Prague, Czech Republic - O2 Arena - June 16th - ARCHIVE
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I was in the second row, and it was amazing. Better than on all the videos. And he seemed so playful and happy. Plus je liked my sign. I'm going to write more tomorrow.
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veggieburgher:
mr.flamingpie:
Seems to have big delay. Paul just now entered the stage exactly at 20:33
That is his usual time of appearance.
Berlin and D?sseldorf was some minutes earlier. But at the end the differences are like peanuts... We left the concert during hey Jude because we wouldn't wait to long for the metro.... There are some interesting facts I'd like to say. 1. Security checks were the longest I ever saw by a macca concert. It was similar to an airport check. 2. There seems to be a barrier between the audience and Paul excepted the fans in front of stage. I think the main reason was the very low English knowledge of the majority. 3. There were only a few songs the audience really seemed to know. It was Love Me do, Something, eleanor Rigby, back in the ussr. IMO for five seconds did got the biggest response. Till we left the concert! 4. The sound wasn't as good as it used to be till one on one tour. D?sseldorf was very bad till painfully. Berlin was better and today there was again too much volume... the saxophone during lady Madonna did kill the sound of Pauls magic piano. 5. Paul himself was in a better mood than in Berlin. But I've to check my videos for a final opinion.. 6. There were only a handful fans with signs.
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Thanks for the report!
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mr.flamingpie:
Paul himself was in a better mood than in Berlin. But I've to check my videos for a final opinion.
hm..... I actually wanted to answer "there could be only disappointment for you after being at the Waldb?hne." but now I?m answering: "Paul was in better mood than in Berlin? Then he obviously must be in a good good good mood, because in my opinion the Waldb?hne Concert was the best Paul gig in my life."
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There are several Prague periscopes on that will last probably for most of tomorrow, Friday; Periscope has made a new save function, no one seems to care about! if you put #save in the title, the video will remain for good. If not, they are gone is 24 hrs. check this person's profile: https://www.periscope.tv/w/ajITfjF4blFyWHFvUm94all8MVBsS1FqQlBiTkRHRZ5Xaz6QnPGD5XTopwzb4BpE82hlGVAzmpfZ_JRcPHCu
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Loved it. I consider myself a casual McCartney fan, but I was brought up in the seventies with the blue and red double albums and I have been listening to The Beatles ever since. This was my first (and possibly last) McCartney show. His voice held up well most of the time (the live experience makes it a bit more forgiving anyway), he was in good spirit. I was particularly impressed by the live versions of Something, You Won't See Me, Blackbird and the Golden Slumber medley at the end. I could only get to the O2 Arena by 7 o'clock and it took me 45 minutes to get in, behind me there was still a huge line, possibly this is why the concert started at at 8.30. Czech crowds are not really the most enthusiastic in general, and yesterday was no exception. Also funny to see hardly any reaction to songs like Fool on the Hill, and massive singalong to Obladi Oblada (one of my least favourite Beatles songs). There was some Happy Birthday singing after Maybe I'm Amazed but Paul didn't really react on it. Overall totally worth it and I am happy I finally saw him.
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sunspark:
There are several Prague periscopes on that will last probably for most of tomorrow, Friday; Periscope has made a new save function, no one seems to care about! if you put #save in the title, the video will remain for good. If not, they are gone is 24 hrs. check this person's profile: https://www.periscope.tv/w/ajITfjF4blFyWHFvUm94all8MVBsS1FqQlBiTkRHRZ5Xaz6QnPGD5XTopwzb4BpE82hlGVAzmpfZ_JRcPHCu
I'm not even at home yet. Still in Prague. Hope it still will be there at night.
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Dida1234:
Loved it. I consider myself a casual McCartney fan, but I was brought up in the seventies with the blue and red double albums and I have been listening to The Beatles ever since. This was my first (and possibly last) McCartney show. His voice held up well most of the time (the live experience makes it a bit more forgiving anyway), he was in good spirit. I was particularly impressed by the live versions of Something, You Won't See Me, Blackbird and the Golden Slumber medley at the end. I could only get to the O2 Arena by 7 o'clock and it took me 45 minutes to get in, behind me there was still a huge line, possibly this is why the concert started at at 8.30. Czech crowds are not really the most enthusiastic in general, and yesterday was no exception. Also funny to see hardly any reaction to songs like Fool on the Hill, and massive singalong to Obladi Oblada (one of my least favourite Beatles songs). There was some Happy Birthday singing after Maybe I'm Amazed but Paul didn't really react on it. Overall totally worth it and I am happy I finally saw him.
__________________________________________________________ Dida, Thanks for your review and I am so happy that you had a great time. I really get why you as more of a casual fan and your 1st time seeing Paul really enjoyed it and felt it was, as you say, totally worth it. I enjoyed watching the Periscope videos and especially liked seeing the reaction from the audience. It seemed like the crowd really got into the Wings' songs like 1985, Letting Go and Live and Let Die. Vocally, it seemed like Paul voice really was holding up on the slow songs like My Valentine, Blackbird, And I love Her etc. It also helped that on a signature song like "Let It Be" the crowd really joined in. On the uptempo songs however Paul's voice really seemed shaky (e.g. Can't Buy Me Love, 1985). They didn't have that many videos so I realize that it was a small sampling as far as his voice as a whole. I would imagine that he would really struggle on a more difficult song like Maybe I'm Amazed. On this Site (Mr. McCartney's official site) they are a lot of hard core fans like me. It is not that we are mean spirited to Paul when you see the criticisms about the setlist. It is just we feel that Paul has totally neglected his solo career and he hasn't changed up the setlist nearly as much as we would like. I understand how someone like you (a first timer) would love the concert. I did too back in 1989 when I saw/heard Paul do all the classic Beatle songs for the 1st time...greatest show ever for me at that time. When I saw him in 2002, 2005, and 2011 they were also great shows because there were plenty of songs for me that were heard for the 1st time. But now, he is just recycling where we are hearing all the same songs again. Only Hard Days Night and Love Me Do would be new for me. Not nearly enough to pay the kind of money that these shows cost. The frustration is that there are plenty of great Solo songs that he has never played (or rarely played). But for you I understand why it is a great setlist and I am glad you had a great time and got your money's worth. thanks again for giving us a feel for the show from your perspective.
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We met Rusty with wife and daughter around 30 min ago! He was very friendly.
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mr.flamingpie:
We met Rusty with wife and daughter around 30 min ago! He was very friendly.
Nice! How did you get to meet him?
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Any news about soundcheck setlist? P.s If I met Rusty or Brian I would ask to suggest to Paul new songs for his setlist
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SandraH:
mr.flamingpie:
Paul himself was in a better mood than in Berlin. But I've to check my videos for a final opinion.
hm..... I actually wanted to answer "there could be only disappointment for you after being at the Waldb?hne." but now I?m answering: "Paul was in better mood than in Berlin? Then he obviously must be in a good good good mood, because in my opinion the Waldb?hne Concert was the best Paul gig in my life."
sorry that was my mistake last night thru tiredness? I meant McCartneys voice seems better than in Berlin...
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corchians:
Any news about soundcheck setlist? P.s If I met Rusty or Brian I would ask to suggest to Paul new songs for his setlist
be sure my friend Rusty surely don't want to hear such things he already know or feels. @Gordy JS. We met him coincidental on the street near Karlsbridge.
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I'm finally at home! Someone jumped under our train and the travel home was horrible, but anyway... Before the concert started I talked to a guy in the first row and he said the sound check was amazing, but in the end Paul asked whether they have any song requests and nobody kinda said anything or idk, so he didn't play anything and that was the end. He looked pretty neutral at the beginning, but later it was obvious he was having a really great time. He was silly dancing, playing with that teddy bear etc. all the fucking time, I couldn't stop laughing/smiling. Yeah, he took some fake proposal pair on stage again. Then he hugged and kissed the girl and when he wanted to hug/kiss the guy, he was acting like wtf paul what are you doing, no homo. Really embarrassing, I'd slap that dude... As I said before, I was in the second row and I had a sign saying "? YOU'RE QUITE OKAY FAUL ?" (yeah lame, but... ya know, whatever) and I held it at the beginning and I think he saw it and gave it a kinda weird look, but then I held it during Hey Jude again and he looked straight into my eyes and on the sign and did this:
4:05 - 4:08 ops: When people tried to sing Happy Birthday, it wasn't very loud and I don't think a lot of people actually sang it. He noticed it though and said just d?ky (if i remember it well) which basically means just thanks.... I'll maybe write more about his voice etc. later. I just still can't think clear, and I'm really sad it's over... -
I'm just back from Prague having seen Paul in Berlin and then Prague. I thought the audience at argue were a bit cold. They didn't really seem to warm up until the encore! We had seats in the front row to the side of the stage and was desperate to get ups and dance. I don't like doing it when others around me don't do it. So the fella next to me ( who only seemed to recognise a few Beatles numbers ) had to put up with lots of arm waving and seat dancing from me! As in Berlin, I thought Paul was on top form. Personally, I think his voice is better than people give him credit for. It wobbled a bit during Here Today and Blackbird and singing mid range seems to work best for him. Too high or low and it wobbles but hey, what do I know? I hadn't looked at the set lists since the first shows of this tour. I thought You Won't See Me was fab. It was sung in a lower key than the original and was semi acoustic. Here, There and Everywhere on the piano was absolutely divine, just gorgeous. I've only ever heard him play it as part of the acoustic set before. And you know what, I was tickled pink that the film which accompanied Blackbird actually showed the European bird heard in the song. I don't know why but it really touched me! (I am an avid birder though). For me, a Paul McCartney concert is a private and intimate experience, if that doesn't sound weird. It's about connecting with the music, which, and the man, who, has defined my adult life. So although many here do not think he should perform it, Maybe I'm Amazed is always and forever the outstanding song of the night for me. It connects to me in the way no other song does and I do not give a fig about his voice when he sings it. Those four minutes are between me and his song. A few in the audience started to sing happy birthday to him after Maybe I'm Amazed and he looked confused at this. His gigs are clearly well oiled machines so he wasn't going to stop and listen to what was being sung. He did acknowledge his birthday though before performing 'Birthday' A couple of negatives (and hardly that) but the concert was slightly shorter than previous tours and there was just the one encore. I thought maybe that was due to the local curfew laws, but having looked at the set lists for this tour, it can't be. Maybe he's accepting he's finally getting on a bit. I've noticed over the last few years how he's cut down the audience participation at the end of Hey Jude and the jam at the end of Carry That Weight. I don't like the bringing of audience members up on the stage in the encore either. I would much rather hear another song and I dunno, they feel a bit staged and fake (not to say they are). The O2 as a venue is great and is right outside the tube station, so fantastic for public transport. I'm now hoping own hope he comes to the O2 in London later on in the year!
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Nice review, I felt exactly the same (there is only one thing what I would like to add: the mobiles really annoy me, why do they have to take awful pictures from the distance? And terrible videos, too? Constantly block the view of other people.) Some decent pictures: http://www.lidovky.cz/foto.aspx?r=ln_kultura&c=A160616_205531_ln_kultura_mct&foto=MCT63fea5_205300_1233714.jpg
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Do you have some pictures of crowd? I want to see how many people was there. BTW. it was such an amazing night.. Standing next to area by many ours, later best concert in my life. Want more
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I was standing downstairs, but a friend of my took this picture of the crowd: https://scontent.fmad3-2.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/13432400_1144204648973052_8146807754705915950_n.jpg?oh=dc6f22b66f34f78d24f7cf3d191917f0&oe=57CE1E10
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makka:
Do you have some pictures of crowd? I want to see how many people was there. BTW. it was such an amazing night.. Standing next to area by many ours, later best concert in my life. Want more
I asked about it - according to Live Nation "approx 17 000 people".
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Here are my pictures from Prague: https://www.flickr.com/photos/125395939@N03/albums/72157669687955712