The Admiral Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 Simply put, I have the offer of 2 tickets to see Paul McCartney at the NEC - eigth row, and at face value - but, that £240 ish quid for 2 tickets and Mrs A isnt a fan, as she's still not forgiven him for marrying again so quickly after Linda died. Not that she's a massive Linda fan, but she felt it was too soon and disrespectful, given his protestations about the love of his life. She also thinks his voice is shot, and it's too late now to see him live, as he's just past it. That said, she's willing to go, as she knows I'd simply like to see him in the flesh, before it's too late. Anybody seen him live recently? Can he still cut it, or am I going to spend a lot of wedge and come away dissapointed? All thoughts greatly appreciated as I need to say yes or no tonight to the guy offering them up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmo Valdemar Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 I'm going to the O2. I'm a massive fan anyway and it's been an ambition of mine for years. He's not very popular on here it seems but who knows how many more opportunities there will be to see him? Go for it I say! It's a bit unfair to say his voice is 'shot' though... 😉 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Admiral Posted April 30, 2015 Author Share Posted April 30, 2015 [quote name='Cosmo Valdemar' timestamp='1430418603' post='2761292'] I'm going to the O2. I'm a massive fan anyway and it's been an ambition of mine for years. He's not very popular on here it seems but who knows how many more opportunities there will be to see him? Go for it I say! It's a bit unfair to say his voice is 'shot' though... 😉 [/quote] I think the opinion might be coloured by the starting position of not being a fan on my wife's part! I've seen him on TV in recent concerts, and, whilst he's not the singer he was, he can still do it in my view. I think I may just have to go for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spectoremg Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 [quote name='The Admiral' timestamp='1430416383' post='2761262'] Simply put, I have the offer of 2 tickets to see Paul McCartney at the NEC - eigth row, and at face value - but, that £240 ish quid for 2 tickets and Mrs A isnt a fan, as she's still not forgiven him for marrying again so quickly after Linda died. Not that she's a massive Linda fan, but she felt it was too soon and disrespectful, given his protestations about the love of his life. She also thinks his voice is shot, and it's too late now to see him live, as he's just past it. That said, she's willing to go, as she knows I'd simply like to see him in the flesh, before it's too late. Anybody seen him live recently? Can he still cut it, or am I going to spend a lot of wedge and come away dissapointed? All thoughts greatly appreciated as I need to say yes or no tonight to the guy offering them up! [/quote]Go, there aren't many living musicians you can call legends. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blue Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 (edited) [quote name='The Admiral' timestamp='1430416383' post='2761262'] Simply put, I have the offer of 2 tickets to see Paul McCartney at the NEC - eigth row, and at face value - but, that £240 ish quid for 2 tickets and Mrs A isnt a fan, as she's still not forgiven him for marrying again so quickly after Linda died. Not that she's a massive Linda fan, but she felt it was too soon and disrespectful, given his protestations about the love of his life. She also thinks his voice is shot, and it's too late now to see him live, as he's just past it. That said, she's willing to go, as she knows I'd simply like to see him in the flesh, before it's too late. Anybody seen him live recently? Can he still cut it, or am I going to spend a lot of wedge and come away dissapointed? All thoughts greatly appreciated as I need to say yes or no tonight to the guy offering them up! [/quote] I have been following Paul"s career since 1963. Take the tickets or you'll regret it. I saw him recently, his voice is not shot he's in top form, no one in the business puts on a better show and his band is unbelievable. And you can tell he's having fun and loves performing. There was no introduction, they just walk out on stage unannounced and they start playing. When he played Miller Park a concession worker said he was there at 6:00AM and rehearsed the whole show. By the way, he doesn't use IEM. Blue Edited April 30, 2015 by blue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bumnote Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 Im going to the O2 as well I know his band is terrific and Im sure it will be a great show. He is a great bass player whose written great parts and songs. really looking forward to it. Im seeing the who in Hyde parkin june, havent seen them since the 60s and looking forward very much. In my twilight years I would rather go and actually see someone and risk being disapointed than not go and regret it afterwards Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blue Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 [quote name='bumnote' timestamp='1430423052' post='2761374'] In my twilight years I would rather go and actually see someone and risk being disapointed than not go and regret it afterwards [/quote] Exactly, I'm going to see The Stones in an unbelievably small venue ( Marcus Amphitheater, Milwaukee) in June. Artists like The Stones & Paul, they don't disappoint. They know better then anyone what people are coming to see and why. They will know before we do when it's time to stop. Blue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 You can't let this opportunity slip through your fingers. McCartney on a bad day is better than most other bands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Admiral Posted April 30, 2015 Author Share Posted April 30, 2015 I bow as ever to the Yoda like wisdom of the BC collective. Decision made. Thanks for all the replies chaps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Admiral Posted May 28, 2015 Author Share Posted May 28, 2015 Update : the gig was last night and he was in good form. Great band, he played and sang really well, and was rocking his Mesa rig (rack mounted amps etc. plus a 2x15 cab and a 1x15, + 4x10 'all in one' cab, which is an unusual configuration) with the old Hofner and a plectrum. Such a vast back catalogue it was always going to be difficult to please everyone, but he played a couple from the new album, some Wings stuff and a good number of Beatles tracks, including a superb finale of 'Live and let die', complete with confetti cannons, thunderflashes, lasers, and gas powered jets of flame across the front and rear of the stage. I missed the encore, as he came on 45 minutes late, played for over 2 hours straight, and I had to catch the last train, but I'm really glad I went. Would I spend another £140 to see him? Probably not, but there is no doubt he's a great musician and writer, and notwithstanding the hair dye, looks remarkable for a man in his 70s. Much to be said for vegetarianism perhaps?! One final thought : he played one for John, and one for George, and I found myself reflecting on what might have been. Had Lennon lived, I'm sure they would have done Live Aid for example, and what might have followed that? But, we'll never know : a fantastic canon of work, and easy to forget exactly how innovative it was at the time. Great gig. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave_bass5 Posted May 28, 2015 Share Posted May 28, 2015 Did you notice any lip sync issues :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lojo Posted May 28, 2015 Share Posted May 28, 2015 How was the bass sound, considering the recent thread about tone at venues ? Ive been really let down with the live sound of bass at the few biggish gigs ive seen, but I cant see Sir Paul not making sure the bass sound is right out front Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Admiral Posted May 28, 2015 Author Share Posted May 28, 2015 [quote name='lojo' timestamp='1432828006' post='2785387'] How was the bass sound, considering the recent thread about tone at venues ? Ive been really let down with the live sound of bass at the few biggish gigs ive seen, but I cant see Sir Paul not making sure the bass sound is right out front [/quote] Quite indistinct in the first couple of numbers, with a lot of very low thud from the over loud kick drum eating into the same sonic space I think, and of course, Hofners are not known for their twang. It did get better as the evening went on, and the sound, for an arena, was very good, particularly on the acoustic guitars. Regarding the lip syncing - no obvious issues as far as I could see!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTUK Posted May 28, 2015 Share Posted May 28, 2015 [quote name='The Admiral' timestamp='1430416383' post='2761262'] Simply put, I have the offer of 2 tickets to see Paul McCartney at the NEC - eigth row, and at face value - but, that £240 ish quid for 2 tickets and Mrs A isnt a fan, as she's still not forgiven him for marrying again so quickly after Linda died. Not that she's a massive Linda fan, but she felt it was too soon and disrespectful, given his protestations about the love of his life. She also thinks his voice is shot, and it's too late now to see him live, as he's just past it. That said, she's willing to go, as she knows I'd simply like to see him in the flesh, before it's too late. Anybody seen him live recently? Can he still cut it, or am I going to spend a lot of wedge and come away dissapointed? All thoughts greatly appreciated as I need to say yes or no tonight to the guy offering them up! [/quote] I'm not a fan at all... and I would assume he is well past it.... but he isn't going to get any better, and he may not tour much more anyway in this sort oif setting, so I'd go and get it out of your system and then you can say you saw him. I can't see it being a bad show anyway and so as long as you can justify the price..GO..!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTUK Posted May 28, 2015 Share Posted May 28, 2015 answered before I saw you went anyway.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lojo Posted May 29, 2015 Share Posted May 29, 2015 I'm glad you went , im a big Stephen Stills fan and passed up on seeing CSN a few years back , wished I had gone as don't think he can do it for much longer, and I never got to see him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacko Posted May 29, 2015 Share Posted May 29, 2015 Did Mrs Admiral enjoy the show? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Admiral Posted May 29, 2015 Author Share Posted May 29, 2015 [quote name='jacko' timestamp='1432896119' post='2785950'] Did Mrs Admiral enjoy the show? [/quote] She didn't go! The guy who offered me the tickets decided he would go himself, but having offered me the tickets, he didn't feel he could withdraw the offer, so we both left the ladies at home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmo Valdemar Posted May 29, 2015 Share Posted May 29, 2015 The O2 concert was incredible. I'm pretty bemused when people accuse him of being past it, or that his voice has gone, as neither is true. The fact is, he sounds amazing, incredible in fact when you consider he is 73 years old. 73. They played for nearly 3 hours straight with no let up in energy or quality. The whole Macca-bashing trend is getting a bit stale. I'm happy to report the sound was excellent too, the humble little Hofner clear and audible. If that bass, not famed for it's clarity, can cut through an arena mix it does make you wonder why the sound is generally atrocious in these places... The band is well-known for their meticulous sound checks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Admiral Posted May 29, 2015 Author Share Posted May 29, 2015 (edited) [quote name='Cosmo Valdemar' timestamp='1432924956' post='2786328'] The O2 concert was incredible. I'm pretty bemused when people accuse him of being past it, or that his voice has gone, as neither is true. The fact is, he sounds amazing, incredible in fact when you consider he is 73 years old. 73. They played for nearly 3 hours straight with no let up in energy or quality. The whole Macca-bashing trend is getting a bit stale. I'm happy to report the sound was excellent too, the humble little Hofner clear and audible. If that bass, not famed for it's clarity, can cut through an arena mix it does make you wonder why the sound is generally atrocious in these places... The band is well-known for their meticulous sound checks. [/quote] This playing for 3 hours thing is interesting. In a sense, I think it's about expectation and what 'normal' looks like, and McCartney famously started playing 6 and 8 hour shows in Hamburg, so 3 hours probably feels like a pefectly reasonable duration, and of course, he loves to play, so why wouldn't he. Our esteemed US correspondent Blue regularly plays 4 hour bar gigs and he's in his 60s, yet many UK based BC'ers are astonished by this and are knackered at the thought of more than 90 minutes or 2 hours. Again, it's Blue's normal, so he thinks nothing of it. Regarding sound : for £140 a ticket, one should expect good sound, and it wouldn't surprise me if this was one of McCartney's core values too - he wants to give value to his fans, and frankly, if he can't get the best guys in the business, who can. Also, the PA at Birmingham was very substantial in terms if it's coverage of all areas of the arena, as was the camera work, vision mix, and the spread of the video screens, with large side facing ones up on the lighting gantry for those in the sh*tty seats upstairs. Edited May 29, 2015 by The Admiral Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted May 30, 2015 Share Posted May 30, 2015 Back in the early 70's we played the US airbases in Germany, which was 5 x 45min sets from Mon to Thu and 6 x 45 min sets on Friday and Saturday. Regularly playing long gigs sorts your chops out very quickly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ambient Posted May 30, 2015 Share Posted May 30, 2015 I'm not a fan, it's not my sort of music at all, but I've seen film of him playing recently and thought he sounded amazing. Where does this nonsense come from that his voice is shot ? How many guys on here can claim even 0.00010% of what he's achieved musically ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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