Set List critique
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B J Conlee wrote:
SusyLuvsPaul wrote:
So Yankeefan and BJ and maybe a couple more are gonna storm off 'cause they don't approve of Paul's set lists at his concerts of the past few years--sounds like childish, crybaby sour grapes, to me. As Nancy R pointed out, just give a listen to all Paul's recorded albums (and the better made boots too I guess) and you can hear the songs you so adore and wish to hear "live" over and over again, 'til your ears fall off, if you desire. And hear him singing perfectly with pristine renditions. Turn out all the lights, sit in a totally dark room and let their sublimity sink in and satiate. It won't be "live" but it will be even better, in some ways. In my opinion.
It's too bad Lennon got shot, scaring Paul off from touring for ten years or so, but he couldn't help that. You could have hustled your hineys in the 90's and in '89 too (?) to hear him in person, and in the early and mid 2000's. He gave many, many live concerts then. With more variety in the setlists...
My Brit friend actually told me she prefers to hear their albums and not shell out so many pounds to hear her favorite singers in concert, when the songs usually sound so much better in the recorded original versions, she maintained. They do to her, and to me as as well. Granted, there's a special thrill in seeing your favorite songs performed live, but if you don't get to, you have the albums, CDs and streams and all that. I would not let this dissuade me from appreciating Paul music.
Susy,
Sorry to be sounding childish, or like a crybaby, having sour grapes etc. I did think, however, that this is an opinion forum and afterall I'm just stating my opinion.
I actually found the free "streaming service" over on the Raleigh Show Section (under Rock Show) to be very entertaining. It is still up as of this morning. For those who didn't attend Raleigh, I would highly recommend people check it out. Unfortunately, it only started with "Let Me Roll It To You to "Let It Be" so I missed the beginning of the setlist and the ending, Encore sections. But it covers much of the show and is very enjoyable to watch. It also gave me a good feeling of what Paul's Concerts are right now in 2019.
I am very happy especially for the 1st or 2nd timers. It shows just how great of a concert Paul is still giving at almost 77 and what a great value it is considering they are still almost 3 hours. Even though I have seen Paul many times (fortunately at his vocal peak) in 1989, 1993, 2002, 2005, 2010 etc) I still thoroughly enjoyed watching Raleigh's show (especially at the price!). I still enjoyed the acoustic section (starting with "I've Just Seen A Face" and ending with "Here Today". Paul even included a brand new addition for this tour..."From Me to You". And even though I have seen it a dozen times, I still enjoy the Ob La Di, Band on the Run and Back in the USSR threesome. There were other points however that I know I would be disappointed being such a hardcore, huge fan of his complete 60 year career including his latest album Egypt Station.
I'm very fine with skipping his last few tours. I've seen him at his peak and when his setlist was more varied so I'm not bitter in any way. Paul is still my favorite music star over my entire life. I feel bad that Paul isn't as proud of his Solo career (including the wonderful Egypt Station) but there is nothing I can do about it. And as a couple of others have said, I can listen to Egypt Station, Tug of War, Chaos etc. anytime I want. I am very grateful for that gift.
Excellent post as always BJ and we were not being chilish or a crybaby -lol.
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I recall getting that very nice book from you, Yankeefan, but don't remember whining or insinuating it was a "scam" when I didn't receive it fast enough, but I believe you. Sorry I was a pill.
I don't understand why you think "there will be no more new music from him"--McCartney's a songwriter, that's what he does ! Why'd you assume the tap would turn off now? I feel confident he'll come out with new stuff. We haven't even heard all the "leftovers" from the Egypt Station sessions yet. And no doubt he will continue to write new songs. I can't imagine him stopping. Just curious why you thought that.
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SusyLuvsPaul wrote:
I don't understand why you think "there will be no more new music from him"--McCartney's a songwriter, that's what he does ! Why'd you assume the tap would turn off now?
I was surprised by that comment too. The only way Paul is going to stop creating and releasing new music is a) he becomes physically or mentally incompacitated owing to illness or b) he dies. Given that there seems no immediate threat of either those two events happening, I'm currently looking forward to another album in 2023. However, given that Egypt Station was such a disappointing album, I have a feeling that Paul will want to release something more substantial fairly quickly. Possibly by the end of next year hopefully.
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SusyLuvsPaul wrote:
I recall getting that very nice book from you, Yankeefan, but don't remember whining or insinuating it was a "scam" when I didn't receive it fast enough, but I believe you. Sorry I was a pill.
I don't understand why you think "there will be no more new music from him"--McCartney's a songwriter, that's what he does ! Why'd you assume the tap would turn off now? I feel confident he'll come out with new stuff. We haven't even heard all the "leftovers" from the Egypt Station sessions yet. And no doubt he will continue to write new songs. I can't imagine him stopping. Just curious why you thought that.
No problem Susy, all is ok. I believe it was about 5 years between "New" and "Egypt Station" and if he followed that pattern, he would be into his 80's before another album. As much as we all think he is going to be around forever, father time does catch up to everyone. Will he write more songs and produce another album, possibly but I would not bet a bunch of money on it. If I am proven wrong, I will love coming back here and commenting on the new music -lol.
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SusyLuvsPaul wrote:
It's too bad Lennon got shot,
No shit.
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Same stuff - the 3 ES songs, Fuh You, Come On To Me and Who Cares, no Yesterday. But, his voice sounded pretty good except of course on Maybe I’m Amazed. He told the same jokes, but was very relaxed and funny. And, he actually drank water TWICE!!
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Nancy R wrote:
Same stuff - the 3 ES songs, Fuh You, Come On To Me and Who Cares, no Yesterday. But, his voice sounded pretty good except of course on Maybe I’m Amazed. He told the same jokes, but was very relaxed and funny. And, he actually drank water TWICE!!
Regarding the water, better late then never? - lol. Take care, it has been fun !!
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Yankeefan2 wrote:
Nancy R wrote:
Same stuff - the 3 ES songs, Fuh You, Come On To Me and Who Cares, no Yesterday. But, his voice sounded pretty good except of course on Maybe I’m Amazed. He told the same jokes, but was very relaxed and funny. And, he actually drank water TWICE!!
Regarding the water, better late then never? - lol. Take care, it has been fun !!
He drank prior to My Valentine and (we think) Live And Let Die!
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I'm quite surprised that Paul hasn't been drinking water during the show in the past. Being on stage under those lights is like being in a sauna and so it would be very easy for him to dehydrate under those conditions, especially after nearly three hours.
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Kestrel wrote:
I'm quite surprised that Paul hasn't been drinking water during the show in the past. Being on stage under those lights is like being in a sauna and so it would be very easy for him to dehydrate under those conditions, especially after nearly three hours.
I know! And the fact that in the past he would never drink water probably added to the deterioration of his voice!
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Yankeefan2 wrote:
B J Conlee wrote:
Yankeefan2 wrote:
B J Conlee wrote:
Now that we're only 2 days away from the new US leg of the Freshen Up tour, it will certainly be interesting to see if Paul adds any new songs (including additional Egypt Station songs) to the Set.
In my opinion we have a better chance of Paul "adding" a couple of his classic Beatle songs that he's done before like Penny Lane and A Day in the Life. Both songs are iconic and fit the overall theme of playing signature Beatle songs and the 70's hits.
As far as Egypt Station songs, I think maybe fans will get "I Don't Know" as an addition. He certainly has played "I Don't Know" quite a few times at Soundchecks. My gut feel is that will be it as far as Egypt Station additions. I also think "Back in Brazil" was only an addition for the South American audience.
As we all know, Paul has always loved performing live for the "fun and adoration" from the fans. At almost 77, that is what drives him to still do full tours. I think it could be that simple... having fun and staying in touch with his fans. The other factor is that Paul wants to play his instruments on tour. He can do the overwhelming majority of his current setlist songs (both singing and playing) in his sleep. Relearning a bunch of older non-hit solo or Wings' songs would be way too much work at his age. As long as his health is good and the setlist is "easy" for him I'm not surprised he is still touring. Adding the 3 or 4 new songs from his latest album like he did last year is plenty enough additions for him and staying with the staples he's been doing over the last 3-5 years makes it relatively easy. I don't expect much more than that with this new Freshen Up leg in America.
Nothing new BJ. If he can't add a few more songs from "Egypt Station" which suit his voice now and the band recorded with him, than there really is nothing left to say. Really don't see any more new material coming from him so it is almost senseless to really bother posting here now.
Yankeefan,
I hear you 100%. It's been fun posting and sharing our favorite Paul songs from his "entire" career (including the rare unreleased ones, Solo Albums etc.) but I don't think I will be posting on Maccaboard in the future either. Would have attended one or more shows over the last few years (including the current US leg) but the Setlist is not for big time Macca Solo fans like us who want "variety" in my opinion. At his age, I also agree that it is unlikely Paul will be releasing too much new material in the future. And If he isn't proud enough of his latest offering (Egypt Station that got universally great reviews) to put the time into rehearsing even the "best" songs from ES, I'm not going to spend all the "money" to attend his shows. I would have been thrilled to hear any number of the 7 songs I listed on my above post (including the "Hunt Me Down 3 song suite"). All of these songs (and a couple of more from ES) deserve to be heard. Why Paul didn't include at least a few of them really baffles me. I know it takes rehearsal time but playing his latest really good "new" songs should have been his greatest priority I would think. All of them are excellent in my opinion.
PS Hand In Hand is another standout on ES in my opinion.
If you want to stay in touch, send me PM and we can exchange email addresses. If not, it has been a pleasure "chatting" with you all these years. Finally, I will leave you with lyrics from my favorite Bob Dylan song.
May God bless and keep you always
May your wishes all come true
May you always do for others
And let others do for you
May you build a ladder to the stars
And climb on every rung
May you stay forever young
Forever young, forever youngThanks Yankeefan and will do.
PS One of my favorrite Dylan songs too.
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Sorry for my little tirade about not posting anymore. I was just a little frustrated with Paul's apparent lack of interest in his latest songs...Egypt Station. I got my hopes up in one of the Soundchecks in South America where they played several ES songs (in additon to the 3 he was playing last year) but apparently Paul has scratched them.
As mentioned I saw the stream service that was still up in the Raleigh Section of Rock Show. Unfortunately it didn't show the 1st 7 songs (which by and large I like) or the last bunch of songs after Let It Be. I mentioned the sections I really liked in one of my previous posts here in the Setlist Thread from basically seeing 70% of the show on the totally free service.
My biggest disappointment as I have said is the lack of ES songs. For an album full of gems, he now is only playing 3 and Fuh You is one of my least favorites on ES especially from a lyric point of view. And there were plenty of spots where addtional ES songs would have worked perfectly in my opinion. Here are just a few examples:
*Happy With You - would have worked perfectly in the acoustic section as a replacement for Dance Tonight. I was surprised that Paul brougnt Dance Tonight back since he has played it on previous tours. I get why Paul would bring it back... it's catchy, easy to sing and Abe's chair dancing is cute but my feeling as a big time "total" Paul fan and if I had paid that kind of money that I would have been very frustrated not hearing the wonderful "Happy With You". The problem is that it takes rehearsal time for Paul and the Band and apparently Paul is unwilling to do it. Don't know the reasons except that maybe Paul at his age just doesn't have the confidence to sing too many of the new songs live at this point. Something like "Confidante" would also have been a good acoustic replacement for "In Spite of all the Danger" to really "freshen" up the Setlist as well.
*The section of the show that includes songs like Queenie Eye, Fuh You (especially after performing Eleanor Rigby) , and "Being For the Benefit of Mr. Kite" were perfect replacement spots in my opinion for including some of the real gems from ES. Again, Paul seems hesitant to add brand new songs like "I Don't Know, Dominoes, Do It Now".... songs that he has never performed live before and songs for the hard core fans that always buy his new releases. Paul seems more concerned with showing videos of Johnny Depp, Meryl Streep etc. I could care less personally. I'm far more interested in hearing new gems that Paul and the Band have never played in Concert previously.
* The encore songs - Instead of hearing the same ones he's been playing forever like Birthday, Sgt Peppers, Helter Skelter etc. this leg of Paul's latest tour was a perfect time for doing Hunt Me Down,/Naked/ C-Link from ES for the true fans. A great encore choice if there ever was. Paul would be telling the fans (of all variety) that he is still recording new music even at almost 77 years old.
Just my opinion of course. As I have repeatedly said, just wished Paul was more proud of his Solo and latest songs. I guess he didn't read all the reviews of ES. Most of the reviewers thought the album was GREAT.
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BJ, when he did the 3 ES songs in Greenville, nobody around us knew the words. We were up dancing and singing to Fuh You and Come On To Me! Can’t remember if we also did with Who Cares.
Paul will do what Paul wants to do. No sense wasting your breath wishing for more ES or any other solo songs. Why the heck he does Queenie Eye still is beyond me. I think he just wants to show the video with all the celebrities! There were much better songs on NEW.
He needs to get rid of Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite for sure! But I really like In Spite Of All the Danger and the story he tells about it (I know, we’ve all heard it at least 3 times!)
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Nancy R wrote:
BJ, when he did the 3 ES songs in Greenville, nobody around us knew the words. We were up dancing and singing to Fuh You and Come On To Me! Can’t remember if we also did with Who Cares.
Paul will do what Paul wants to do. No sense wasting your breath wishing for more ES or any other solo songs. Why the heck he does Queenie Eye still is beyond me. I think he just wants to show the video with all the celebrities! There were much better songs on NEW.
He needs to get rid of Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite for sure! But I really like In Spite Of All the Danger and the story he tells about it (I know, we’ve all heard it at least 3 times!)
You're absolutely right about me "wasting my breath wishing for more ES songs". I think it is especially true that in locations like Greenville (small Southern cities), the amount of Paul "solo" fans would be very sparse. The Southern area of the US are such big Country fans that they would know Paul strictly for Beatle songs. Not surpricing that people around you last night wouldn't know any of the ES songs.
I do think it would be very different in the big cities up North and the West Coast. In those locatons I think the percentage of people in the audience knowing Paul's Solo career would be much higher. And I think in those locations, many people would know the songs on ES quite well. Many of the people in those arenas would be hard core Paul fans (Solo too) and they like me would be disappointed in the Setllist if they have seen Paul multiple times.
As I said, I'm not bitter and Paul actually did me a favor going in the direction he has recently done. It's saving me a lot of money. It is unfortunate to the "hard core" Paul fans however. For Paul, it's all all about playing the huge majority of the Setlist on Beatle songs and the Big Wings' songs. I just think Paul is doing the big part of his Career and Catalog (50 years vs. less than 10 years with the Beatles) a big disservice.
As far as ES...any music fan can get tired of even great albums. That happened to me after listening to it so much during the first few months. But when I recently went back to listening to ES again, I now appreciated it more than ever. In my opinion, ES is so consistent with so many gems. But I also have to say that more than ever, Fuh You is my least favorite track on ES especially with God awful lyrics. So at the end of the day when Paul only does 3 songs from ES on tour and one of them is Fuh You, I am even more frustrated. Especially when you have great songs like Happy With You, I Don't know, Dominoes, Hand in Hand, People Want Peace, Confidante, Do It Now etc etc.
Anyway as I think you mention, I can always just play the album! I still love ES.
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So the Stones opened their tour in Chicago, and did 2 shows 6/21 and 6/25. They sound so much better than Paul at this point, and changed 35% of their setlist from night 1 to night 2. Micks voice doesn't crack either..
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Street Fighting Man
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Let's Spend the Night Together
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Tumbling Dice
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Sad Sad Sad
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You Got Me Rocking (vote song)
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You Can't Always Get What You Want
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Angie (B-stage acoustic)
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Dead Flowers (B-stage acoustic)
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Sympathy For The Devil
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Honky Tonk Women
--- Band introductions -
You Got The Silver (Keith)
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Before They Make Me Run (Keith)
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Miss You
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Paint It Black
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Midnight Rambler
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Start Me Up
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Jumping Jack Flash
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Brown Sugar
--- Band off stage -
Gimme Shelter
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Satisfaction
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Jumping Jack Flash
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It's Only Rock'n'Roll
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Tumbling Dice
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Bitch
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Ride 'Em On Down
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Monkey Man (vote song)
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You Can't Always Get What You Want
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Play With Fire (B-stage acoustic)
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Sweet Virginia (B-stage acoustic)
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Sympathy For The Devil
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Honky Tonk Women
--- Band introductions -
Slipping Away (Keith)
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Before They Make Me Run (Keith)
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Miss You
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Paint It Black
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Midnight Rambler
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Start Me Up
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Brown Sugar
--- Band off stage -
Gimme Shelter
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Satisfaction
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Clickable links:
I like the 2nd night setlist better.
Mick doesn’t try to hit the high notes like he used to though, but his speaking and singing voice are much better than one would expect for his age.
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Maccaroni1974 wrote:
So the Stones opened their tour in Chicago, and did 2 shows 6/21 and 6/25. They sound so much better than Paul at this point, and changed 35% of their setlist from night 1 to night 2. Micks voice doesn't crack either..
Yes, I said that over in the Mick thread. Out of his 20 song set he changed up 7 songs! How great that you were able to get to both Chicago shows Maccaroni !
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Paul plays mostly Beatles songs because he knows that is what the audience wants to hear. Every single person in the crowd cheers as soon as any Beatles song starts. How many would cheer for "Average Person" or "Name and Address"? He needs the adulation.
Those on a website such as this might agree it is a shame how he neglects most of his career. Poll those in the audience and I think all would be familiar with the Beatles, half might know his Wings hits, and perhaps a quarter would be familiar with his biggest solo hits.
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Sorry Khalida, but I would scream myself silly if he sang "Average Person", one of my all-time favorite solo McCartney tunes. That song has two of my favorite lyrics, of yes, all time; 'said she worked the summer crowd at seasides, winter time she ran away and hid' AND 'he looked into the corners of his memory, searching for a picture of the fight'. Whoa. As a former bartender and boxer, those two lines just resonate with me.
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wingsoverkc wrote:
Sorry Khalida, but I would scream myself silly if he sang "Average Person", one of my all-time favorite solo McCartney tunes. That song has two of my favorite lyrics, of yes, all time; 'said she worked the summer crowd at seasides, winter time she ran away and hid' AND 'he looked into the corners of his memory, searching for a picture of the fight'. Whoa. As a former bartender and boxer, those two lines just resonate with me.
Why are you sorry? You are illustrating my point.
Members of this website might cheer for his lesser known songs, but most of the audience would not. If you are the only one cheering a song, he will never play that song again.