I must have died and went to heaven. My friend Mike somehow ($$$$$) got a ticket broker to part with two front row tickets (Section C1 Row 1 Seats 1and 2, eight seats left of center as you look at the stage, about 15 feet from Paul) and lucky for me his wife is not a huge Beatle / McCartney fan as am I. Knowing how unreal these seats were I decided to try and sneak a throw-away camera in. After reading reviews that some fans got autographs in Chicago, I also brought a photo of Paul at the Phycodellic organ from 1993 in hopes of getting it signed. We got to the parking lot at 6:30 doors opened at 7:00. We waited about ten minutes on line before getting wanded by security, with the camera strategically placed we breezed in. We went straight down to the seats in an almost empty arena and were just awestruck at how close Paul's microphone was to us.

We went over to the guitar pit on the right side of the stage ( our left) and were able to talk to John Hammel who was very nice, he showed us the 63 Hofner and told us about how he almost dropped it the other night, as we watched him tune it with a meter, he let some VIP stand next to it as a picture was taken. He told us Paul has a new Hofner as a backup. We also watched as the uke was tuned and polished. We also got friendly with the security guy who picked Paul up from the helicopter, and we guessed that Paul took a chopper from his Hamptons house and landed at Mitchell Field next to the Coliseum. All the guy would tell us was that Paul landed at about 4 pm. He said he did a three song sound check as the place was locked down. We asked if Heather was with him,but he wouldn't say.

As people filtered in to the seats just to the right of us ( dead center on Paul's microphone) we learned that they were all upgraded from the upper decks via Paul's people who went around asking the question are you big fans of Paul. As you can imagine these people were astonished at their good fortune. Once again McCartney does something special for his fans, way to go Paul!!

As the pre-show got under way a Samurai warrior type guy took my friend Mike's beer held it up to the crowd and than drank from it. I won't rehash the show as so many previous reviews have already accurately done I'll just say it was astounding. Paul looked great and sounded unreal, Rusty, Abe, Brian, and Wix really rocked the place, I was shocked at how well they sang all the harmony bits, tough to do on " Hello Goodbye." You think you're listening to the albums.

Right before "Vanilla Sky" Heather Mills was escorted by a body guard in to the security pit right in front of us, an arms length away she sat on the security stand and was taking pictures of Paul not knowing what to say to her, I said nothing. All I can say is she is very beautiful in person. I watched as she was escorted back to her seat at the end of our row two seats up on the side, right next to the guitar pit. She stayed there for about two more songs that was gone.

We didn't dare take the camera out until the encore for fear of forfeiting our once in a lifetime seats. I think my friend Mike took one picture as Paul was playing "Yesterday" as I noticed the nearest guard looking our way suspiciously we put it away so at best we got one photo. I must say the only other person I saw using a camera was a friend of a girl dressed in Paul's Sgt Pepper get up. And since Paul carried on a conversation with her saying something like "hey that's nice but it's mine and I want it back." Security not only left her alone they were happy for her.

At the end of the first encore the band bowed and started to leave so I threw my photo, with pen attacked, up on the stage it landed face up half way back, Abe looked at it, then Paul looked at it without picking it up he looked at me and pointed to me as if to say ok I'll get it after the next encore, and they exited. I was going wild hugging everybody shouting, he saw it, he's going to sign it. Everybody was high-fiving me. Then a stage hand comes out and cleans off the stage removing flowers and such, then to my horror he grabs my picture and goes into the guitar pit. I had ten people shouting to no avail for him to leave it. As the band finished "The End" took some more bows and started to leave, Paul looks down for my photo doesn't see it then looks at me and shrugs his shoulders as if to say "sorry mate". I went over to the guitar pit at some guy gave it back to me and said sorry. Oh well, the big fish that got away story.
All I can say is what a thrill of a lifetime.
John Shea

From Rudi Riet:

Steve -

This was a great show. Macca was in fine voice and high spirits, and his band was up to the rather sizeable task of backing up a Beatle!

A few things of note:

1. The ushers (at least in my section) were very pro-active about snuffing out smoking of all kinds, both tobacco and the "herbal jazz" variety. For my partner and me, this was a welcome relief.

2. It certainly looks like there will be a tour video, at the very least, as there were cameramen and boom mic operators hanging around the mixing board before the show, and lurking in the wings (sic) during the main performance.

3. Macca flubbed a chord change during "Here Today," though it didn't snag a bit of poignancy from the song.

4. Security entering Nassau Coliseum, to my eyes, was much less than I expected. While I was frisked, they didn't require me to take out my cell phone, and I didn't get the "magic wand" treatment. However, all women were forced to get the wand - even if they were OK with a pat down from a male guard! Compared to the recent Olympics in Salt Lake City, this security was quite porous.

5. Sounds quality was wonderful - not too loud, yet not too soft.

6. Most folks in my section didn't understand the opening "cirque grotesque" (my partner's moniker for the act). Folks sitting next to us yelled for Macca to "get on the f---ing stage!" I told them that they've waited "at least 9 years for this show - another 5 minutes isn't going to kill 'ya!"

7. Traffic flow exiting the parking lot was a smooth as it gets for a big show. This is likely due to the fact that all roads around Nassau Coliseum were purpose-designed for easy entry and exit from shows. Of course, it's like Joni Mitchell wrote: "they paved paradise and put up a parking lot."

All-in-all, a great show! This was head-and-tails better than his Las Vegas show in 1993: Macca was in better voice, his band was much better, the harmonies were tight and beautiful.

Rudi Riet

Update (2/23/03) From Patti Murawski:

Firstly, a comment on the Sam and Sham and the origins of L7and C Moon after C Moon, the shows I've been to he told the same story, exclaiming, "This is rock history I'm talking about." (Funnily enough, my ticket the second night I saw the show was in seat L 7!)

Ditto for the "massage" stories, he has been telling it at other shows. As with past tours, it's unusual for Paul to vary from the "script".

The line in You Never Give Me Your Money is "This is the bit where I don't know the words, and I don't think I'll bother learning them by the end of the tour."

But now to the Long Island show at the Coliseum: the show started at about 8:15 and ended around 11:00. At show time the temperature in Uniondale was 38F, which is just about a 60 degree difference from what the daytime high had been in the tri-state area just days ago! (The temperature at showtime in New Jersey the previous Wednesday had been 88F, a 50 degree difference.)

Security in LI was a bit tougher. They inspected bags (purses, belt bags, etc.), and asked people to take cell phones, keys and coins out of their pockets. Once you made it though that, they made everyone stand with arms up and legs apart to scanned over, under, sideways, down, backward, forward.... with hand held metal detectors for metal, paying special attention to pockets and legs.

The thoughts I have about the opening after I've seen it a few times: entertainment and art through the ages and cultures, starting with the present, then with the 19th, 18th and 14th century characters coming on stage and curiously inspecting the microphones... and seemingly going backwards in time, contortionists and acrobats, circuses, ancient Greek statue, ancient Chinese dynastic personages performing feats of Tai Chi/Kung Fu, and Hindu dancers doing a dance representing the creation of the universe... Paul always said he was pretty avant garde...

However, for people who know nothng about his background, I'm sure it's all lost on them; even those who DO know his background are probably thinking what George Harrison used to say about what Liverpool people say about avant garde art: "Avant Garde a clue!"

By the way, some of the characters seem to be from famous works of art. The man in the bowler hat with the umbrella with the green apple floating in front of his face is definitely the man in the bowler hat from Magritte's painting(s). Paul has said in the past that he liked Magritte paintings (and probably owns one or two!).

I was wondering if the statue of the three women were supposed to be the ancient Greek statue of the three graces Aglaia (Splendor), Euphrosyne (Mirth) and Thalia (Good Cheer) (though the gals on stage are clothed, the original statue is of three nude women) though I'll be darned if I can find my art history book since I moved house. And in case you aren't aware of it, the Elephant Diety on the video screen is Ganesh, remover of obstacles and Lord of Good Fortune (which by the way seemed to be one of George Harrison's personal favorites.)

So Paul, tell me if I'm right, and do I get free front row seats for my theory?

Each arena's set up varies slightly, so the "opening act", has had it's little glitches. In Long Island the lighting people didn't seem to know where the characters were entering the arena; the spotlights weren't illuminating at least 3 or 4 of them as they descended the stairs.

Paul's voice sounded better, none of the roughness I had heard in spots at the Boston show, and he seemed rested and in a good mood.

He did say, "I knew we'd get a great response on the East Coast."

The changes in video backdrop for Lonely Road and Vanilla Sky appear to be permanent, as they were the same here as they were in New Jersey and Boston. Video worked okay for Live and Let Die too.

"Something" got a really good standing ovation, so much so that Paul forgot to tell the end of the story of George's uke version of the song. John had already come out and taken the uke and handed the acoustic guitar to Paul. I was thinking, "oh, no punchline tonight? when Paul stopped and called John back, realizing he hadn't finished the story, pushed the acoustic down out of the way, took the uke from John and finished the story.

I didn't see a mention of Paul's introduction(s) of Paul "Wix" Wickens. There's a silly short story about Wix playing accordian and how he found the accordian in Italy... On another intro Paul later in the show, Paul variable called Wix the "gorgeous" (Wix ran his hand over his balding head and batted his eyes) or "the greatest keyboard player in the world" (to which Wix said, "that's better than gorgeous, let's keep that one in!") or "delectable" keyboard player as he called him in LI.

When Wix takes up an acoustic, I think it's for Can't Buy Me Love, the joke is that Wix has "now learned 5 chords" "and a few spare" for the song.

When Rusty was introduced to the audience, he pulled out a camera to take a photo of the audience from the stage and said that he wanted to "do this" and hadn't had a chance to. Paul had reached the piano by then and yelled, "Hey, there's no cameras allowed in here!" Rusty ignored him and said "Everyone say cheese!" and took the photo.

Paul messed up the lyrics to Lady Madonna; a bouquet of flowers had come sailing over people's heads from the front rows, and Paul was distracted by where it was going to land and lost his place in the song somewhat, sang the wrong words at the end.

At the end of the show, a 20 year old female Mexican fan (I know her) had made her way to the front, and stood directly in front of Paul. She was dressed in a beautifully made pale blue satin Sgt. Pepper uniform, like Paul's on the album. Paul stopped and leaned over the monitors to say, "Hey, that's beautiful....but it's MINE! Give it back!" They started to have a little conversation, a few words back and forth, while the audience was shouting things, and Paul said, "Do you mind, we are trying to have an intimate conversation here!" Needless to say she was thrilled to pieces! We found out later the ushers had helped her to get up to the front near the stage as they were all hugging her, thrilled for her, as she made her way out of the arena!

From Edward Fields:

Nassau, 4/21/2002

Well, after all I've been reading, I didn't think that I could still be surprised, but lo and behold, I was! I can't get over what an amazing show this was! As I arrived, I was seated to the right of the stage, and stared in wonder at the huge road cases with the MPL logo stenciled on the side, numbered 21 and 22, stacked with guitars. I could clearly see the Hofner dead center. Upon closer inspection, I could make out a second Hofner violin bass in the same case. I figured that one is probably his original and the other is the one that he throws to John Hammel at the end of the first encore, nearly giving the entire crowd a heart attack! I watched in awe as a tech reached into a smaller guitar-shaped case and tuned a ukulele that has been owned by two Beatles. History, man...history!

The evening started with the freaky masquerade thing at about 8:15pm, prompting a huge "WTF?!?" from everyone within earshot. My wife was particularly amused, dubbing them "Cirque du SoBad." I'd love to hear Macca explain what he was going for here! But after about 15 minutes, it really began! First the Hofner, and then Macca's silhouette appeared to the sound of a sustained power chord. As the curtain came up, we could see how fantastic he looked! Youthful and rejuvenated! He counted into "Hello, Goodbye" and I couldn't have been more amazed by the strength of Paul's voice, and was even more impressed when the vocal harmonies kicked in! "Jet" was also remarkable! The song rocked harder than it has since the '76 tour and the harmonies were perfect! "All My Loving" was delivered confidently, rocking ever-so-slightly harder than before. Next was "Getting Better," which sent chills down my spine! How extraordinary it was to hear this song performed live. Once again, the vocals made the song! The selections from Driving Rain (not my favorite Macca album, or even close to it) definitely improve when given the live treatment, particularly "Your Loving Flame," which stood well against any other ballad Macca played tonight.

Paul seemed a bit tentative at the start of the solo set, fumbling a bit with the chorus of "Blackbird", but following up with a very hearty version of "Every Night," showcasing once again how great his voice is! Hearing Paul's voice solo during the "Life is very short" chorus of "We Can Work It Out" was cool, although you couldn't help but sing the "John" part! His solo arrangement of "You Never Give Me Your Money" was also excellent! I thought that the intentional flub that I had been reading about would be annoying, but it really worked well...the crowd (myself included!) loved it! "Here Today" was as touching as you can imagine. My wife wasn't familiar with the song, and she was incredibly moved. (How couldn't you be???) However, NO images of John were projected tonight. "Something" was performed to a lovely backdrop of George photos, and prompted an even stronger ovation from the audience. Paul concluded with a brief portion George's sped-up ukulele version before moving on to "Eleanor Rigby". "Here, There and Everywhere" was another high point, with Abe, Brian and Rusty doing a wonderful job with the lush vocal arrangement, albeit a little low in the mix.

The set soon got rocking again with "BOTR" and "USSR". Paul did a GREAT job on "Maybe I'm Amazed," but the band seemed to be a bit too loud on this one song, maybe to keep the energy up after the long "quiet" set. "C Moon" was a lot of fun to hear live! "My Love" provided yet another one of the night's best moments, with Paul mentioning that he had written it for Linda, and many in the crowd responding by making the Wings "W" with their hands. "Freedom" really set the crowd on fire! The entire place was up on its feet and stomped and clapped through the entire song. Chants of "USA!!! USA!!! USA!!!" continued long after the conclusion of the tune. In spite of being proud of myself for not crying my way through "Here Today" and "Something," as a New Yorker, I couldn't help but be moved to tears. Several fans brought homemade signs thanking Paul for his support. The main set ended with Paul belting out "Hey Jude" and as in '89, '90 and '93, he still "can't stop this thing!"

The encores were crowd-pleasers. Abe did a great job harmonizing with Paul on "Long and Winding Road." "Lady Madonna" was a true potboiler, sounding as fresh as ever. But "I Saw Her Standing There" was a little on the sloppy side, with Wix's loud electric piano doubling the bass line and an uninspired guitar solo. ODuring the second and final encore, our Paul sounded excellent on "Yesterday," again without the weak flutter that his voice has had in later years. Strong and beautiful. The "Sgt. Pepper Reprise" meshed perfectly with "The End," but again with Paul's lead guitar mixed lower than Rusty's and Brian's. Paul was clearly amused as he flubbed a lead line and laughingly deferred to the other guitarists during their guitar battle. Definitely a nice bookend for a show that started with a "Hello."

I have to say that I definitely underestimated this band! They certainly have become a strong and cohesive unit since the Concert For NYC. I must agree with previous posters (as well as many folks in the crowd tonight) that Abe Laboriel, Jr. wins the MVP award. He has a gorgeous voice and can play the hell out of that drum kit! He was incredibly animated throughout the entire show. Wix provided strong support on keys, but seemed a little bored at times, seeming to overemphasize that he was playing simple parts on songs like "Let Me Roll It." And, although I feel guilty saying so, it was nice to hear the synth parts from "Jet" and "Band On The Run" played so well. Lead guitarist Rusty Anderson played with lots of attitude, but was not as technically proficient as Macca's previous axemen. He definitely isn't as melodic a player as Robbie MacIntosh or Laurence Juber, but on the same token, he provided some real raw power to the band, driving songs like "Coming Up" and "Back In The USSR" far beyond their performance on previous tours. I still found myself pining for a soaring guitar solo at times, particularly on "Let It Be," but none of his "original" solos were very memorable. (I must admit, however, that I am a bit of a "guitar snob" as a professional musician myself.) Brian Ray also had strong stage presence (particularly working the crowd during "BOTR") and spot-on vocals, playing well off of Rusty and looking like a younger version of David Bowie at times. This definitely was a real rock band, and it definitely suited Macca fine!

And in response to previous posts, Abe is indeed playing barefoot.

Having seen Paul in '89, '90 and '93, I certainly didn't expect a man on the threshold of 60 to be in such amazing voice! On those past tours, (particularly the New World Tour,) Paul would often fall a bit flat vocally. Not this time! He hit all of the sweet spots! This show was absolutely fantastic and thoroughly entertaining! I hope that you all get to see it!

Cheers!
Eddie Fields

From Gadboo2:

It was a McCartney love fest! The warmth and love for this man in that huge arena was contageous. Paul is the best I've ever seen him. He was so relaxed and chatty and truely enjoying himself. I felt like we could be in our living room hanging out and listening to one classic song after another. I forgot about how annoyed I was at his ticket prices and all that other nonsense being sold for obscene prices. The show was great I have to say and the time flew by tooo quickly. I'm so glad I did go. It saddened me to think how it might have been if John, George and Ringo might have been there with him. How special that could have been but was not meant to be. The evening was a special one for sure. Listening to Paul do " Something " for George alone was worth going to see. I could go on and on......

A fan until I die, Robin

From Dan Speter:

Hey Steve, What can I say? Macca was AWESOME last night! I was lucky enough to score a ticket for the 14th row. It was a dream of mine to see Macca so close. He did not disappoint me! The man was INCREDIBLE! Hello, Goodbye was supurb. I loved Getting Better. Paul didn't miss a note all night. I have now seen him 4 times, and this was the tops! Let's hope for another live album from this tour!!!! -all the best! Dan

And a very happy Diane Merriam:

I have seen Paul several times in my life, but I must say that this was the BEST OF PAUL...........The music was great, the visual was subpured, his voice was great. I don't think he discouraged anyone of us in that audience last night. He could have kept playing all night long.

What a great way to celebrate my birthday with all those people, my husband and Paul.

I can't wait to see it again on Friday night at Madison Square, what a lucky person I am. Love ya Paul forever
Diane from East Meadow, N.Y.

(2/22/02)

From Dsarnikf:

I've seen every one of Paul's US tours and this is Paul at his best. He has arrived! He gave us exactly what we wanted: Lots of Beatles along with some great solo and Wings songs. And didn't use the tour as an opportunity to push Driving Rain. I happen to love Driving Rain and could have done without "C-Moon" and "Coming Up" in favor of "Tiny Bubble" and "About You". Paul's voice was superb. Even though the reviews had been great, I was doubtful that a man approaching 60 could sing for 2.5 hours effortlessly and flawlessly. He did. The band rocked and the crowd loved it. Expensive? Yes! Worth it? You bet!!! Can't say enough about the show!

Deb

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