Seoul, SK - South Korea Olympic Stadium - 5/2/15 - ARCHIVE
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nobodytoldme:
'Hope Of Deliverance' soundcheck with fan on stage.Fantastic!!!
Seeing this made our night - LOVE it!!! 
Always wonderful to see the generosity Paul shares with his fans! THANK YOU, (((((PAUL)))))!!! WE LOVE YOU!!!
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So I understand I?ve lost all my momentum to post anything about this show as we?re already moving forward to the next leg of Out There tour, but I had to write something down and get this out of my chest. This past week or so has been a massive Paul hangover that I couldn?t possibly recover from and so many fans who were at the show will agree with me. It was my second time seeing him after ?04 and quite frankly, everything was million times more powerful and emotional this time. My seat was infinitely better(5th row centre) so I guess that must helped but it wasn?t just where I stood. The crowd made all the difference. When you go to a show where the majority of the crowd are seeing the artist for the first time, and not there just for the experience but willing to do anything to show their love and appreciation of the music, it adds another dimension to the gig that is tremendous. This was definitely one of those special shows. Encouragingly, most of these people were in their 20?s to 30?s, myself included. Even teens were present in great numbers. And a lot of them also brought their parents so it made to a great mix of generations that was testimonial of the transcending effect of Paul?s legacy. And the set list, which gets a lot of flaks around here these days, was just perfect to these first-timers. Even the songs I was a bit skeptical about, such as ?My Valentine? and ?Hope for the Future?, sounded really great and didn?t take any of the energy away. And the first couple lines of the former(?What if it rained? We didn?t care?) became a sort of running theme of the night as Paul would sing them a cappella a couple of times throughout the show between songs because it actually rained the whole time. I had never been to a gig where it constantly rained like that but the amount was just perfect that it added a lot to the atmosphere without getting in the way of feeling the show. And since everyone was wearing the same rain poncho that was provided at the entrance, it sort of created this cool sense of unification, like ?we?re all really here for the same cause? kind of vibe. Some special moments, as have been mentioned by Beatlebob909 already, happened thanks to Korean Beatles fan club's effort. One of them was the red heart sign that everyone on the ground held up during ?The Long and Winding Road?. I knew it had been done before, famously by Paul?s crew back in ?02. But the sight of thousands of people holding it up together was a something of a different magnitude and added so much to the emotion of the music, that I could not help but shed tears. Paul was genuinely moved by it and, being a consummate professional and the greatest showman that he is, he knew exactly how to express his appreciation so people could understand that he loved it. To be honest, I wasn?t really keen on participating in stuff like this as all I wanted to do was stay focused on him the entire time, without anything bothering me. But it worked beautifully and really established a strong emotional connection between Paul and the crowd. Big kudos to the fan club. Flash light lit by everyone during 'Let it be' was an extremely beautiful sight, too. Massive wave of hearts didn't go unnoticed by camera crew who ran the side screens. Check this video. So cool. As someone who was there, I still get misty eyed watching it. Paul's reaction after the song is also lovely:
And from that point on, he just couldn?t do no wrong. People just ate everything up with their biggest joy. Some personal highlights include hearing the raw sound of him tapping his foot during ?Blackbird? ? seriously, you can?t ever hear something that isn?t mic?d or amplified coming from stage unless you?re in a small club. But I was so close and knew that it wasn?t some random stage noise but him counting the beat. That made it all surreal. Then ?Here Today? ? the song I barely appreciated 11 years ago. I nearly broke down hearing that one. Paul made the giant stadium with 45,000 people feels like you?re in a small auditorium listening to him. What touched my heart wasn?t the subject matter of the lyrics or anything but the sheer sincerity of the moment. Just him and his guitar. Unforgettable. One of the most amazing moments at live shows for me. I also enjoyed ?New? songs immensely and surprised how rocking ?Save Us? sounded live especially. You wouldn?t think you?d hear that sort of powerful rocker of a song at a show where the performer is 70 years old, much less when the song is from the latest album. And my gig resume has a dozen Metallica shows, AC/DC and whatnot on it so when I say it was powerful, you'll understand it really was powerful! Love this band ? Rusty, Brian, Wix and Abe. These guys are truly super. Too many fantastic moments to really go through?I won?t bother you with all of them. In fact, it?s still very hard for me to put into words when so many emotions still ringing strong with me. Despite my geographical disadvantage, I?ve been all over the world to see many of my favorite acts performing in person for years. This was hands down the best show I?ve ever seen. No other artist has ever taken me to such a roller-coaster ride of emotion like he did. I laughed, cried, and danced, often doing all of them at the same time if you can believe. He really set the new bar that is so high that it will not likely be touched let alone surpassed for years to come at least for me. I don?t think even Paul himself will top this if he ever plays here again. Amazing performer that knows how to feed off the energy from the crowd and take it to another level better than anyone else. The press and radio stations raved about the show all week. It is already being considered as one of if not the best concert ever performed by a foreign artist in Korea, a classic. In case you forgot, that?s the impact Paul leaves you with when he visits and conquers an uncharted territory. And here are some pictures I took: Outside of the Seoul Olympic Stadium. 'Out There' bus. Compared to Japan, merches were limited only to a few choice of shirts, a cap, a hoodie and tour program. Very cool welcome banner the Korean Beatles fanclub brought in. Paul pointed it out as he sang the last line of the night. I don't do many pics or vids during a show. Probably the only decent shot I've taken with my phone. Thanks for reading! -
Thanks for the great review & the fab pictures! Sounds like you had a blast!
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Thank you for the report and pictures!
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Thank you so much for your beautiful report and for the photos! Your post was worth waiting for!
chang:
Massive wave of hearts didn't go unnoticed by camera crew who ran the side screens. Check this video. So cool. As someone who was there, I still get misty eyed watching it. Paul's reaction after the song is also lovely:
That was lovely! I was at the 2002 show where the preshow dancers and crew held up the hearts, and it was really special, but Seoul looks amazing! You can see how touched Paul was.
Some personal highlights include hearing the raw sound of him tapping his foot during ?Blackbird? ? seriously, you can?t ever hear something that isn?t mic?d or amplified coming from stage unless you?re in a small club. But I was so close and knew that it wasn?t some random stage noise but him counting the beat.
This is something I love to hear, also.
Amazing performer that knows how to feed off the energy from the crowd and take it to another level better than anyone else.
Exactly. Thank you again for sharing your experience and your photos!
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Great report and photos!! Thanks for sharing!
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Hey mucho gracias for all of your kind words. I really appreciate them. It ended up being more of a long-winded emotional rambling than a review. But I couldn't trim it down. I had never thought any concert would left me feeling like this ever again. It was a pure magic. Here's a cool Korean media coverage. Play the video inside. Footage includes a bit of pro shot video of the show as well as interviews with the audience. http://entertain.naver.com/read?oid=422&aid=0000115287
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Chang, thank you for the review and photos. Glad you had an amazing time!
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