Adelaide, Australia - Wed 18 Oct 2023 Confirmed
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Goodness for a fan forum this place seems a bit negative from some. Came to say how much I greatly enjoyed the Adelaide show as did almost everyone else in the room I reckon. It was magic. Anyway those complaining: I hope your old albums at least give you some joy.
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@yankeefan2
Hey Yankeefan...good to see your Post and more on McCartney's first Australia Show later.Just got back home in Florida a couple of days ago. Our trip was unfortunately cut short because my Uncle who lives 3 doors down from me took seriously ill and had to go to our local hospital. When I found out that he was transferred to our Hospice Center I knew it went from bad to worse. My wife immediately got me on the next flight to Tampa. I was hoping to see my Uncle but he passed away a day after I arrived. Never got a chance to talk with him. He was 93 and had a great long life but it doesn't matter how old he was, I'll miss him terribly. From everything I heard from my neighbors and his Daughter, at least he didn't suffer. It happened so quickly.
Regarding Paul McCartney, I was extremely disappointed when I saw his First Show Setlist in Australia. Initially I thought it was a fake "News Report" but after further review I shouldn't be surprised. The only thing that really shocked me was that it was virtually the exact same Setlist he was doing on the last tour. The only change/addition was that he performed an old and early Beatle song (please pardon me I'm forgetting the title). That was it!
I agree with everything Yankeefan said about Paul's first Australian Show. Unfortunately, a McCartney Concert today is strictly an "Oldies" Show with no surprises from what we've already seen over the last 10 years. Not only does he mostly ignore his best songs from his terrific Solo Career, it's like he doesn't seem to care anymore. As a big time fan, he now doesn't do one song from his latest Album (McCartney 3). To make matters worse, he doesn't pick the best songs from his previous Album (Egypt Station). Where is "I Don't Know, Dominoes, Happy With You, Who Cares" etc etc. instead he picks the worst song "Fuh You" on Egypt Station.
Back in 2002 for the "Driving Rain" Tour, I thought Paul McCartney was the best "Live Concert" on the Planet. Unfortunately Paul no longer tries to maintain that excellence.
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Glad you enjoyed the show. A fan forum does not mean everything said about Paul or one of his shows has to glowing with praise. In the US, we are much more fortunate and have seen Paul fairly regularly over the years. Due to that, some of us are hoping for a more varied setlist that at least would have 2-3 songs off his most recent album. We also wish Paul would tell different stories between songs and not the same ones he has been telling for decades. It is not negative to mention his voice has gone downhill, it is the simple truth. Yes, it can be magic to see Paul but for the lucky ones on this board who have seen him a bunch that magic is wearing off.
On the positive side which I have mentioned, Paul still does 2 1/2 hr - 3hr show which is mind-blowing considering he is 81. He is still a very good musician on bass, acoustic guitar and piano. His tour band is top notch backing him musically and vocally. Paul is the ultimate showman and interacts very well with the audience. While his voice has lost some of its luster, it is not bloody awful.
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Ok. This place is a downer though to a lifelong fan who hasn’t seen him before and took his family and had the night of their lives and is still on cloud nine. Life’s too short. We all feel beyond extremely lucky to be able to see him at all. It’s an incredible blessing to be able to witness his work live and in person. And a wonderful show it is. I thought this may be a place to share some joy. I can see why it is so quiet here. I won’t be the first to check in looking for like minded souls and check out after witnessing unreasonable negativity for what was, to me and loads of others, nothing short of an incredible experience
In interviews he’s been saying there won’t be many changes as he’s happy with the way the show works. And I see why , what a show it is. I hope if Paul heads your way again you can find some joy in it should you go. Thanks for having me briefly in the forum. Wishing you all the best.
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@yankeefan2 Yes, these reviews are fulsome and lack placing the set list in the context of his long career but I would rather read words such as these than encounter the “cut and slash” tripe that we were subjected to in the 1980s which, thankfully, began to be reversed with the 1989-1990 tour. I saw him in Knoxville last May and his voice isn’t what it used to be but I would rather have seen him than others that were out there at the time.
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Sorry you feel the truth is a downer. Everything I said will not be denied by almost all Beatle fans. I said Paul was incredible that he still can put on an almost 3-hour show at 81. Wishing Paul did a few solo songs from his latest album should not be considered negative. I fully understand he needs to fill the show up with Beatle/Wings hits and give the fans what they came to hear. I said Paul was the ultimate showman but wished he would "freshen" up his stories between songs because he has repeated himself for years. That view is shared by most people who have seen him a couple of times. Paul needs to remember not everyone is a "first-timer". Paul's voice is not as good as it was and that is just the plain simple truth, does not mean he can no longer sing. I complimented his backing band and the fact that Paul is still an excellent musician who plays several instruments. Finally, there is no need IMO for you not to post your joy in seeing the show the other night. I am sure as the tour moves on to other places in Australia there will be other posters who will share your joy.
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Sorry to hear your uncle passed away, my condolences to you and your family.
In regard to Paul, the old Beatle song he played was "She's A Woman". He could have picked worse Beatle songs, but wouldn't it have been cool if he played Beatle song he has never done live like "Rocky Raccoon". Now that would be something exciting and would get plenty of "YouTube" views. Still boggles my mind he has not done "Find My Way" from "McCartney III". Still a bunch more dates on this tour so maybe he will shock us - ha ha.
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The media did trash Paul in the early/mid 80's but some of it was deserved. Albums like "McCartney II", "Pipes Of Peace", "Press To Play" and "Give My Regards to Broadstreet" were not very good and up to his high standards. The movie was a complete flop which added to the bad media coverage. Since FITD and the 1989 tour, the media has been pretty darn nice to Paul. For the most part the reviews of his albums have been very good, and he also always receives accolades for his live shows.
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I love Wix's glasses!
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@yankeefan2 said in Adelaide, Australia - Wed 18 Oct 2023 Confirmed:
@bruce-m
Of course, it is "glowing". (lol). He has not played there in many years, and they are still in awe of a Beatle. The reviewer has obviously not been to or heard about a McCartney concert in many years if he believes he played "deep" cuts - OMG!! His voice is a bit "shaggier", that is a polite way to describe it. Love the description of the song "Come on To Me.", reviewer says the song is "not bad" - lmao. Sounds like Paul is telling the same old stories (George's ukulele etc.) Paul really ticks me off when he says all the time now the reaction of audience to new songs (no lights) in comparison to his hits. Nice job of denigrating your solo songs Paul, freaking wow. Reviewer mentions Paul saying how hard it is to play "Blackbird" on guitar and many young people failed. News flash Paul, I could play it as a teenager (18). Granted not as good as Paul but still was acceptable version. IMO, this review and the others to follow will all be basically the same.Now, a good reviewer who is not a Paul "fan boy/girl" would write a different review. They would note that Paul did not do one song from his last album (McCartney III) and 90% of the songs played were over 40 years old. A good writer would actually mention by name the members of Paul's band and how good they are backing him for two decades. A brief one-word description of his singing voice is not sufficient, go into some detail. For example, his voiced seemed raspy during rockers or had trouble with higher notes. I would mention that it is incredible Paul is still doing a 2 1/2-3 hour show at 81 and joke that I wonder if Taylor Swift will be able to do the same when she hits that age -lol. BTW - her concerts are amazing, and I am not a fan. Finally, I have said this over the years that a good review needs to take a critical eye at the entire performance. Forget you are a fan and be objective. Sadly, too many reviews of Paul's shows read like something Paul's PR team would write.
I don't think that Paul is at all putting down his newer material when he says fans' phones light up for the old hits and not the newer songs. He's telling the truth, as anyone who's been to a Macca concert has seen at close range.
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@squawk said in Adelaide, Australia - Wed 18 Oct 2023 Confirmed:
Ok. This place is a downer though to a lifelong fan who hasn’t seen him before and took his family and had the night of their lives and is still on cloud nine. Life’s too short. We all feel beyond extremely lucky to be able to see him at all. It’s an incredible blessing to be able to witness his work live and in person. And a wonderful show it is. I thought this may be a place to share some joy. I can see why it is so quiet here. I won’t be the first to check in looking for like minded souls and check out after witnessing unreasonable negativity for what was, to me and loads of others, nothing short of an incredible experience
In interviews he’s been saying there won’t be many changes as he’s happy with the way the show works. And I see why , what a show it is. I hope if Paul heads your way again you can find some joy in it should you go. Thanks for having me briefly in the forum. Wishing you all the best.
Seeing Paul is always an amazing experience. You have limited chances to see someone with that big of an impact on music. I was fortunate enough to see him twice on the American leg of the Got Back tour and on a few other tours. Amazing for his age!
People here are just more critical since they have seen him before and have expectations and wish some of the songs from Egypt Station were swapped with Mccartney 3 songs. As Paul has said, he wants every one who goes to the shows to get their moneys worth so he plays the hits which we have nothing against.It's great to hear that your family had a great time just like mine did.
Best regards! -
Yes, he is telling the truth. IMO he is putting down the new material because he is pointing out that the audience does not like newer songs enough to put their phone lights on. I will just agree to disagree with you on this point.
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2 hours of show highlights!
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I remember reading in an interview with him a few years back that he was talking to Mick Jagger about performing live and both agreed that their respective audiences loved hearing the older numbers compared to the new material. Of course, for us hard core fans we know all his material and I must say my personal preference would be a strong set list of newer material, the more obscure the better. On the other hand, someone like my wife knows all his old standard Beatles/Wings/solo hits and would thus jump for joy at something very familiar like “Live and Let Die.” He pitches his shows to people like her and I understand why.
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Why do I feel that the highlights contain all Beatle songs -lol. Just teasing.
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For years, I have offered a simple solution which I believed would work for "first timers" and people like me who love his solo career songs. Paul usually plays around 35-40 songs every concert. For the "first timers", he can play 25-30 Beatles/Wings hits which should be enough to satisfy them since most rock acts don't do that many songs in their entire concert. That leaves approximately 10 solo songs for people who are into that part of his career. Play 2-3 songs off your latest album because we want to hear live these songs that were on the album we bought. Whatever songs are left, please go back over you career and pick/rehearse some songs that have never been played live. My examples would be songs like "Take It Away", "Little Willow", "Promise To You Girl" and "I Can Bet".
You don't have to be a genius to set up the order of songs, so you don't have too many unfamiliar songs in a row to bore the "first timers". I feel what I have mentioned above still pitches the show to Beatle Paul fans but also gives something to the fans that have bought your solo albums for many years. Finally, Paul is 81 so nothing is going to change. The time for possible big changes was in 2002 and that ship has sailed a long time ago.
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@yankeefan2 Good ideas but like you said that ship sailed a long time ago. I am afraid the Captain won’t make any drastic changes so I just try to be content that is he still alive, can do things like Egypt Station and Macca III and still wants to go out to perform. He is putting smiles on thousands of faces in Australia at a time. Yes, I was disappointed that “Find My Way” didn’t find its way on stage but I honestly think he wanted to keep everything the same as it is easier on his band who, after all, had no appearance on III with the exception of Slidin’. No new songs to learn keeps it simpler. He has kept them happy for over 20 years and perhaps little things like this help.
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Sorry for the broken sentence above, I was saying he is putting smiles on faces in Australia at a time when there is a dearth of good news. TV interrupted my train of thought.
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Personally, I always had the feeling the band was bored with doing mostly the same songs and would enjoy doing a few new ones. I can't imagine it would be that hard for a band who has toured with Paul for over 20 years to learn 2-3 new songs pretty quickly. IMO it is more about Paul not wanting to put in the effort to rehearse something new with them. Paul is 81 and if he does not want to do that I understand, just saying it would not be that hard for them to accomplish.
There is no doubt Paul is going to put smiles on a lot of faces the next few days. People get to see a rock icon sing songs they grew up with and knows how to entertain an audience. I hope they all have a fantastic time.
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@yankeefan2
Thanks for your condolences.I loved your last post and I know you have voiced this opinion before . As you said, he does plenty of songs to appeal to both the "First Timers and the "Hard Core" fans at the same concert.
Personally, I have little problems with Paul doing the majority of songs from his Beatle discography. But one of the biggest problems with Paul's concerts over the last 5 to 10 years is that he doesn't switch songs up especially on the Solo side. A primary example is that in his first Australian show he continues to perform "Fuh You" and "Come On To Me" and continues to "skip" better Egypt Station songs like "I Don't know" and "Who Cares".