"I don't want to cheat those people"

In a new wide-ranging interview with Rolling Stone, Macca explained at length why he takes such a crowd-pleasing approach to his live shows. Turns out, Paul is the anti-Dylan because (in part, anyway*) he himself has been on the losing end of a concert that didn't deliver the goods as expected. To this I say: Paul, never change. There may not be a more exasperating breach of faith between musician and fan than a set list that's designed to satisfy the whims of the artist over the general desires of the crowd. Especially at big ticket shows, it's a reasonable expectation that the performing act will honor the outlay of money and commitment of time by his or her fans with a performance that, at the very least, isn't unprofessional or willfully challenging, and, even better, is geared toward broad appeal. That's not asking much. Now, within the "give the people what they want" prescription/policy, there's plenty of room for maneuvering and balance. It doesn't need to be pursued in draconian fashion (i.e., singles and hits always trumping lesser-known entries), but it should serve as a starting point, a guide. And for most performers, it does. But that doesn't undo how refreshing it is to hear Paul loudly proclaim the gospel of populism. Everybody, listen to the what the man said.

*There's also the obvious $$$ factor.

Here's part of the excerpt:

Well, I'm always reminded of when I was a kid and I used to go to shows. This was pre-pre-pre-Beatles. I was just a little kid in Liverpool with no money, and I'd be saving up forever. It'd be really good if the show satisfied me – and it really pissed me off if it didn't. So I have this thing, which is that these people have paid money. They're not necessarily all going be that flush, so let's give them a good night out. Let's have a party. Let's make it a fiesta kind of thing, so everyone goes home and thinks, "Yeah, I didn't mind spending that money." That's the philosophy behind a lot of what I do.

One of the first concerts I ever went to was a Bill Haley concert. I was so young, I was still in short trousers. I was about 13 or something. It was rock & roll coming to Liverpool, and I was so excited. I saved up, got this ticket, went to the Liverpool Odeon – and the whole first half wasn't Bill Haley! It was this other guy who, years later, I learned was a promoter who had his own band. Mind you, the second half, when Bill opened from behind the curtains with, "One, two, three o' clock, four o'clock rock," and did "Rock Around the Clock," which is almost the birth of rock & roll – okay, that was exciting. The curtains opened and they're all there in these crazy tartan jackets. That was worth it. But I was always pissed off about the opening act, thinking I got cheated. And I once bought a Little Richard record where he was only one track on the album. It was this other thing, the Buck Ram Orchestra.

Macca on "The Colbert Report"

Still in catch-up mode and still wondering why Paul decided to add "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!" to his live arsenal. It should have stayed dusty and moth-eaten. Beyond that, the performances, as well as the interview, are terrific. (If the video is removed or doesn't work, go here.)

Happy Friday from Paul (and Harold)!

(Image source: BBC)

From The Daily Mail:

His band The Beatles are arguably the most famous musical group of all time.

But on Tuesday night, Paul McCartney was more about the grasshoppers as he found his stage invaded by a swarm of the insects during a concert in Goiania, Brazil.

The 70-year-old musician was forced to complete his three-hour performance as clouds of the Esperanca Grilo creatures buzzed around him.

However, animal-lover Macca appeared unfazed by the stage intrusion as he pushed through and delighted the 47,000 crowd with his songs.

Sir Paul even introduced one of the little grasshoppers as Harold during a performance of hit song Hey Jude.

As he sang the track, Sir Paul turned to Harold as he sang the words 'the movement you need is on your shoulder', adding 'it certainly is now'.

Paul's "Out There" playlist

When a Beatles song is played live for the first time, it's no minor event. Last Saturday, at the kickoff to his "Out There" world tour in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, Paul debuted not just one but four: "All Together Now," "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!," (a curious choice, no?*) "Lovely Rita," and "Your Mother Should Know." Also included on the setlist were "Eight Days a Week," which The Beatles performed live just once back in 1965, and "Another Day" (Paul's solo-years answer to "Eleanor Rigby"), which had been absent from his concert repertoire since 1993. Kudos for the variety, Sir Macca.

*I say this because 1) the lumpy and un-melodic "Kite!" isn't exactly begging for a live treatment; and 2) While Paul occasionally performs material written by other Beatles (in this instance, John), it's usually done explicitly as a tribute, and that doesn't seem to be the case here.

"Eight Days a Week"

Recently in Beatles history

Momentous occasions of late. Last Thursday, February 7th, was the 49th anniversary of The Beatles' arrival in America. With "I Want to Hold Your Hand" atop U.S. charts, the band felt poised for a takeover. The British Invasion was officially underway.

Here's a snippet of the press conference The Beatles did that day at JFK Airport in New York.

Just a bunch of wise guys...

Two days later, The Beatles appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show and changed everything. Below you'll find the full five song performance, which really is something special. There's a joyful magnetism about the band's presence; it's hard not to stare, smile helplessly and be transported, as surely happened with most of the crowd.

Today in Beatles history: "I hope we passed the audition"

It's among the most iconic moments in Beatles history: the rooftop concert. Around noon on January 30, 1969, The Beatles made their way - without advance public notice or police permission - to the top of the Apple building at 3 Savile Row and staged their final live performance. Bundled up due to the cold, blustery conditions, the band, along with keyboardist Billy Preston, debuted songs from the "Get Back"/"Let It Be" sessions, including "Get Back," "Don't Let Me Down" and "I've Got a Feeling." With a film crew on hand, the performance was to serve as the climax of the Let It Be documentary, which - when completed - showed The Beatles in disarray and hurtling toward a nasty divorce. So part of what makes the rooftop concert such a pleasure is that, if only briefly, the band swapped bitterness for fun - boyish, mischievous fun rooted in the thrill of live rock 'n' roll performance. They ad-libbed during songs, they cracked jokes between songs and they practically begged the police, who eventually shut down the gig because of crowds that had gathered, to arrest them. (What a finale that would have been.) Even better, they visibly enjoyed each other's company. I'm thinking of a moment during "Don't Let Me Down." Midway through the song, after John blanks on a line and really hams it up, he looks to Paul for guidance. Facing one another, the two deliver the next line accurately and then exchange smiles that seem to reflect the many years of shared history between them. Even near the end, even amidst severe infighting, the Fabs could still bring out the best in each other. And I would add that, after the joyless process of recording Let It Be, they owed themselves the rooftop concert. A bright spot in stormy times.

Part 1:

Part 2

"The Greatest Rock Spectacle of the Decade"

When I last wrote about the Concert for Bangladesh, I had this to say:

One of the central pleasures of the concert (as shown on the 2005 DVD) is that, notwithstanding the handful of rock 'n' roll powerhouses and living legends that participated, it was the well-regarded but still second-fiddle keyboardist Billy Preston who completely stole the show. In my view, his soulful rendering of "That's the Way God Planned It" and the animated, loose-limbed boogieing that he punctuates the song with outshine the two ex-Beatles' handiwork, Eric Clapton's unrehearsed guitar-playing, and Bob Dylan's mini-set. Preston's stage presence is truly radiant and even has an unmissable spiritual flair. There's also a lot of simple charm in the spontaneous feel of his performance. In sum, it's the most memorable moment of a concert not lacking in talent-heavy highlights.

After watching the film again, I thought I should go into greater detail. It deserves better.

Because the Concert became a template for future pop charity events like Live Aid and Farm Aid, it can be easy to focus on the significance of its legacy and lose sight of how incredible it was simply as a rock 'n' roll concert(s)*. No single performance is as memorable as "That's the Way God Planned It," but there isn't a bad apple among the whole batch. Every song delivers.

George and his super-group opened the show with three songs from All Things Must Pass: "Wah-Wah," "My Sweet Lord" and "Awaiting on You All." That's three Walls of Sound played live at Madison Square Garden. A perfect fit, as it turned out. Freed from the confines of the studio, the songs don't suffer from that gauzy, boxed-in quality that Phil Spector lathered all over his productions. These are the IMAX versions, exploding with bold color and a sonic hugeness that works much better live than on record. "Wah-Wah" in particular is a revelation. Next was "That's the Way God Planned It," which was followed by Ringo's star turn, "It Don't Come Easy." Ringo being Ringo, it's a perky, crowd-pleasing performance. Then came two more cuts from George: "Beware of Darkness," which features Leon Russell as a guest vocalist, and "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," which teams George with Eric Clapton on lead guitar. Because of his crippling heroin addiction at the time, Clapton wasn't expected to show. Only with the aid of methadone did he find himself able to function (and not all that well). Apart from the Clapton drama, the performance is noteworthy because it was the first time that "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" had ever been done live (the same was true for "Here Comes the Sun" and "Something," which came later). Next was Leon Russell's change-of-pace medley of "Jumpin' Jack Flash" and "Young Blood"; then George's delicate, stripped down rendition of "Here Comes the Sun"; and then the surprise of the night: Bob Dylan. Dylan hadn't been onstage in several years, and George had serious doubts he would make it. Though a nervous wreck, he did show, and the crowd received him rapturously. As depicted on the film, Dylan played "A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall," "It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry," "Blowin' in the Wind" and "Just Like a Woman." In that brief moment, the spirit of Sixties idealism was revived. Finally, once Dylan wrapped up, George returned to the mic and closed the show with "Something" and "Bangla Desh," which was the first charity single in pop music history. It was a day of many firsts.

Again, what a collection of songs. And, just as much, what a collection of musicians: George, Ringo, Clapton, Dylan, Ravi Shankar**, Billy Preston, Klaus Voorman, Leon Russell, Jim Keltner, Jesse Ed Davis, Badfinger, and more. That's an embarrassment of riches. George had cultivated many strong relationships over the years, and the Concert testified to how well-regarded he was. It was an event rooted in friendship.

Of course, a few of George's closest friends from the near past were conspicuously absent. In the early stages of planning, John expressed interest in playing, but he later backed out. George had stipulated that Yoko could not be involved, which apparently led to a dispute between her and John. After the Concert, the excuse John gave for his absence was that he had been on vacation in the Virgin Islands at the time. Paul, on the other hand, was a firm no from the start. He said that too much bad blood remained from the breakup. He couldn't stomach the thought of working alongside Allen Klein in any capacity.

In the end, it didn't matter. As with All Things Must Pass, the Concert for Bangladesh was George's moment to shine. To this day, it's still a major part of his legacy. The Concert started out as a noble cause but became a landmark event thanks to those superlative musicians and those classic songs.

* - The Concert actually consisted of two installments, but the film combined them into one.

** - I apologize for ignoring Shankar and the Indian music set. It holds little interest for me. I appreciate the craft but don't care for the creation.

Weekend happenings

This past Saturday, I saw the Walkmen in concert at "the house that Prince built." Superb show. The Walkmen are among my favorite American bands, and they happen to have an interesting tie-in with The Beatles. In 2006, they put out a song-for-song re-creation of Harry Nilsson's 1974 album Pussy Cats, which was produced by John during his debaucherous but fertile "Lost Weekend." Ringo, a close friend of Nilsson's, contributed as well; he was one of the featured drummers. Furthermore, as stated on Wikipedia, "On the first night of recording, March 28 (1974), Paul McCartney popped into the studio unexpectedly. Bootleg recordings from this session were later released as the album A Toot and a Snore in ’74." All told, the original Pussy Cats is smeared with The Beatles' fingerprints. In fact, John co-wrote my favorite song on the album, "Mucho Mungo," which I described here as a "shimmering coral treat." If you go here, you'll find two versions of the song: one by Nilsson and one by John. Below is the Walkmen's faithful cover.

(If the video is removed, go here.)

. . .

Then on Sunday, I watched The Last Waltz, Martin Scorsese's renowned rock doc about The Band and their farewell concert, which took place on Thanksgiving Day, 1976. Included in the large number of special guests who performed at the show was Ringo. He played drums on Bob Dylan's "I Shall Be Released" (see below) and took part in a jam session that, frankly, didn't suit his style at all. Ringo wasn't the improvisational, soloing type. He was more of a minimalist who thrived in the controlled environment of a studio.

(If the video is removed, go here.)

Paul in Cincinnati (8/4)

Via Cincinnati.com:

Julie Lyle was 10 years old in 1964 when she won tickets from WSAI-AM to see the Beatles at Cincinnati Gardens. Unfortunately her mother wasn’t about to let the pre-teen go to the show, so she had to give them to her sister, Nancy, who was 15.

“I had to wait 47 years,” said Lyle, who sat on her screened-in porch on Alta Vista Avenue in Cheviot with a transistor radio next to her ear listening to DJ Dusty Rhodes. “I have a memory. You better believe we’ve discussed it over the years.”

Apparently the wait was worth it.

"Oh my God, I teared up, then I calmed down, then he played ‘The Night Before,’ then ‘Maybe I'm Amazed’ and I lost it again,” said Lyle, who went with her daughter Liz. “He's wearing the old shoes he used to wear with the Beatles. I can't get over this.”

McCartney was indeed wearing Beatle boots, with a red sport coat (“Good evening, Cincinnati. Dig the jacket; home of the Reds.”).

Paul in Chicago (7/31)

From Greg Kot of the Chicago Tribune:
The takeaway moment for this concertgoer was “Maybe I’m Amazed,” with McCartney at the grand piano, bringing the song to a simmer and then taking it higher and harder, with some improbable falsetto notes. The beat at times suggested the sunniness of reggae, with rhythm guitar chopping against the melody, before a flourish of drums and McCartney's fevered vocal nearly tore the song loose from its foundation.

Today in (post) Beatles history

Today is the 40th anniversary of George's star-studded and precedent-setting Concert for Bangladesh, which took place at Madison Square Garden in response to a humanitarian crisis in Asia. Read about the legacy of the event below.

- From The Guardian:
"It was uncharted territory, the scale of it," says Jonathan Clyde, of Apple (the Beatles' company, not the tech company), who oversees the Concert's legacy, alongside Harrison's widow, Olivia. "The money did eventually reach Bangladesh, although perhaps not in time to help the refugees at that point. The big mistake was that Unicef wasn't chosen beforehand, and so the IRS [the US tax service] took the view that because the charity wasn't involved in the mounting of the concert, they'd take their cut. This distressed George hugely, it really angered him. There was an ongoing tussle for years, but I'm afraid even now the IRS still take their slice."

Many of these lessons have been learned by those seeking to replicate Harrison's pioneering work, but raising cash through making music remains oddly inefficient.

- From CBS News:
That day - almost 40 years ago - Harrison and his friends helped put Bangladesh on the map. What's more - they gave musicians a new way to give back.

"The template was set by Bangladesh," DeCurtis said. "It becomes sort of the emotional backdrop I think for, you know, Live Aid and all the other concerts that have come over these few decades."

- Finally, here's a short post I wrote about the concert (which, by the way, is still streaming on George's official website).

Paul to play 2012 Olympics?

The report is that Paul has agreed to perform at the opening ceremony for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

Excerpt:
Sir Paul told Olympic organisers he's "up for" doing the show but detailed plans and choice of songs have yet to be finalised.

The Rolling Stones reportedly declined an offer to perform and Led Zeppelin are also said to be staying away after frontman Robert Plant said he was not interested.

A music industry source told the Daily Mirror: "The hope was to have the cream of British music all in the line up but it now looks like Macca will be joined by some younger stars on stage.

Paul in Montreal (7/26 and 7/27)

From The Montreal Gazette.

Night one:
McCartney’s band has been working with him for 10 years – longer than the Beatles (at least with Ringo Starr) were together. Bassist Brian Ray, guitarist Rusty Anderson, drummer Abe Loboriel, Jr., and keyboard player Paul “Wix” Wickens are as comfortable rocking up Birthday and Back In the U.S.S.R as they are providing the wordless, note-perfect harmonies in Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five or the Frere Jacques background vocals in Paperback Writer. And never do they stray far from the studio recordings. I’m Looking Through You, for example, sounded almost as sweet and breezy as its Rubber Soul source.

Night two:
But the second show was more satisfying for me because it was my good fortune to see it almost like a fan, without deadline worries, constant note-taking or non-stop thinking about what needed to be mentioned in the review. During Live and Let Die, I even allowed myself the luxury of a weird hallucinatory take on the stage action. As fireworks went off al over the place and plumes of fire shot up in front and back of the stage, a grinning McCartney looked as if he was gleefully playing through the apocalypse.

And the image made a lot of sense. There are many who find themselves in times of trouble and discover that it`s not Mother Mary, but Father McCartney – that was to be the priest`s name in Eleanor Rigby – who brings, if not the words of wisdom, then the notes that soothe their soul. It`s been a constant comfort for many in crisis. You can ask the 34,000 people who sang, shouted, clapped, beamed and cried their way through a pair of three-hour sets over the two nights.

Paul's cover of "Hitch Hike" by Marvin Gaye

It's from his performance over the weekend in Detroit.



(If the video is removed, go here.)

Paul in Detroit (7/24)

A recap of last night's concert at Comerica Park from the Detroit Free Press.

Excerpt:
With a mix of enthusiasm and reverence, he talked about his visit to the Motown Historical Museum — the former studio complex on West Grand Boulevard that he called “the holy grail.” (He’d spent about two hours there today, according to a museum official.)

“That took me back,” he said, going on to recall his younger years studying Motown records to learn parts. He and his band then launched into a lively cover of Marvin Gaye’s “Hitch Hike,” picked “especially for Detroit,” McCartney said.

Paul in NYC (7/15)

Here's a recap of Paul's performance from the New York Times.

Excerpt:
As always, melody let Mr. McCartney put across musical and verbal non sequiturs few other songwriters could get away with: songs such as “Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five,” with its sudden interlude of Beach Boys harmony, or “Let ‘Em In,” which switches from piano bounce to military tattoo, with whistling, and has lyrics that juxtapose Martin Luther and Phil and Don (the Everly Brothers?). Melody easily carried Mr. McCartney through idiom after idiom: toe-tapping country in “I’ve Just Seen a Face,” hard rock in “Helter Skelter,” lilting ballad in “I Will,” something like ska in “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” and the quasi-Slavic oompah in “Mrs. Vandebilt” (Mr. McCartney announced that they loved it in Ukraine).

Macca at Yankee Stadium tonight...

... and to mark the occasion, the New York Times published a meandering but not un-interesting piece about Paul, stadium rock, and baseball.

Excerpt:
In a way the Beatles and stadium rock stumbled into each other unprepared. The Beatles, at the time, were using amplifiers less powerful than those in most people’s living room stereo systems today. And stadium public-address systems were designed for announcements and a bit of organ music, not for the pounding beat and rich instrumental textures of a rock band. Not that it mattered in the Beatles’ case: all that could be heard was the shrill roar of 56,000 screeching fans, and better amplification would hardly have helped. But a great deal of technical innovation was required before stadium shows could be regarded as anything like artistic experiences, let alone the gargantuan, carefully choreographed audio-video productions they are today.

"On the Run" tour update

Via Pitchfork, here are the shows Paul has scheduled for his upcoming tour:

07-15 New York, NY - Yankee Stadium
07-16 New York, NY - Yankee Stadium
07-24 Detroit, MI - Comerica Park
07-26 Montreal, Quebec - Bell Center
07-27 Montreal, Quebec - Bell Center
07-31 Chicago, IL - Wrigley Field
08-01 Chicago, IL - Wrigley Field
08-04 Cincinnati, OH - The Great American Ball Park

Fight to save Ringo's birthplace continues

The latest development in this prolonged, acrimonious saga is that the Liverpool City Council will soon carry out an Environmental Impact Assessment on the group of homes that includes Ringo's birthplace.

Excerpt:
But following an application by campaign group SAVE Britain's Heritage, Mr Pickles has decided that a full assessment will be carried out on the 271 homes in the Welsh Streets.

It means other options, including renovation and refurbishment, will be considered in determining the fate of the Fab Four drummer's childhood home.


In other news, Ringo recently performed at the Empire Theater in Liverpool with his All-Starr Band.

Details on Paul's "On the Run" tour

A handful of American shows have been announced/discussed for Macca's latest tour.

Excerpt:
Paul McCartney 2011 Tour Dates:
07/15 – Bronx, NY @ Yankee Stadium
07/16 – Bronx, NY @ Yankee Stadium
07/24 – Detroit, MI @ Comerica Park
07/26 – Montreal, QC @ Bell Centre
07/31 – Chicago, IL @ Wrigley Field
08/01 – Chicago, IL @ Wrigley Field *
08/04 – Cincinnati, OH @ The Great American Ball Park
09/01 – Minneapolis, MN @ Target Field *

* = Date not yet official