October 25, 2002
Anaheim, CA
Paul McCartney

By Geoff Koboldt
Review West Coast Correspondent

After having met Ringo Starr on a flight while we both sat in first class
going from Detroit to Los Angeles two years ago, I still hold tremendous
value in having met a member of the greatest band in music history.  Words
cannot describe the experience of meeting a member of the Beatles nor the
feeling I got trying to fathom all that he's experienced in his years of
fame.

I continued the Beatle experience by traveling to New York earlier this
year and spending time in Strawberry Fields and visiting the Dakota house
where John and Yoko lived.  Furthermore, I attended the memorial of George
Harrison in Hollywood near the famed Beatles star on Hollywood Blvd.  But
nothing could have prepared me for the experience of seeing Paul McCartney
live in concert on the second leg of his US tour.

The show started with a surreal opening in which dancers dressed in 1700's
attire roamed the audience along with a man dressed in a black suit with an
umbrella who took his time walking through the crowd (true fans will know
what this represents).  The lights and music got more chaotic and intense
as more dancers and performers entered the stage; each one representing a
different culture, kingdom, epoch, and country as it varied through
different time periods.  Looking back, I feel as if it suggested that no
matter what comes and goes - we will always have Beatles music.

After 20 or so minutes, a screen flashed with a silhouette, and there was
Sir Paul McCartney himself.  The crowd went crazy as the band played "Hello
Goodbye".  The stage was magnificently lit with large screens in the
background with an array of 60's styled colors.  Each song had a different
set of colors and videos behind it, which added to the performance and made
you feel as if you experienced each of those time periods.  Over 35 songs
were played in 2 _ hours, 22 of which were Beatles songs.  "She's leaving
home," was a song he said he had never played live since the 70's which
made the night feel even more personal.

Throughout the set, Paul switched from bass to rhythm guitar to piano to a
psychedelic organ and even played "Something" on a ukulele for George
Harrison.  Some songs were rocked out with his five-piece band and others,
were played just acoustically by Paul.  The first acoustic piece was
"blackbird" which was written by Paul about his interpretation of what a
black woman (women are called "birds" in England) must have felt during the
civil rights movement of the 60's.  To hear the sincerity in the rawest
state was overwhelming.

The feelings of love, peace, and happiness were further experienced as Paul
took a moment to sing "Here today", in memory of his friend John Lennon who
he said he misses very much.  There wasn't a dry eye in the place as he
took the time to remember his departed bandmates and his wife of 29 years,
Linda McCartney.

Throughout the show, Paul utilized his British humor and boyish charm to
make the crowd laugh.  He talked about the time he was getting a massage in
Tokyo and the lady started singing "Yesterday," without even knowing it was
Paul McCartney and how incredibly weird it was to hear this Japanese lady
singing to him.  He further made us laugh by saying "I don't know the
words" during "You never give me your money," where normally Ringo would
come in and sing.  The funny thing is that he said the words in perfect
harmony with the words that should have gone there.

The greatest thing was to see Paul humbly thank the crowd after each song
and continue to raise his guitar in the air with the energy of a child.  He
would then say, "Do you want to rock"?  He had the crowd sing about 12 bars
worth of the bridge "Na Na  Na NANANA Na" during "Hey Jude," which was a
big highlight for the crowd despite them having sang every other song in
unison with him throughout the night.  Oh, and they danced too  yes -
grown people my parents age dominated the arena and danced like they were
17 again with the same hysteria they displayed in the videos.

I left the arena that night feeling complete as a Beatles fan and believe
me - no other concert or artist even compares to the experience of seeing a
musical legend such as Paul McCartney.  I doubt any of the fans who shelled
out as much as $250.00 per ticket would disagree.  Check out the set-list
and see how many songs you know - it will give you a glimpse of how great
of a songwriter he truly is.

Set list:
Hello Goodbye
Jet
All my loving
Getting better
Coming up
Let me roll it
Lonely road
Driving rain
Your loving flame
Blackbird
Every night
We can work it out
You never give me your money
The fool on the hill
Here Today
Something
Eleanor Rigby
Here, There, and Everywhere
Michelle
Band on the Run
Back in the USSR
Maybe I'm Amazed
Let 'Em In
My love
She's leaving home
Can't buy me love
Freedom
Live and let die
Let It Be
Hey Jude
The long and Winding Road
Lady Madonna
I Saw Her Standing There
Yesterday
Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band (reprise)
The End

Geoff Koboldt is Chief Executive Officer of Out of Step Management in Los
Angeles, California.  He can be reached at [email protected]