Paul McCartney at London’s O2 Arena
Last Sunday, I was at London’s O2 Arena for the final show of Paul McCartney’s Freshen Up Tour.
We got the tickets ages ago and heard from many dubious people not to bother seeing the show as people said his voice “was gone”. In the end, I’m really glad we didn’t listen because the whole performance from start to finish was f’cking awesome.
Maybe Paul isn’t belting it out like before, but let me tell you – he was far from a disappointment. He performed for over three hours…singing, whistling, and playing a variety of instruments (bass, acoustic, piano, and ukulele), as he took mini-breaks to tell stories. As you can well imagine, Sir Paul has some pretty great stories!
He talked about finding inspiration for songs and told stories about the early days of being a Beatle. He paid tribute to John Lennon, George Harrison, and even Jimi Hendrix. He played to the audience like we were sitting in his living room and worked for the crowd with the ease of a true legend.
Although he was promoting his recent album, Egypt Station, he played loads of Beatles songs and I have to say I could hardly wipe the smile away. The songs are timeless, the music is catchy and the lyrics (many) are powerful.
They opened with “Hard Days Night”, and followed with many other classics:
- “Love Me Do”
- “Can’t Buy Me Love”
- “Baby I’m Amazed”
- “From Me To You”
- “Hey Jude”
- “Blackbird”
- “Eleanor Rigby”
- “Let it Be”
And a ton more. But the big surprise of the night was when Ringo Starr and Ronnie Wood took the stage to perform “Get Back” with Paul and the band.
We had no idea that we would be privy to a mini Beatles reunion, and a Stone taking the stage. So that was extra cool.
His current band is not too shabby. The drummer (Abe Laboriel Jr.) is a riot and a big personality on stage. There are three cute horn players that pop up in the audience and groove on stage as well. Plus a strong support from the guitarists.
On reflection, I hope my kids know how lucky they were to see Paul McCartney live in London and to watch him perform: “Let it Be”. Not to mention seeing the remaining half of the Beatles on stage together. It was definitely an aha moment that will linger with me.
There are already concert dates set up for North America in 2019. Go and you can take the kids to this one….or not.
What was your favorite concert? Who are you seeing next?
Thanks for reading!
Much LOVE, Kate. x
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I’m so glad you took the kids! Had you prepped them by listening to the Beatles for a month?>