonight show appearance and I thought that since this would be his second consecutive show he might be a little raspy. Boy, was I wrong.

WOW! What a show! He was "brilliant". His voice was pristine, the band was very tight, "in the pocket", the harmonies were dead on. It was a magical occasion. He was funny, telling stories and speaking to the crowd. He was nostalgic and warm when talking about John and George. Overall, he was very relaxed, but engaging. He had the audience in the palm of his hand. Musically, he was in top form. The acoustic set was awesome, but then so was the full band. The set list was the same as other venues. I'm not ashamed to say I was misty eyed at a few points in the show. When I saw Steely Dan in '94 it was a great show, a musically and emotionally intense experience. This concert was the same type of intensity but increased exponentially. This was Paul friggen McCartney! Live right there in front of me! Singing the songs that have been touching me all my life! ...............

WOW!

If you are a fan, if there is any way possible you must see this show! It will not dissapoint. What price can you put on seeing one of your heroes live, of seeing a living legend at the top of his game? It was that good.

From Randy Sutton:

The greatest concert I've been to in a long time( since Wings Over America--but that was so long ago it is hard to remember the details). I couldn't believe how hard he rocked and how loud it was. For someone about to turn sixty Paul has an amazing amount of energy. While the other band members got a break during his acoustic set,Paul was on stage playing and singing! For over 2 1\2 hours!! What a voice,stronger than it's ever been- much to my surprise. What can you say about Sir Paul!!!!! An incredible performer,musican, and entertainer!!!

From Barbara Vaughan:

Steve,

All I can say is wow with a capital "W". I was in the 3rd row, 3rd seat, center stage on the ground floor. The set was the same as previously noted, but nothing and I mean nothing could prepare you for the experience of seeing McCartney up close and personal. The performance art at the beginning appeared to be Heather's deal. The only reason I say this is because she was walking right in front of the first row just beyond where it is separated from the stage, which was not that far. I bet I was abut 10-15 feet from Paul when he finally appeared. The only reason I believe the performance art was Heather's idea was that before Paul came on stage, Heather sat up on the separator and was taking pics of the performers. She must either have friends that are doing these shows or is really into it. Since my son is in theater, nothing surprises me in that vein, but I thought it was interesting that she wanted to take pics of the performers. At any rate, it was really neat to be able to see this lucky young lady.

Then "The Man" man his appearance. It was a feeling like no other and one I had waited for since I was 11 and The Beatles came to Dallas (my dad was afraid to let me go). I saw him with Wings in '89 but was in the nosebleed section. All I can say is, it was worth every penny.

I did have a neat experience. I wore a soccer muffler around my neck, red with white lettering and it said LIVERPOOL. I thought, hey, it might get his attention. I tried it once (held it up high) and he only slightly nodded. Later in the show, I was determined to get his attention. I held it for about 10 seconds during "Can't Buy Me Love" and he looked right at me and gave me a big wink. Then, when he got to the part where he goes "whooaaa''' (kind of hard to explain, but it is before the instrumental section), he did this and looked straight at me when he did. It was a direct connection. I was in heaven.

It had to be one of the best experiences of my life. His voice, playing and sense of style were by far better than I have ever seen him. Simply incredible. Paul, if you read this, an autograph sure would make me one happy fan. I hope you remember me.

Warmest regards
Barbara Vaughan

(5/11/02)

From Michael Jones:

WOW! WOW! WOW! We were totally blown away. Paul sounded so good. the ticket prices were well worth it. michael/dallas

From David in Beaumont, Texas:

This was my sixth time to see Macca: The Beatles @ Sam houston Coliseum 1965, Wings Over America @ The Summit-Houston 1976, 1990 @ Texas Stadium-Dallas, Houston @ The Astrodome 1993, San Antonio @ The Alamodome 1993 AND now @ Reunion Arena in Dallas. Drove 300 miles to Dallas.

Was it worth it? Oh yeah.

I rate this show with Wings Over America. Would have enjoyed a few more Wings songs instead of Vanilla Sky and Freedom though that one still gets the patriotic emotions going with the crowd. Can you imagine Rusty playing the lead to Juniors Farm?

I was impressed with Abe's stage presence. Great band. And Maccas voice is much better than the last two tours.

Same set list as previous shows but we did have George Martin in the audience and supposedly Mary McCartney. Both the Dallas Morning News and the Fort Worth paper gave it great reviews though not extensive enough in my opinion.

No lyric flubs except the intentional one in You Never Give Me Your Money. Actual show ran 2 1/2 hours plus the 15-20 minute pre show, whatever that was. It seemed to work and build but a little long.

Hope he does a second U.S. leg later in the year and comes to Houston. Getting too old to drive 658 miles in less than 24 hours. Anyway, fantastic show.

David
Beaumont, TX

From J.M. Dempsey:

Dallas ... May 9

I've seen Paul three times now ('76, '93, '02), and this was the best show. I think the reason is that he is so loose and relaxed. He's very chatty and personable, and the famous Liverpool wit is very much in evidence.

To me, the acoustic set in the middle is the best part of the show by far. Paul should consider a solo acoustic tour in small venues, or maybe with just a couple of sidemen. Having said that, the band (especially Abe) is terrific. "Back in the USSR" -- fabulous.

We liked the pre-show pageant, it created a sense of anticipation. Very imaginative. We sat far to the side so we could not see much of the video at the back of the stage, but what I saw of it really seemed to enhance the show. There was a side-stage video screen, which was excellent, but more needs to be done to give everyone in the building a chance to see the complete show, video included.

Hard to imagine a more enthusiastic response from an audience than what Paul got in Dallas. He is really a superb entertainer, in the same way that Sinatra was. And that should take nothing away from his rock 'n' roll credentials. I don't think this will be the last tour, not by a long shot.

From Michelle Sawyer:

Well, I've never written a review of a rock concert, but here goes!

I anticipated, like others, a strained, course voice coming from Sir Paul but that was not the case Thursday night at Reunion Arena! Paul's voice sounded as wonderful as I hoped it would for my first McCartney concert ever. This was one of the finest concerts I have ever attended, even having known the set list, I was still surprised at the arrangement for several songs such as 'Something' on uekaleilee (sp) and 'We Can Work It Out' on a single acoustic guitar. The timeless Beatles classics, along with the wonderful and electrifying Wings and solo tunes made this concert a thrill a minute. Paul connected with his audience with his reputation as one of the nicest and warmest people in show businesses by telling jokes and sharing memories of John and George. I could not believe how warm and genuine this guy could be to a crowd of 20,000!!

I screamed for 2 1/2 hours and it was one of the happiest 2 1/2 hours of my life. I still can not believe I was a mere 50 feet from this legend!! Long live Sir Paul!

From Martin Walsh:

Remember seeing Elvis live from Hawaii or the '68 comeback special? How about Sinatra at the Sands or the Main Event at Madison Square Garden? They were examples of a pop music star at the top of their game.

Last night in Reunion Arena in Dallas, TX, Sir Paul McCartney demonstrated his skill at the pop music craft. Sir Paul created a delicious taste from his almost 40 years of musical recipes.

He gave the audience what it wanted, Beatle classics, solo and Wings hits as well as ingredients from the latest efforts. Also sprinkled in where his own concert favorites, tributes to John Lennon, George Harrison, Linda McCartney and Heater Mills. And it was cooked to perfection with over two and half hours of sheer energy. The end result was an audience that he had to tell that it was time to go home. The song list was the same as previous Driving Rain tour stops.

Surprises included: Announcing, after performing "Yesterday" that George Martin was in the audience stories about getting messages in hotels the origins of the term C-Moon.

This news item copyright Abbeyrd's Beatles Page