muscatinejournal.com
FRESHEN UP TOUR
'Maybe I'm amazed': Sir Paul McCartney wows the Quad-Cities
Alma Gaul
Jun 11, 2019
Updated Jun 12, 2019
Rock music legend Sir Paul McCartney performs at the TaxSlayer Center in Moline, Tuesday. McCartney made his first visit to the Quad-Cities as a part of the Freshen Up Tour.
Andy Abeyta
With the opening riff of “Hard Day’s Night” at about 8:15 p.m. Tuesday, Paul McCartney had his sold out audience of about 11,000 on its feet and singing along, the start of a rollicking good time at Moline’s TaxSlayer Center that was expected to last until nearly midnight.
As video and spectacular lighting played around him, McCartney performed a couple of songs from his latest album, “Egypt Station,” then returned to more familiar and beloved territory with “All My Lovin’” and “Got to Get You Into My Life.”
Doors to the center opened at 6:30 p.m., and it took a full hour-and-a-half to get everyone inside, with security personnel and tour employees with British accents advising people of where to go for the shortest wait.
“Ladies and gents, there’s four gates, no queues, straight up the ramp please.”
As for the crowds, if you’ve ever watched the start of the Quad-City Times Bix 7, with thousands of runners weaving and bobbing up Brady Street hill, then you have a pretty good idea of how the lines waiting to get into the TaxSlayer looked from the doors.
People were lined up politely, as though by some invisible rope, in both directions for as far as the eye could see. The line stretched down along River Drive east to 15th Street and the parking lot east of the Radisson, snaking back to the ramp leading to Arsenal Island. And, on the other side, along River Drive west to 12th Street, then back into the arena parking lot.
A security guard observed that the weather — not too hot, not too cold and finally not raining — helped keep people in a good mood.
Who were all these people?
They were people such as Linda Alexander, of Clinton, and her cousin Barb Wingler, of Rock Island, who wore T-shirts saying, “I’ve seen the Beatles Live on Stage and I’m Still Around to Brag About It.” The lucky pair had tickets to the 1965 concert at Chicago’s Comisky Park, which, as they recalled, cost $5 and were for general admission seating.
“Everybody screamed,” Wingler said. “Except the guys. They just stood up and made fun of everybody who screamed.”
They were people such as Janis Shannon and her daughter, Julie Greene, of Galesburg, who could have snagged a prize for most detailed Beatles attire with Shannon’s jean jacket filled with Beatles patches and her tennis shoes that said “The Beatles” on the back tag where the manufacturer’s name normally is placed. Greene won her tickets for the concert from a Quad-City radio station by correctly identifying tiny snippets of five McCartney songs.
“You should have heard her scream,” Shannon said.
Not to be outdone in the T-shirt area was Debbi Elderton, of Springfield, Illinois, wearing a shirt announcing that she, too, had seen the Beatles in Comisky Park and — on the back — “I bet Paul still remembers me!” Her daughter, Lucinda Hany, raised the ante with a shirt saying “Conceived by Beatles Music” and “Thank God for Paul and the Guys.”
Loran and Kathy Gerling, of Burlington, managed to snap a photo of McCartney waving from the open window of his SUV as he was chauffeured into the arena at 4:24 p.m. The Gerlings received their tickets as a Christmas present from their children.
Bobby Schneeberger, of Clinton, wore a shirt saying, “I may be old but I got to see all the good bands.” He and his wife Kristy said they have seen more than 40 great bands of the Baby Boomer era, with the Rolling Stones coming up later this month at Soldier Field.
Others in the crowd had seen McCartney previously, including Rick Owens, who flew in from Steamboat Springs, Colorado, to see the knighted one for the seventh time. Owens wore a T-shirt from The Cavern Club in Liverpool, where the Beatles got their start. Has he been to the Cavern Club? “No, but the shirt has,” he said, explaining that it was a gift.
While the vast majority of concert-goers were Boomers — wheelchairs and canes were not uncommon and one woman was using oxygen — there also was a smattering of young people.
Among them was Ian Isely, 18, of Rockford, who was attending his first concert ever. Wearing a George Harrison T-shirt, he said he likes all the Beatles’ work, and he liked Harrison, who died of cancer in 2001, for his solo work and his “spiritual way of making a song.” Then Isely observed: “I smell pot.”
The first people to arrive at the arena began sitting on the steps around 5 p.m., taking photos of the “Welcome to Moline Paul” banner with his photo.
When the lines finally began moving into the arena at around 6:30 p.m., security staff advised them to form multiple lines. “Purses open, bags open, everything out of your pockets. You will be scanned. No guns, knives or weapons of any kind. If you have a pocket knife, take it back to your car.”
As the last straggled in from downtown restaurants — not unlike the last walkers at the Bix — a woman standing on the street with the sign “Jesus Loves You. Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!” turned and went her way.
The streets were empty. The show was about to begin.
GALLERY
Rock music legend Sir Paul McCartney gestures to the crowd to start his show Tuesday at the TaxSlayer Center in Moline.
Andy Abeyta
Fans cheer for rock music legend Sir Paul McCartney during his show at the TaxSlayer Center in Moline, Tuesday, June 11, 2019. McCartney made his first visit to the Quad-Cities as a part of the Freshen Up Tour.
Andy Abeyta
Rock music legend Sir Paul McCartney makes his entrance onto the stage to start his show at the TaxSlayer Center in Moline, Tuesday. McCartney made his first visit to the Quad-Cities as a part of the Freshen Up Tour.
Andy Abeyta
Rock music legend Sir Paul McCartney performs during his show at the TaxSlayer Center in Moline, Tuesday, June 11, 2019. McCartney made his first visit to the Quad-Cities as a part of the Freshen Up Tour.
Andy Abeyta
Rock music legend Sir Paul McCartney performs at the TaxSlayer Center in Moline, Tuesday, June 11, 2019. McCartney made his first visit to the Quad-Cities as a part of the Freshen Up Tour.
Andy Abeyta
Rock music legend Sir Paul McCartney performs at the TaxSlayer Center in Moline, Tuesday. McCartney made his first visit to the Quad-Cities as a part of the Freshen Up Tour.
Andy Abeyta
Rock music legend Sir Paul McCartney performs at the TaxSlayer Center in Moline, Tuesday, June 11, 2019.
Andy Abeyta
Rock music legend Sir Paul McCartney performs for the Quad-Cities for the first time on his Freshen Up Tour.
Andy Abeyta
Rock music legend Sir Paul McCartney waves to the crowd at the TaxSlayer Center in Moline, Tuesday, June 11, 2019.
Andy Abeyta
Rock music legend Sir Paul McCartney gives a thumbs up to the crowd before starting his show at the TaxSlayer Center in Moline, Tuesday, June 11, 2019.
Andy Abeyta
Rock music legend Sir Paul McCartney gestures to the crowd to start his show Tuesday at the TaxSlayer Center in Moline.
Andy Abeyta
Rock music legend Sir Paul McCartney performs at the TaxSlayer Center in Moline, Tuesday, June 11, 2019.
Andy Abeyta
Rock music legend Sir Paul McCartney performs at the TaxSlayer Center in Moline, Tuesday, June 11, 2019.
Andy Abeyta
Rock music legend Sir Paul McCartney performs at the TaxSlayer Center in Moline, Tuesday, June 11, 2019.
Andy Abeyta
Rock music legend Sir Paul McCartney performs at the TaxSlayer Center in Moline, Tuesday, June 11, 2019.
Andy Abeyta
Rock music legend Sir Paul McCartney performs at the TaxSlayer Center in Moline, Tuesday, June 11, 2019.
Andy Abeyta
Rock music legend Sir Paul McCartney performs at the TaxSlayer Center in Moline, Tuesday, June 11, 2019.
Andy Abeyta
Rock music legend Sir Paul McCartney performs at the TaxSlayer Center in Moline, Tuesday, June 11, 2019.
Andy Abeyta
Rock music legend Sir Paul McCartney performs at the TaxSlayer Center in Moline, Tuesday, June 11, 2019.
Andy Abeyta
Rock music legend Sir Paul McCartney performs at the TaxSlayer Center in Moline, Tuesday, June 11, 2019.
Andy Abeyta
Rock music legend Sir Paul McCartney performs at the TaxSlayer Center in Moline, Tuesday, June 11, 2019.
Andy Abeyta
Rock music legend Sir Paul McCartney performs at the TaxSlayer Center in Moline, Tuesday, June 11, 2019.
Andy Abeyta
Rock music legend Sir Paul McCartney performs at the TaxSlayer Center in Moline, Tuesday, June 11, 2019.
Andy Abeyta
Rock music legend Sir Paul McCartney performs at the TaxSlayer Center in Moline, Tuesday, June 11, 2019.
Andy Abeyta
Rock music legend Sir Paul McCartney performs at the TaxSlayer Center in Moline, Tuesday, June 11, 2019.
Andy Abeyta
Rock music legend Sir Paul McCartney performs at the TaxSlayer Center in Moline, Tuesday, June 11, 2019.
Andy Abeyta
www.thegazette.com
McCartney mania: The former Beatle gives wing to his soaring talent in Moline
Diana Nollen Tue., June 11, 2019
Sir Paul McCartney kicks things off with the classic "A Hard Day's Night" Tuesday night. (Diana Nollen, the Gazette)
MOLINE, Ill. — Move over, Sir Rod Stewart. It’s a new day for a new knight atop my “best concert ever” pedestal.
No one will ever come close to toppling Sir Paul McCartney from my personal pinnacle.
I’ve never heard anyone play 38 songs in concert, nonstop, for three solid hours. And on Tuesday, the man, the myth, the legend will be 77 years old. You’d never guess it.
With those dreamy eyes and that boyish grin, “the cute Beatle” charmed a screaming, multigenerational throng at the TaxSlayer Center in Moline with three hours of monster music and a few sweet stories sprinkled here and there.
Pardon me while I fangirl, but you see, Sir Paul and I go back 56 years. I fell in love with him as only a 5-year-old can when her parents let her stay up to watch The Beatles on “The Ed Sullivan Show.” Her grown-up self clearly hasn’t outgrown him, as she let down her professional guard to scream and sing and dance as only one can when squished among a wall-to-wall crowd of fans screaming, singing and dancing.
Every song was greeted with the same enthusiasm at the downbeat, whether it was a hit for The Beatles or for Wings. His new music off the recently released “Egypt Station” album is just as captivating — especially “My Valentine,” a melty, romantic swoon to his wife, Nancy, who was sitting front and center in Moline.
From the opening strains of “A Hard Day’s Night,” it’s obvious he’s still working like a dog, but I’m confident we made him feel all right. Naturally, he surrounds himself with top-notch talent, bringing in a horn trio to light the torches behind drums, keyboards (electric and accordion), guitars and McCartney’s own musical menagerie of bass, acoustic and electric guitars, mandolin, and spinet and grand pianos.
The horns set the songs on fire. One minute they were onstage, looking all sharp and polished, moving in sync. And the next, they were out in the audience, jamming in the first-tier aisles on “All My Lovin.’” The combination of blistering trumpet, blazing trombone and rotating saxes added sparks and sparkle throughout the show.
Vintage photographs and trippy videos danced across the screens above, behind and flanking the stage. But always, the focus was on the music and on the fans, reveling in the evening’s reciprocal love-in.
Perhaps the most amazing aspect of the event — and it was an event — was McCartney’s vocal stamina. A lesser musician would have front-loaded the concert with the songs that showcased his soaring tenor. Not Sir Paul. He saved “Hey Jude” for number 32. He scaled the Mount Everest of his range to wail on top before returning for six — SIX — finale numbers.
It’s impossible to choose favorite moments from the show, but here are some highlights:
- The hooky new song with the driving beat, “Come On to Me,” which fans heard during McCartney’s epic “Carpool Karaoke” with James Corden.
- The full-throttle rock of “I’ve Got a Feeling.”
- McCartney’s whistling on “Let ‘em In,” the Wings hit that also really showcased his fine vocal form early in the evening.
- The sheer beauty and simplicity of “Maybe I’m Amazed.”
- The folkie “skiffle” edge of “In Spite of all the Danger,” his first recording with his first band with then-teenagers John Lennon and George Harrison, “The Quarrymen.”
- Drummer Abe Laboriel Jr.’s goofy moves on “Dance Tonight,” from the Sprinkler and the Twist to a little Vogueing — to lighten things up and further pump up the crowd.
- The simplicity of McCartney in the solo spot for “Blackbird,” performing atop a section of the stage that rose sky-high, with a globe projected on the front screen, so that it looked like he was on top of the world. I know we were.
- The sorrow of “Here Today,” which he wrote after Lennon’s death, in the form of one last conversation he wished they could have had. “If you need to say something, get it said,” he told the hushed crowd.
- McCartney at the piano, worshipping full tilt with horns a-blazing to “Lady Madonna,” flowing right into “Eleanor Rigby.”
- His tribute to George Harrison, relating how they once jammed to “Something” on two of the late great artist’s ukuleles — including the one McCartney played for us, spinning that gorgeous song into another dimension before guitarist Rusty Anderson kicked it back to an electrifying familiarity.
- The official audience singalong on “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da.” We were in fine voice, too.
- “Band on the Run” and “Back in the “U.S.S.R.,” two kickin tunes from two different bands in two different eras — the first from Wings in 1973, the latter from The Beatles in 1968 — complete with hilarious tales of playing “U.S.S.R.” twice in the same concert in Moscow, the first rock concert held in Red Square.
- The nonstop, heat-throwing, eye-dazzling pyrotechnics of “Live and Let Die,” the James Bond theme that rocks as hard today as in 1972, when it topped the charts for Wings.
- The many faces of the six encores, from the raucous “Birthday,” groovy “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” and wild “Helter Skelter” to the lullaby of “Golden Slumbers,” “Carry that Weight” and “The End.”
What an amazing, once-in-a-lifetime event. My 5-year-old self was transported, beginning to end.
qctimes.com
In Moline, McCartney offered a diverse, dazzlingly spectacular show
JONATHAN TURNER
Jun 12, 2019
MOLINE – Paul McCartney is the polar opposite of a one-hit wonder. With a mind-blowing 60-year performing career under his belt, the near 77-year-old is, obviously, a wonder.
But choosing a set list for his live shows must be an exquisitely agonizing challenge. If the former Beatle unleashed even half of his hits over the decades, Tuesday night's historic concert at the TaxSlayer Center could have easily stretched well into Wednesday.
McCartney's first – and possibly last – show in the Quad-Cities offered a phenomenally generous catalog of old and newer classics, as well as a handful of sturdy, youthfully boisterous numbers from his most recent studio releases. But, as most of the packed Moline arena's crowd would likely have preferred, 22 of the three-hour evening's 38 songs were from his Beatles days – including a rare performance of the Quarrymen's first demo, 1958's “In Spite of All the Danger” (made with George Harrison and John Lennon).
There was something for everyone in the amazingly diverse, ecstatic concert. Though Paul started a bit later than the scheduled go time, the deafening standing ovation he got at the outset kept the appreciative audience on its feet virtually the entire night. The iconic opening chord for the first song, “A Hard Day's Night” set the pace, as it was one of many the crowd loved singing along with.
The heartstrings of nostalgia were expertly plucked, including video snippets of Beatlemania, accompanying “All My Loving.” As the frantic, joyous young girls screamed on screen, an older woman close to that age in 1964 screamed behind me, as if on cue.
I'm a newcomer to McCartney concerts, so I'm not sure if he's usually like this, but he definitely was in a chatty mood Tuesday, supplying many fond memories of stories behind some songs. For his “Who Cares,” from 2018's “Egypt Station,” he related he wrote it to ease the struggles of those who are bullied.
In one of several jaw-dropping moments during the show, Paul first explained how he wrote the Beatles' “Blackbird” in honor of African-Americans struggling for civil rights in the '60s. Alone with his acoustic guitar, McCartney literally flew way up high as most of the stage ascended and on a screen in front of that piece was displayed an image of the Earth with stars.
Up there, he also sang his touching 1982 tribute to Lennon (after his 1980 slaying), “Here Today,” imploring the audience not to wait to tell loved ones how they feel. In his lyrics was a conversation he said he never got to have with John.
The master of many instruments, Paul seamlessly switched among them throughout the intermission-less night – from his trademark bass, to acoustic guitar, to mandolin (for “Dance Tonight”), to ukulele (for Harrison's “Something”) to piano – on several standouts, including “Maybe I'm Amazed,” “Lady Madonna,” “Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five” and “Let It Be.”
His tight three-man horn section – saxophone, trumpet and trombone – was highlighted to wonderful effect on certain songs, including “Got to Get You Into My Life,” “Letting Go,” and “Let 'Em In.” During McCartney's lovely “My Valentine,” which he dedicated to his wife, Nancy, who he said was in the audience, a black-and-white video played of Natalie Portman and Johnny Depp signing the words, and the live video of Paul also was shown in black and white.
Technically, the spectacular lighting, video and other special effects were the most impressive of pretty much any show I've seen at the arena. The innovation, creativity and dazzling variety of the video and lighting were just awe-inspiring.
The breathtaking highlight in that regard was “Live and Let Die,” the James Bond theme McCartney also sang from the piano. I've never seen KISS live, and I know they go all out in their stage show, but here there literally were fireworks over the stage in the uptempo, orchestral sections of the song, as well as explosions and flying flames. There are no words to do justice to the pyrotechnic wonders of that gonzo display.
Drummer "Abe" Laboriel Jr. was a consistently fun man to watch, as he was clearly having a blast during the whole show. “Dance Tonight” featured him hamming it up big time, as he did silly dances and mugged for the video camera.
As many McCartney fans have seen him many times, he mentioned at one point the frequency of people holding up signs, and Moline was no exception. He read a few, which included “Hi Paul, You Are Our Summer Vacation,” and “Will Trade My Mom for an Autograph.”
Among many full-throated singalongs, the best included “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da,” and the beloved “Hey Jude,” both of which Paul carved out sections for the audience to sing by itself. In the latter, the big video screen panned over sections of the crowd, and people seemed in heaven, with big smiles.
Axge certainly hasn't slowed or dimmed the ferocity of the cute Beatles' propensity for rocking, as he tore through blistering versions of “Save Us,” “Fuh You,” “Back in the U.S.S.R.,” “Birthday” and “Helter Skelter.” Even the Beatles' “I've Got a Feeling” had tremendous energy and drive. We know he's still got a sex drive, with 2018's come-hither “Come On To Me.”
Tuesday night was one for the memory books, and I'm certain Q-C music fans will treasure and recall it for years to come. Like “Hard Day's Night” exclaims, the things Paul did made us feel alright.
http://illinoisentertainer.com/
Live Review and Photo Gallery: Paul McCartney at The TaxSlayer Center Moline, IL
Brassneck
Illinois Entertainer
June 13, 2019
Paul McCartney
TaxSlayer Center
Moline
Tuesday, June 11, 2019
If there’s anyone on earth who could kick up their feet and collect royalty checks until kingdom come, it’s Paul McCartney, who besides flying high with Wings and steadily cranking out solo material or duets with everyone from his late frenemy Michael Jackson to current conquerors Kanye West and Rihanna, was of course a primary songwriting partner in the British Invasion’s primary torchbearers. And even though he continues to crank out respectable studio showings up through 2018’s Egypt Station, the surrounding “Freshen Up” Tour provides a more than generous overview that goes back further than The Beatles.
Actually, it was The Fab Four’s “A Hard Day’s Night” that joyfully jumpstarted a sold out evening at the TaxSlayer Center, foreshadowing the type of work ethic that would fuel three hours filled with nearly 40 non-stop tunes. It would’ve been an impressive feat for absolutely anyone and was all the more unfathomable for someone about to turn 77, but then again, this is Paul McCartney we’re talking about and he’s arguably the most impenetrable rock star to ever occupy earth.
Despite all that fame and status, Sir Paul was always happy to oblige with the oldies (“Can’t Buy Me Love,” “Got To Get You Into My Life,” “Let Me Roll It”) and sneak in a handful of his strongest newer cuts (“Save Us,” “Who Cares,” “Come On To Me”), all while carrying on pleasant exchanges with fans, such as scanning and reading of the several signs that frequently flashed random musical or personal requests. No, he didn’t kiss anyone, sign body parts and seemed to stick to the pre-determined song order, but there was satisfaction at nearly every turn.
McCartney also managed to make the arena setting intimate during an acoustic set that highlighted his longtime (and superb) backers throughout “In Spite Of All The Danger” (from his first group The Quarrymen), this century’s standout “Dance Tonight” and the ageless “Love Me Do,” then unplugged all by himself for the civil rights-themed “Blackbird” and the John Lennon reflection “Here Today” atop a raised platform to give the balcony a better look. It was during these moments where his vocals admittedly came across a bit thinner and rougher, but once the band kicked back in for the stomping “Queenie Eye,” the bouncy “Lady Madonna” and the playful “Fuh You,” everyone’s harmonies blended tightly to mask any imperfections.
The audience kicked in on several occasions as well, notably during an unstoppable stretch that featured “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da,” “Band On The Run,” “Back In The U.S.S.R.” (accompanied by a boundary-breaking tale of performing in that previously forbidden place) and “Let It Be,” which was one of many moments when McCartney nestled behind the piano. Visually speaking, the show reached an apex with the astounding “Live And Let Die,” then turned right back to karaoke for “Hey Jude” as each section tried to outdo the others’ “na-na-na-na-na-na-na’s.”
As if that wasn’t enough to send everyone home happy (including many who surely came from Chicago and the surrounding suburbs), a Beatles-centric encore was practically a mini-set unto itself. It was certainly worth the trip no matter how extreme the distance, especially if this winds up being the closest Macca ever gets to the area again, though before he said goodbye until the next round or forever, he steadfastly reassured a world-weary crowd that “in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.”
-Review and photos by Andy Argyrakis
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