Paul McCartney
From Liverpool to Lambeau
Courtesy of MPL Communications / MJ Kim
With a buildup months in the making, the Knight of Rock Royalty – Sir Paul McCartney graced the stage just shy of three hours. The 38-song setlist stretched his entire catalog from his newest release Egypt Station all the way back to the pre-Beatles Quarrymen.
Paul McCartney at Lambeau Field on June 8, 2019 by Ron Tupper
Musical highlights included the bluesy Come On To Me, complete with a Jimi Hendrix Foxy Lady” blues jam, the fun sing-alongs of Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da, and Hey Jude then closing the night with the amazing ‘Abbey Road Medley’ of Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight/The End. But no single song engaged fans more than Live and Let Die that included so much fireworks and pyrotechnics that even the members of KISS would have a hard time topping.
The show was structured into four sections. The full band, including an amazing horn section. From there they transition to an acoustic set (complete with video projection backdrop making the band appear to be playing on the front porch of an old tin shack). There was also Paul’s solo acoustic set where he played touching tributes about race relations Blackbird, and the conversational Here Today, written to John Lennon after his untimely death.
Being this was my first concert inside Lambeau Field, let me remark on a few things: This is an exceptional open-air venue. Not only was it amazing to do a 360-degree turn (more than a few times) and see all those cellphones lit up (McCartney calls them ‘galaxy stars’), but the sound was amazing, too! This was highlighted specifically during the sonic vastness of Band on the Run, the intimate Maybe I’m Amazed, and the almost heavy-metal-delivery of Helter Skelter.
Paul McCartney at Lambeau Field on June 8, 2019 by Ron Tupper
With nearly 50,000 fans in attendance, Paul took time to read some the signs from the crowd. One fan sign McCartney called out said, “1150 miles from Pennsylvania.” Other signs varied from things like, “Hey Paul, you are our Summer vacation,” All good cheese heads go to heaven,” and “I do Beatle screams like my mom.” He even seemed to enjoy the humor of “Please read my sign,” and “Please sign my butt.”
But what I found most remarkable during the course of the show was Sir Paul’s humbleness, desire for fun, incredible his wit and humor, the value he places on his lifelong friendships, and most importantly – his character.
Paul McCartney at Lambeau Field on June 8, 2019 by Ron Tupper
From dedicating the song My Valentine to his wife Nancy, to the flag presentation during the encore (he waved the American flag), Sir Paul McCartney was a class act all the way. His ability to unite people with simple gestures, combined with making a large-scale venue seem small and intimate is a feat only a few could achieve.
With all that, would I see Paul McCartney in concert again? Yes, Sir!
~ By Ron Tupper
Fan Cam
Finding Fault
It’s easy to find things you wish were different with some concerts. But you have to get deep into minutiae with this one to find things you’d change. Sonically, it was near perfection outside of what was a slightly boomy mix on the opener (“A Hard Days Night”) and that was probably just my ears adjusting. Told you about Minutiae.
Otherwise, the band is so good and so tight that the songs are crisp at long distances (with a shout out to the sound engineer and sound system). McCartney has actually played with this band longer than he has toured with the Beatles. They work together well and interact on stage portraying a ‘true band’ rather than a star out front and a cast of hired guns in the background. They are:
- Brian Ray: lead and rhythm guitar, bass, vocals
- Rusty Anderson: lead and rhythm guitar, vocals
- Abe Laboriel Jr.: drums, vocals
- Wix Wickens: keyboards, general electronic wizardry, accordion, vocals
- Paul McCartney: lead vocals, bass, guitar, ukelele, piano
Oh, and their backing vocals are equally as tight. A horn section is also featured on this tour, who like everything else, sounded spectacular.
More minutiae; depending on where you sat, you might have gotten a good dose of piercing white lights in your eyes coming off the stage throughout the night, mostly in between songs. Also, this was mostly a sitdown concert until the encores. It could have used a little higher score on the Chesney Scale (see below), even just to break up the long sit on the aluminum benches in the bowl. Those get a little numbing around the two-hour mark.
Other than those three pieces of minutiae, it’s hard to find fault in anything with this show. It was the quality product you’d expect from this level of superstar, and from the Green Bay Packers who know a thing or two about entertaining stadium crowds on game days.
~ Paul Heling
Chesney Scale
Ever since a June 2015 Kenny Chesney/Jason Aldean show at Lambeau Field got infamous for its amount of ejections, it’s low hanging fruit to compare all subsequent Lambeau shows to it. In case you missed it, 250 to 300 fans were ejected and 25 were arrested. That’s three times the record number of ejections from the single busiest Packers game.
We’re going to give the McCartney show a 1 on a 1 to 10 Chesney Scale. The 1 is for enthusiasm, but it would have added to the electricity if it would have been a little more outward. No need to go as high as a 5 with ejections, etc. , but even a 2 on the Chesney Scale would have added to the evening.
Setlist
- “A Hard Day’s Night”
- “Junior’s Farm”
- “All My Loving”
- “Letting Go”
- “Who Cares”
- “Got to Get You Into My Life”
- “Come on to Me”
- “Let Me Roll It”
- “I’ve Got a Feeling”
- “Let ‘Em In”
- “My Valentine”
- “Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five”
- “Maybe I’m Amazed”
- “I’ve Just Seen a Face”
- “In Spite of All the Danger”
- “From Me to You”
- “Dance Tonight”
- “Love Me Do”
- “Blackbird”
- “Here Today”
- “Queenie Eye”
- “Lady Madonna”
- “Eleanor Rigby”
- “Fuh You”
- “Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!”
- “Something”
- “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da”
- “Band on the Run”
- “Back in the U.S.S.R.”
- “Let It Be”
- “Live and Let Die”
- “Hey Jude”
- “Birthday” (encore)
- “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” (encore)
- “Helter Skelter” (encore)
- “Golden Slumbers” (encore)
- “Carry That Weight” (encore)
- “The End” (encore)
Paul McCartney at Lambeau Field on June 8, 2019 by Ron Tupper
