$2,083.10, that's what Row 8, seat 3 for the
Paul McCartney
Got Back
show at the
Thompson-Boling Arena
in Knoxville
cost me. Mind you, this was not a VIP ticket; there was no
well-catered vegetarian dinner beforehand, no swag bag of
VIP-exclusive memorabilia, and I didn't get to attend the
sound check. That all happened last time I saw Paul,
in 2019 at Rupp Arena
in Lexington, Kentucky,
during the Freshen Up tour
‐‐ that "Hot Sound," VIP ticket
cost me a total of $1605.90, by-the-way,
$478 less with a hell of a lot more
bang for my buck!
The $2,083.10 price tag is the direct result of the
bullshit resale crap that Ticketmaster has been allowing.
At face value, Row 8, seat 3 was most probably a
$350-$400 ticket, which is likely where Sir
Paul got his cut from. That's certainly not a cheap ticket,
but at somewhere in the neighborhood of 20% of what I paid,
it would have been kinder on my finances. I am happy to see
that some acts, such as The Cure,
are putting a "non-transferable" clause into their
deals with Ticketmaster to put the kibosh on these obscene
jackups of prices. I understand Paul may be touring in 2024;
I hope he does the same.
So, why did I bow down and shell out what was probably in
the ballpark of five times the face-value of my Got Back
ticket? I'll begin my answer with this: at most McCartney
shows I've been at for at least the last twenty years there
has been a scenario quite similar to this:
I'm standing in the merchandise line to get a Macca
t-shirt and a mug (if there is one). I overhear
some dude say to his wife/girlfriend/buddy,
"I'm glad we got to this show, 'cause Paul's
gettin' up there. This is probably his last tour."
And I think to myself: "Not likely. Paul's
gonna tour until his doctors won't let him."
The wording and the characters may change up a bit
from show to show, but the sentiment is always the
same, and it seems I always overhear it while waiting
to buy memorabilia.
The thing is, this Knoxville show took place almost exactly
a week-and-a-half before Paul's eightieth birthday. Now,
the man is in great shape for his age. There are people
decades younger than him who would not have the stamina to
do a tour with an almost three-hour show, done several times
a week. However, Paul is an octogenarian, as youthfully
energetic as he is. He does have a history of heart trouble;
he had a coronary angioplasty in late 2007. That's certainly
not a death sentence, especially if one follows up with the
proper self-care (dietary and physical ‐‐ and
the man has been a vegetarian for four decades). Yet,
Paul is an octogenarian. There's just no way around
it, his last concert appearance is closer on the horizon
than his first concert is in rearview mirror. Regardless of
how good he is taking care of his health, his stamina, or
health in general, could take a nosedive because people of
advanced age have such things befall them.
There is also the issue of Paul's singing voice. It's
deteriorating; that's just the way it is. As I write this,
Paul's on the verge of turning 81. For many, if not most
vocalists, the singing voice weakens as the age advances.
Some singers, due to genetics or good, smart vocal care
through their careers, stave this off. I've never had the
impression that Paul was exceptionally adept at good health
practices for his voice, but then again, I'm so far from
his inner circle that I might as well be standing on a moon
in the Andromeda galaxy. But, his voice is in jeopardy. I've
read comments on the internet from fans who have said such
things, in recent years, like, "He sounds as good as
ever!" I'm sorry, but: no. Paul can still prop up a
show, but to match his current vocal ability against that of
the 60s though the 80s, even into the 90s or early parts of
this new millennium, that's simply blind denial. My personal
thought is that Paul is as likely to stop touring because of
his vocal health as he is because of any other health issues.
So, I spent $2,083.10 for Row 8, seat 3 because I
was now thinking that this might have been my last chance
to see Paul live. I also spent $2,083.10 for Row 8,
seat 3 because I don't buy shitty seats any more. If I have
to look at the overhead screen to make out the performer,
I don't wanna be there. I did actually see Paul once from
pretty far away, in 2011 at the
Great American Ball Park,
but I was a guest and didn't pay for the ticket. But usually,
if I'm going, I'm not settling for a long-distant seat.
Still, you can count on the fact that I'd only spend
$2,083.10 for Paul, though ‐‐ okay,
maybe Kate Bush,
too, but she's never going to tour America, so that point's
a bit moot.
No, in Knoxville, Paul didn't deliver the vocal gymnastics
that he did when I saw him with
Wings
in 1976, when he was in his mid thirties, or even fourteen
years later on
The Paul McCartney World Tour
when he was in his late fourties, and where he first started
delving deep into the The Beatles cannon.
He can still sing, but he's not the singer he once was, and,
as it's been for the last several tours, there were spots
where one could hear unmistakable faltering. But not only
had his mesmerizing charisma and dynamic, commanding stage
presence not weakened even one iota, it was probably stronger.
Paul is just simply a master showman, and it's balanced more
on his vibe as a man, his personality, and his savvy than
it is on any of the stage gimmicks, the famous "Live
and Let Die" pyrotechnics, or the excellent musicianship
from him and his, now, longtime touring bandmates.
But, THE highlight of the
show was the much-publicized duet between Paul and his
late friend and partner, John Lennon,
on "I've Got a Feeling,"
at the top of the encore. If you aren't already aware, this
duet was made possible by director,
Peter Jackson,
who used new AI technology to isolate the late Lennon's
vocals from footage of The Beatles
performing "I've Got a Feeling" on the roof of
Apple
Recording Studios on January 30, 1969. It's the same audio
technology Jackson used in many parts of the documentary
series The Beatles: Get Back.
With all the other instrumentation and vocals stripped away,
the footage of John, singing his part from the song, on that
day in 1969, was projected on the large screen behind Paul
and the band,along with only the audio of his vocal; it was
synced with Paul's live performance to create the 2022 duet
between the two legendary musicians, songwriters, and partners.
It could have been tacky and creepy ‐‐ to the
contrary, it was magnificent, and almost worth the
$2,083.10 ticket, the trip, yadda yadda. *A small
excerpt of it is at the end of the "selected moments"
video that is linked below.
My new list of McCartney shows I've seen:
- WINGS OVER AMERICA TOUR - May 27, 1976, Cincinnati, OH (Riverfront Coliseum)
- THE PAUL McCARTNEY WORLD TOUR - Feb 12, 1990, Cincinnati, OH (Riverfront Coliseum)
- THE NEW WORLD TOUR - MAY 5, 1993, Cincinnati, OH (Riverfront Stadium)
- DRIVING USA TOUR - Apr 29, 2002, Cleveland, OH (Gund Arena)
- BACK IN THE US TOUR - OCT 10, 2002, Columbus, OH (Jerome Schottenstein Center)
- US TOUR - Oct 22, 2005, Columbus, OH (Jerome Schottenstein Center)
- ON THE RUN TOUR - AUG 4, 2011, Cincinnati, OH (Great American Ball Park)
- OUT THERE! - July 14, 2013, Indianapolis, IN (Bankers Life Fieldhouse)
- OUT THERE! - July 9, 2014, Chicago, IL (United Center)
- ONE ON ONE - July 10, 2016, Cincinnati, OH (US Bank Arena)
- FRESHEN UP - June 1, 2019, Lexington, KY (Rupp Arena)
- GOT BACK - May 31, 2022, Knoxville, TN (Thompson-Boling Arena)
The Got Back Tour band:
- Paul McCartney
‐‐ Lead vocals, bass, acoustic guitar, piano,
electric guitar, ukulele, mandolin
- Rusty Anderson
‐‐ Backing vocals, electric guitar, acoustic
guitar
- Abe Laboriel Jr.
‐‐ Backing vocals, drums, percussion
- Brian Ray
‐‐ Backing vocals, electric guitar, acoustic
guitar, bass
- Paul "Wix" Wickens
‐‐ Backing vocals, keyboards, electric guitar,
acoustic guitar, bongos, percussion, harmonica, accordion
- The Hot City Horns
‐‐ Paul Burton (Trombone), Mike Davis
(Trumpet), Kenji Fenton (Saxophone)
Knoxville Macca set list (May 31):
- Can't Buy Me Love
- Junior's Farm
- Letting Go
- Got to Get You Into My Life
- Come on to Me
- Let Me Roll It/Purple Haze instrumental
- Getting Better
- Let 'em in
- My Valentine
- Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five
- Maybe I'm Amazed
- We can work it out
- In Spite of All The Danger
- Love Me Do
- Dance Tonight
- Blackbird
- Here Today
- New
- Lady Madonna
- Fuh You
- For the Bene fit of Mr. Kite
- Something
- Ob La Di Ob La Da
- You Never Give Me Your Money (starting at the rocking section)/She Came In Through The Bathroom Window
- Get Back
- Band On The Run
- Let It Be
- Live and Let Die
- Hey Jude
Encore:
- I've Got a Feeling
- Birthday
- Helter Skelter
- Golden Slumbers/Carry that Weight/The End
Click here for a video with some selected moments from the show.
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