Concert Review: Paul McCartney Magnifique!

The second I heard the announcement that Paul McCartney would be performing a free concert in Quebec City (his first ever in Quebec City and his only North American concert appearance in 2008), I pounced on the phone to make hotel reservations.

I'm a rabid Beatles fan and seeing the legendary Sir Paul is about as close as anyone can now come to getting a sense of what is was like to experience the Fabs live. And what better way to get a sense of Beatlemania than in the company of an estimated 300,000 people?

My friends and I drove for 2 days from Winnipeg to Quebec City and arrived Sat evening. We barely had time to appreciate the history and beauty of the city as we essentially hopped into bed and arose early to stand in line to get the best seats possible for the concert.

McCartney mania was in the air! The local radio stations were playing Beatle and McCartney songs and the media had Sir Paul's face plastered everywhere. Getting directions from a hotel clerk (thankfully, most everyone in Quebec City speaks at least some English), we hopped a bus to the festival site. It wasn't that hard to find as streams of people could be seen snaking their way to the site and "Band on the Run" could be heard blaring from the speakers of a local radio station who had set up at the site. Even though we got there extremely early, thousands had already arrived ahead of us. Some had camped out days in advance to snag primo spots, had come from as far away as South America to groove with the ex-Beatle.

They finally opened the gates in the late afternoon and we bumped and prodded our way to the catchment area, toward the Plains of Abraham concert site. We didn't get as close to the stage as I'd hoped, but we were still close enough to clearly see the forms and faces of the musicians without the need of the jumbotron. All the announcements were strictly in French and je parle francais en peu (I speak very little French). So I did not catch the names of the local opening acts. But they were quite good and the crowd seem to enjoy them, as did I.

Although I've been to some large concerts in my time, I've never attended anything of this magnitude. Regardless of where I looked, from my vantage point all that could be seen was an endless sea of people. The massive crowd, though many were clearly wasted, was incredibly well behaved. In fact, I witnessed not one fight or altercation of any sort the entire time - amazing for a gathering of that size!

By the time Sir Paul was to appear, it was getting dark and the excitement of the crowd was palpable. A deafening roar erupted as McCartney strolled on stage dressed smartly in a dark double breasted suit and his Vox Beatle bass slung across his shoulder.

Any animosity that may have been harboured by French separatists who were angered that an Anglophone headliner had been chosen over a French act to perform for the opening ceremonies instantly vanished as Paul greeted the crowd with "Bonsoir toute le gang!" as the band broke into the instantly familiar opening notes of McCartney's 1973 Band on the Run smash single "Jet."

Paul did not disappoint. His voice in recent times has been occasionally suspect, but the billion dollar pipes were in excellent form on this evening and they grew stronger as the night progressed. The sound system was superb and any fears that Beatles' songs might take a back seat to Paul's contemporary solo material vanished as Paul followed his opener with the Beatles classic "Baby You Can Drive My Car!" It was quite a spectacle seeing hundreds of thousands of kids - many of whom weren't even born when the Fabs ruled the airwaves - and many who didn't even understand English - singing along. Macca did an exceptional job weaving back and forth, interspersing songs like his 2007's Memory Almost Full track "Only Mama Knows" followed by the Beatles' "All My Lovin'" and 1997's Flaming Pie tagged with The Beatle's "Revolver" album track "Got to Get You Into My Life." He also threw in not often played chestnuts such as Band on the Run's "Let Me Roll It" and "Mrs. Vanderbilt" as well as the 1971's Ram track "Too Many People" which segued into The Beatle's Abbey Road track "She Came Into the Bathroom Window."

Highlights of the night were his heartfelt dedication to his deceased first wife Linda, "My Love," made even more poignant after his recent high profile divorce from second wife Heather Mills. The bi-lingual Beatles' classic "Michelle" which of course met with roars of approval from the French audience. A tribute to Beatle band mate George Harrison that showcased George's Abbey Road masterpiece "Something" which Paul played on ukulele and a performance of "Give Peace A Chance" and "A Day in the Life." tributes to his former song writing partner John Lennon. There was hardly a dry eye in the house.

It's hard to explain to someone who didn't grow in the 60's the impact that the Beatles had on my generation. The Beatles and Paul, John, George and Ringo as solo artists wrote the soundtrack to my life. No other group before or since has had such a profound impact on the life and culture of a generation. The experience of hearing these songs played live in the midst of hundreds of thousands of people was an almost transcendental experience. I cannot express in words what an emotionally moving experience it was - both for myself - and judging by those around me - thousands of others.

It would have been easy enough for a living legend such as Paul McCartney to coast in and out on the gig with an hour and half set of his greatest hits and doubtless everyone would have been completely satisfied. Given his advancing age, nobody would hold it against him. But Paul turned in a set that could have rivalled Bruce Springsteen in his younger days, putting in a performance that clocked in at nearly 3 hours that included plenty of electrifying hard rockers such as The Beatle's White Album track "Birthday," (which he dedicated to the Quebec City), and "I Saw Her Standing There."

Back home in Winnipeg, our 11:00 pm noise curfew would likely have put the kibosh on Sir Paul's performance far earlier. But nobody in Quebec City was putting a muzzle on Macca this night. He was still punching out songs well after midnight. In fact, the show went so late, we actually began to fear we would miss our last bus home and might have to walk the numerous miles back to our hotel rooms (no hope of a cab). But thankfully this did not happen. Paul closed the set with 5 back to back Beatle classics: "Let It Be," "Hey Jude," "Lady Madonna," "Get Back," and "I Saw Her Standing There." And after being given one of the longest loudest most enthusiastic encore calls I've ever heard, Paul came back by himself and performed "Yesterday" and then wound up the night with the title track of arguably the greatest album of all-time "Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band."

McCartney was magnificent, or as the Quebecers would say "Magnifique!"

5 out of 5

Rob Rheubottom

Paul's Quebec City Setlist

Jet
Drive My Car
Only Mama Knows
All My Loving
Flaming Pie
Got To Get You Into My Life
Let Me Roll It
C Moon
My Love
Let Em In
Fine Line
The Long And Winding Road
Dance Tonight
Blackbird
Calico Skies
Follow The Sun
Michelle
Mrs Vanderbilt
Eleanor Rigby
Something
A Day In A Life / Give Peace a Chance
Good Day Sunshine
Too Many People / Bathroom Window
Penny Lane
Band On The Run
Birthday
Back In The USSR
I Got A Feeling
Live And Let Die
Let It Be
Hey Jude
Lady Madonna
Get Back
I Saw Her Standing There
Encore
Yesterday
Sgt. Peppers