Wings Fly High at Forum (Los Angeles 1976)

 

Wings Fly High At Forum 

By Denise Kusel

The Independent

June 23, 1976

    A mini Beetle reunion with one part Paul McCartney and one part Ringo Starr put a tipsy nightcap on the Wings Over America concert at the Inglewood Forum Monday night. The house lights were up by the time the two teamed up in a surprise showing following two encores from Wings. It took the audience a full minute to realize what was happening. 

    The bearded Ringo seemed in good form, and speculation soon spread that he was there to test the waters for a full Beatles reunion. When he entered the Forum before the show, the former Beatles drummer received a standing ovation. 

    The crowd was still standing when a flying wedge of muscle men paved the way for Elton John with Yoko Ono in tow. If Yoko's husband, John Lennon, was there, or the mystical George Harrison, they kept a low profile during the concert. 

    McCartney and Wings cooked up a gourmet meal of rock and roll. With his famous eyebrows arched in mock surprise and the little-boy innocence, Paul was greeted by a full-throated roar from 16,000 fans on hand to witness his long-awaited return to the Southland concert stage.

     The concert was power-paced from the quick beginnings of  "Venus and Mars" "Rock Show" and the infectious "Jets" [sic] in a 123 order and "Band on the Run" as the clincher two hours later.

     McCartney, in black satin pants and a black shirt with sequins on the shoulders and a flashy pink scarf carelessly hanging around his neck, dug in with a solid bass line.  Former Moody Blues man Denny Laine, playing a double-necked guitar, fashioned an effective blues progression and worked lead vocals on "Spirits of Ancient Egypt." McCartney seemed content to stand in the background and out of the multicolored lights that made the stage. Guitarist Jimmy McCulloch jumped in with a powerful "Medicine Jar", which he co-authored with McCartney [sic]. Laine was switch-hitting at piano and driving Joe English whipped the drums with attack frenzy. Linda McCartney huddled behind a bank of mellotrons and moogs and organs, her vocal harmonics came off flat, and her expertise at the keyboards was a little more than pretty fluff. 

    Beatle tunes "Lady Madonna" and "Yesterday" received the predictable amount of applause as standard favorites, but it was clearly the new material that the crowd gobbled up. McCartney's shrewd use of rhythmic changes and internal rhyme schemes put punch and soft pop stuff like "Silly Love Songs" and "Listen to What the Man Said." The driving beat of "Magneto and Titanium Man" shows Wings to be a cohesive outfit. The addition of a horn section was effective, but at times overpowering.

     McCartney was not dependent on the Beatles' aura that hangs above his head. He's outgrown it and into a different musical space, but the old brand of frantic musical history is still exciting. Capitol Records is releasing Beatles disc singles and new albums to coincide with the Wings tour. A young man sitting behind me at the concert remarked that "This is better than going to a high school reunion!"

 "Yesterday" brought a standing ovation, but so did the strobe-light and flash-power theatrics that accompanied "Live and Let Die." The concert was one of the best of the season, and without Ringo's guest shot, Wings Over America still soared happily. Outside, scalpers were hawking $9.50 tickets for $50 and getting it.