Paul Tampa reviews Update (5/25/02) From Richard Barr:

Wanted to send in my mini review of the Tampa concert.
There's not a lot to add that hasn't been covered in the other great reviews of the tour, and seeing as how this show was exactly the same there's no point in rehashing all of that. Same set list, same order, same 'planned' mistakes, same banter about massages, and most of the song intros are word for word like they have been on previous shows of the tour.
Having said that - it was an AMAZING and AWESOME show. The power of his voice and the band are awesome. The crowd was VERY loud and responsive. We all had an incredible time! The opening bit with the theatrical stuff ran a bit to long, but thats just personal opinion. We were in the rafters - almost as far back as you can get in the building, but with the screens we could see everything quite well.
In another review I read where Paul threw his Hofner Beatles bass at the technician as an 'unplanned rock and roll moment'. Having seen several other shows (on video), at the end of each of them he also throws the bass to the technician - so unplanned it was not. Also - others have mentioned seeing up to 5 of the Hoffner basses with him on the tour, so these are replicas and not the same one from the Beatles days.
At the end of the show Paul reached into the crowd and grabbed someones Sgt Pepper album, autographed it, and gave it back!!! What a lucky fan!!
Highlights for me were 'Let Me Roll It' and 'Maybe I'm Amazed'. I have always loved these 2 songs, and these are great versions of these songs, especially 'Maybe I'm Amazed'. They were JAMMING!!!!!! That version has to be released!!
The merchandise was all really cool and really expensive as well. Bought a tour book and the Driving Rain CD for the new slip cover.
As they say - 'a splendid time was guaranteed' and had by all!!!

Update (5/24/02) From Tony:

First, I'd like to say that Paul is by far the greatest rock and roller of all time and there is no bigger fan that there is no bigger fan than this one. The Ice Palace show was my 7th McCartney show since his going solo. The first thing I encontered was the most extensive souvenir stand I have ever seen. At least 20 different shirts a jacket and some really great collectibles. My girlfriend and I spent $800 and every penny was worth it. My problem? All of the items were highly priced which was fine and many people were carrying handfuls of things, but for that kind of money they could give you a freaking BAG. No dice. A glass I bought broke because I couldn't hold it and when we tried to get a replacement with a receipt for $800, the guy said; Sorry, nothing I can do. The show's beginning was, in my opinion, a total snooze. I don't care for Cirque du Soleil. The show started and the first thing I noticed was that the band was overpowerng the vocals badly. More than a few were saying it around me. It didn't change until he went acoustic. Having run a sound board, I know the fix was fairly simple but never forthcoming. His vocals that I heard were superb as usual. The band was good but nowhere near the quality of the 89/90 and 93 tour. I guess I was also disappointed a little at the song list too. He's got about 300 great songs to choose from and I would have loved to hear some other greats in place of Jet, Coming Up, C Moon, My Love, and Long and Winding Road. The big thrills for me were Mother Nature's Son, Hello Goodbye and Getting Better, which he hadn't done at any previous show I'd seen. It kills me to say this, but I was mildly disappointed for the first time ever by a Paul show. I hope that he does it again and changes some of the things I didn't like. Without a doubt, Paul is the greatest ever and O guess you just can't be perfect every time. I've just come to expect it from the master. Sorry if i offended anyone. No harm was intended. It was just the way i saw things. Tony

Update (5/21/02) From Claudia Espinosa:

Here is a brief review about my encounter with Paul this last May 15, 2002. I hope you like it.
Last Wednesday was very special for me because I could see Paul very close. I arrived at the Ice Palace in Tampa, FL at 5:35 pm. I saw two Limos, so I thought that Paul had just arrived. Then, I went to the back door of the Ice Palace, and I asked to several people about Paul. They told me that he hadn´t arrived yet.
We were around 35 persons waiting for him. There was a TV camera waiting for him too. After 10 minutes of waiting, a patrol parked in front of the place. Then, I turned my head to the girl next to me, and I told her "Paul is coming I can feel him" she said "yes, he is coming." After two minutes of waiting, I saw another patrol coming, and a big Limo was behind it. Yes, I could see at the distance the smiling face of Paul McCarney. Behind his Limo were two more limos. In that moment I felt the adrenaline running through my veins as I can feel it now. His limo passed just in front of me. He was very close. As usual he was smiling to the people there. I started yelling Paul, Paul. It was a brief moment, but for me it was a very precious instant.
All the people there were very excited. I remember a little girl telling to his dad. "He looked at me, he looked at me". His dad very proud told her "Yes, as Ringo did."
After that a female reporter of the Tampa Tribune started interviewing people. She specially chose persons that were wearing Beatles t-shirts and looked not to young. A black woman started answering her questions. She had been a Beatle fan since 1964. After her interview, the reporter asked questions to a college student. She showed to the reporter her Beatles tattoo in her back.
I consider myself very lucky to be there at that moment because not all the people there could see him. The reason is that some persons were waiting for him to the other side of the street. I saw a young man that was carrying a Beatles White Album, and he was carrying a camera too. I asked him: "Did Paul sign your album?" He answered me: "No, he didn´t." I asked him again "Did you take a picture of him?" he said very dissapointed "No, I couldn´t." In fact, I didn´t carry a camera with me, so I didn´t take a photo of him either, but I was very happy for being able to see the person that helped to me to become vegetarian 9 years ago.

Update (5/18/02) From Paul Wood:

On Wednesday evening, May 15th, My friend and I were witness to a concert that I will never forget. Sir Paul McCartney was every thing I imagined he would be. His mix of early Beatles,Wings and other songs was magnificent.He is at the TOP of the music world-NO ONE can match his concert presence. He kept the crowd amused as well-enjoyed the story about massages.What else can I say. Sir Paul put on an AWESOME concert. It was an honor to be in his presence.Thank you for a wonderful time.
Sincerely from A true Sir Paul McCartney/Beatle/Wings fan
Paul Wood

(5/16/02)

From Ron Thomas:

First of all, the concert went like all the other ones reviewed here. The band was tight, Paul's voice sounded great except for a couple of minor bobbles, and they gave the crowd its money's worth for over two and a half hours.
Although I enjoyed the concert and was glad to get the opportunity to see Paul for the first time, I didn't connect emotionally as much as I did when I saw Ringo's All Starr Band the time before last. I think the difference was threefold; Ringo was the first Beatle I had seen live, the concert was in a smaller, more intimate venue, and I knew exactly what to expect with Paul due to reading all the reviews.
Oh well, that was my choice. Still, it was a great concert. On Here Today Paul made a couple of slips on the guitar. While he looked pensive and a little down for him, he didn't really seem as moved as was described at some of the other shows. In a spontaneous move (at least no one has mentioned it yet) he broke out into a couple of bars of some ditty reminiscent of Maggie Mae, then said "Just kidding" before starting another acoustic guitar tune.
Unlike most people, I thought the opening was interesting and went well with the Fireman music. The encores were good, but the guitars were mixed a little low during The End. I enjoyed singing the John part along with Paul in the middle eight of We Can Work It Out.
Incidentally, I wore my John Lennon Sgt. Pepper outfit in hopes I would get moved down front. No dice. A lot of the other concertgoers appreciated it, though, so it was worth it.

From James:

It was visually a beautiful show. Same set list as reported since Oakland. Paul was in good voice. I have seen him about ten times over the last three tours and I felt it was one of the best shows to see for the fan who feels like Paul is a member of the family. It takes a lot of guts to go out there and sing so many of those songs by himself. It was the next best thing to having him play in your living room. Headed for Ft. Lauderdale next. I’ll keep you posted. James