{"id":690,"date":"2012-11-14T20:00:22","date_gmt":"2012-11-14T20:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/216.71.127.204\/wordpress\/?p=690"},"modified":"2015-10-13T15:47:50","modified_gmt":"2015-10-13T15:47:50","slug":"paul-mccartney-minute-maid-park-houston-tx","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/houstonmusicreview.com\/wordpress\/2012\/11\/14\/paul-mccartney-minute-maid-park-houston-tx\/","title":{"rendered":"Paul McCartney – Minute Maid Park – Houston, TX"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n
Written by Dave Clements <\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Nov 14, 2012 at 08:00 PM<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\"Image\"How was Texas so blessed to be graced with the presence of Sir Paul McCartney Wednesday night at Minute Maid Park?\u00a0 That is the question I will ponder for many years to come.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s unlikely I\u2019ll ever know the answer to that question, even though I might ask \u2018his people\u2019 and report back to you faithful readers of HMR. In the meantime, I\u2019m going to just feel thrilled and honored that I was able to see in person Beatle One.\u00a0 To be able to photograph him was just a great big bonus!<\/p>\n

On this cool fall evening in downtown Houston, I can report it was a sight to see.\u00a0 There were 39,000 of us, willing to deal with the cold weather, significant traffic and to part with many of our dollars to witness this amazing event.<\/p>\n

Paul, and the band mates he\u2019s been performing with for over ten years now, spent nearly three hours on stage, in the shadow of the left center field fence in Minute Maid Park.\u00a0 During the show they probably got more cheers in that three hour period than those who played the last 82 games on that same turf \u2026but we won\u2019t go there!
\nMcCartney\u2019s \u2018On The Run\u2019 Tour had only one date in Texas, only two in the United States, and just five total in North America.\u00a0 We were so very fortunate to have him grace any piece of turf in our fine city!<\/p>\n

As I pondered all I witnessed this night, I reached one sure conclusion.\u00a0 He Paul came to the Lone Star State because he knows what kind of live music fans we have in H-town.\u00a0 And he paid us the biggest compliment a city can receive from an artist of his caliber\u2026 or is that Excalibur!?\u00a0 Huge thank you, Sir Paul!<\/p>\n

Not only did he come to play he came to play his ass off. He spent almost three full hours on a very simple stage set up without a lot of\u00a0 bells and whistles to help him make it through the night. He just came to play, entertain, jam with his band, and enjoy himself.\u00a0 He somehow managed to make 39,000 fans feel like they were in an intimate setting surrounded by the dazzling lights and sky scrapers of our beautiful downtown skyline.\u00a0 Yes, the roof was open.\u00a0 Brilliant call Sir Paul!<\/p>\n

Thank You Astros\u2019 ownership for allowing him to come in and take over your beautiful park\u2026 and sorry for the earlier shot.<\/p>\n

His set list included over 30 songs; a perfect mix of early Beatles, solo efforts, and Wings hits.\u00a0 I have no doubt that everyone got what they came for:\u00a0 Beatles\u2019 Helter Skelter rock and roll, Day Tripper, All My Loving \u2013 Wings\u2019 My Love, Band on the Run.\u00a0 He had it covered all night long!<\/p>\n

Now it\u2019s at this point I must admit that I have a strong biased towards his Wings\u2019 days and he just blew me away with every one of those songs (as well as most of the others even though, admission number two, I was never a Beatles\u2019 Fan back in the day).<\/p>\n

Certainly the highest Highlight of the Evening was\u2026Live and Let Die.\u00a0 He rocked it beyond any words I own and blew the roof off the field\u2026.thank God it was opened beforehand!<\/p>\n

\"Image\"This guy obviously could have played for three days and nights, rather than three hours, given his musical catalog.<\/p>\n

Good grief, he has 60 Gold Albums, and has written, or co-written 129 songs that were in the Billboard Hot 100 Chart with 91 of them making the Top Ten and 32 going to Number One! Did I mention that he wrote 43 songs that sold over a million copies?<\/p>\n

This night he alternated between being out front with his left handed guitar strapped over his shoulder and climbing the steps to his black grand piano and serenading us from his piano stool. The sounds coming from both of these locations on the stage was PERFECT\u2026not good, not great, but PERFECT. You could hear every note and if you preferred you could watch it being played on one or the other big screens left and right of the stage. Doing so was like watching my new Hi-Definition TV at the house\u2026.it was like being on stage with him.<\/p>\n

Did I mention there was NO intermission,\u00a0 no long breaks between songs, no 20 minute guitar or drum solos, no wardrobe and set changes? Did I mention he played his ass off for almost three hours and started at a reasonable time, especially given the reported difficulties many had in getting to the field?\u00a0 I think I heard the Rockets were playing right down the street, and it was rush hour besides. Well worth the effort!<\/p>\n

More amazing to me than his playing and singing was the fact that he appeared to this writer to genuinely be enjoying himself and having fun in Texas. Keep in mind this guy is 70 years old and has been doing this for a very long time! He looked great, and behaved like he was on the top of the world. Heck, at several points he started dancing after the song finished, frequently held his guitar up over his head, and at one point he started waving our State\u2019s beautiful flag\u2026obviously well received by this crowd!<\/p>\n

This concert was the fastest 3 hours I have spent in a very long time and I am a guy who is very sensitive about time. Much of what he did was a blur to me and yet some of those moments I will not likely forget:\u00a0 The already mentioned Live Or Let Die, Hey Jude , and the crowd sing along that went with it, Lady Madonna and the photos of the Iconic Women whose images were flashed across the screen\u2026..including the likes of Queen Elizabeth, Princess Di, Lucille Ball, Tina Turner, and way more than I can remember.<\/p>\n

\"Image\"McCartney\u2019s Yesterday, what can one say other than it resonated throughout the Park nanoseconds behind Paul\u2019s voice. Valentine for his new bride was very touching , Maybe I\u2019m Amazed was simply that\u2026amazing.\u00a0 I was touched by Blackbird and his explanation of being inspired to write it for people in the deep south of our USA back in the 60\u2019s.\u00a0 He said he wanted to provide hope. I think he did.\u00a0 And we still need that today.<\/p>\n

He mentioned his dear departed friend John Lennon and then proceeded to play a song he had written for John called Here Today. He also honored George Harrison and asked everyone to give him a \u2018let\u2019s hear it for George\u2019 salute.\u00a0 I think George looked down on Houston with a little smile on his face.\u00a0 Sad to think that two of the four are now gone.\u00a0 Their time on earth was cut way too short, and for such tragic reasons.<\/p>\n

In closing I feel I witnessed a musical autobiography of a great entertainer and humanitarian.\u00a0 What a pleasure it was that he stuck to singing and did not shift to preaching.\u00a0 I\u2019m so glad this concert was after the election and I didn\u2019t have to hear any politicizing.<\/p>\n

THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING SIR PAUL McCARTNEY. YOU WERE A TRUE KNIGHT IN SHINING ARMOR FOR ALL OF FANS ON THIS NIGHT.<\/p>\n

Until next time I hope you will keep it between the navigational beacons.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Written by Dave Clements Nov 14, 2012 at 08:00 PM How was Texas so blessed to be graced with the presence of Sir Paul McCartney Wednesday night at Minute Maid Park?\u00a0 That is the question I will ponder for many years to come. It\u2019s unlikely I\u2019ll ever know the answer to that question, even though… <\/p>\n

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