Paul McCartney In Concert

On July 16, I saw Paul McCartney perform in concert at Yankee Stadium. It was a comfortable evening to be outdoors and to see Paul McCartney was a special experience for me. Like many in my generation, I am a life-long Beatles fan and Paul was always my favorite. My husband saw John Lennon live during an Elton John concert back in 1974. He also saw George Harrison the same year. I never saw any of them except on television performances. I saw Beatlemania at the indoor pool several years ago and I almost felt that I was watching the Beatles live. Last year I saw another Beatlemania show, this time at the North Fork Theatre and they sounded exactly like the original band. But none of these could compare to Saturday's performance.

McCartney sang a mix of old Beatles songs and songs from his group Wings. He spoke fondly of John Lennon and sang a song that he wrote for him. He played the ukulele that George Harrison had given to him and sang George's song "Something". He changed guitars frequently during the show, displaying the fine musician that he is. There were fireworks during a performance of "Live and Let Die" and Yankee Stadium lit up. Billy Joel made a surprise appearance and performed "She Was Just 17" on the piano while Paul and Billy sang together.

The crowd rose to their feet at the end and Paul came back for two encores. He spoke and joked with the audience in between songs and he seemed to be enjoying the performance as much as the audience. I couldn't help but to remember being a nine-year-old kid back in 1964 and watching The Beatles perform on The Ed Sullivan Show. Paul was considerably older at Saturday's performance but so was I! After all of these years, I am still a big fan of The Beatles and Paul is still my favorite!