McCartney Has Renewed Glow in the Limelight
By Steve Connell
The Sacramento Union
June 15, 1976
The ex-Beatle Paul McCartney is no longer the boyish mop-top British idol of the 1960s, but thanks to his much-celebrated Wings Over America tour, he's once again in the limelight and very much alive and well.
He proved all that, plus much, much more here Sunday and Monday nights in the cavernous Cow Palace. Both shows were sold out far in advance, and Sunday's was like nothing I have ever seen. Incredible might not even be enough of a superlative to describe the affair. Even before the concert, the aura of anticipation hanging over the ticket holders and those who were frantically looking for someone with extra tickets for sale was in evidence.
Some three hours before the show time, they were already lined up to the back of the huge parking lot, waiting and waiting in hopes of getting some kind of decent seat for the festival seat show. The air was buzzing with electricity, and when it finally got going, when Paul made his first triumphant rise to the stage, where he hadn't set foot in nearly 10 years, a roar of approval, so deafening I could hardly stand it, ripped through the hall like a tidal wave. Cameras were flashing in the darkness at a rapid-fire pace, like a million strobe lights blinking at once. I think every rock critic in California must have been there, and of course, there were people from everywhere and numbering nearly 20,000.
I talked to one fellow who flew out from Georgia just for the show; another drove from Seattle. I'm sure there were countless others who traveled just as far, and I doubt it was any of the throng walking away disappointed.
McCartney is indeed professional in every sense of the word. While I hadn't previously been too impressed with his band, Wings proved to be extremely talented. Paul's wife Linda plays keyboards and sings with Denny Laine and Jimmy McCulloch on guitars, Joe English on drums, and a superb horn section of four. And they blend nicely. They perhaps use too much volume, but the Cow Palace has never been known for good acoustics.
They started with newer Wings material, tunes off the Venus and Mars, and Wings at the Speed of Sound LP, plus tunes like "Maybe I'm Amazed" from Paul's first solo album. But when the evening wore on a bit, and McCartney and Company moved into a series of old Beatles, it was the crowd that went nearly ecstatic. These were tunes that brought back memories and tugged at the heartstrings, songs like "Lady Madonna", a very moving "Long and Winding Road," I've Just Seen a Face", "Blackbird", and the classic " Yesterday " with Paul soloing on acoustic guitar.
A very psychedelic "Live and Let Die" with smoke bombs, blinding flash explosions, and flashing lights galore was an overpowering spectacle. In all, McCartney performed for over two hours, 28 tunes, including two rocking out encores (who said he wouldn't give the crowd its money's worth?)
Throughout it, his distinctive vocals were pleasing and clear. His guitar and piano playing easily adequate. His bass work truly excellent, and he'll display those talents three more times on this tour in San Diego, Tucson, and Los Angeles. My advice to any rock music fan would be if you're going to be in one of those areas and come by any means, wangle a ticket out of somebody to go. It's a show that shouldn't be missed.
No comments:
Post a Comment