McCartney

This is hardly a show review, it’s a love fest! I could not have had a better concert experience. What can I say about Paul McCartney? We’re the same age (I’m six months older), he looks better than me and is in better shape, but I appreciate him so much! I enjoyed listening, singing and participating in the music that runs through all our lives. It’s been the background of everything for so long we don’t even realize all it means to us, or at least to me.

My wife and daughters were with me, as we have been together for Dylan, Leonard Cohen, Springsteen, The Who and now McCartney! I feel that I’ve passed on the culture to my kids, and feel better for it!

It took getting the tickets on line, hoping for good seats, getting out of work early with everyone and driving to the train station in Burlington, ON. We made it with twenty minutes to spare, and even in a rain storm, the heat was a bit oppressive.

The train to Toronto was nice, and we sat on the second floor and it was great. We arrived at Union Station with an hour and a half to spare, which was fantastic as we could find a place to eat dinner. It took a bit of looking, as the close restaurants were all full due to the concert. This was the second night of two sold out shows.

It was a sweaty run, but we got to a great place, the Loose Moose, nearby, and had dinner. The Air Canada Centre is attached to Union Station so no outside walking was actually required but, we wanted a dinner in a place with seats, not a hot dog on the streets.

We were back and in our seats by 7:30, the start time. However, at 8:00 they started a slide show, a kind of running graphic which ran for thirty minutes, a nostalgic kind of thing, and then they came on.

The band (there are five of them) were on for three hours without a break and sounded every bit like the Beatles and Wings and themselves and were fantastic. Paul never even drank water that I could see! I can’t imagine he can remember all the words and the music, but he does. He is funny, cute. Playful and charming and we all loved the show.

The play list for Toronto was:

Monday 9th August, Air Canada Centre, Toronto

1. Venus and Mars / Rockshow

2. Jet

3. All My Loving

4. Letting Go

5. Got To Get You Into My Life

6. Highway

7. Let Me Roll It

8. The Long And Winding Road

9. Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five

10. Let ‘Em In

11. My Love

12. I’m Looking Through You

13. Two Of Us

14. Blackbird

15. Here Today

16. Dance Tonight

17. Mrs Vandebilt


18. Eleanor Rigby

19. Something

20. Sing The Changes

21. Band On The Run

22. Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da

23. Back In The USSR

24. I’ve Got A Feeling

25. Paperback Writer

26. A Day In The Life / Give Peace A Chance

27. Let It Be

28. Live And Let Die

29. Hey Jude

Encore

30. Day Tripper

31. Lady Madonna

32. Get Back

Second Encore

33. Yesterday

34. Mull Of Kintyre

35. Helter Skelter

36. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band / The End

When it ended, we ran out of the Centre, ran into Union Station and had four minutes to make the train, which we did. The next one was an hour away so we were motivated.

Our chariot was waiting and off we went to home, where I finally got to sleep at 2:00 a.m.

What a great night!

Always remember, "And, in the end, the love you take/ Is equal to the love you make."