| Yes, A Second Time! Macca Concert #2
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| September 27th, 2003 |
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| Looking back, much to my surprise, Lynn did
in fact manage to snag some tickets--three
to be exact. Yup, we were going to see Paul
McCartney again, and this time Julie was
lucky enough to be accompanying us. At least,
WE thought she was lucky... Julie didn't agree. She grimaced when informed we were all going to pile into the car and drive nearly three hours to see Macca at the Hartford Civic Center. The show was scheduled to commence at 8pm on Friday, September 27th, 2002--which just happens to be exactly one year ago today. When we initially saw the Fab One at Long Island's Nassau Coliseum a few months earlier on April 21st of last year, our dear darlin' daughter stayed home with her grandmother. There were no complaints from either quarters that particular night, but when Lynn saw that another show at the relatively close Connecticut venue was inserted into the ex-Beatles touring agenda, she inquired as to if we'd like to all go to see another show should any tickets suddenly turn up available. "Sure", I said, little thinking there'd be any REAL chance we'd be fortunate enough to score seats so close to the show's actual play date, but, like I said, much to my surprise, mere days before Paul carted his Hofner bass to off to Hartford , we came into possession of three choice--if not necessarily magnificent--seats!?! Not being part of a package deal like our Spring expedition--bus transportation was provided for us and other folks that time around--we found our selves driving dark, unfamiliar, and--did I mention it was raining?--wet highways in the hopes of getting up to Row D in time. And in the back seat? Little Miss Kicking and Screaming. Okay, maybe it wasn't THAT bad, but Julie indicated her lack of interest on more than one occasion in recent days past, and she wasn't at all shy about reminding us on the way over. I suppose I might've reacted much the same way if my parents had tried to cart me off to see Frank Sinatra when I was 12 years old--that's assuming my folks would've ever attended an actual concert, an event that never actually occurred in my lifetime--but I also knew that years later, I'd look back and say, "Wow. I saw Sinatra?!..." I never actually did, of course, but hopefully the day will come when Julie will thank us for dragging her along to see one of the most famous composers and performers of the 20th century--and if I'm really, REALLY lucky, I won't be six feet under when it happens!?!... We arrived with 15 minutes to spare, only to find that, in the name of security, only ONE door was open, creating a tremendous bottleneck of anxious fans standing out on the steps, slowly squeezing their way inside and out of the (thankfully) light drizzle. There were many doorways open back on Long Island in April, making for a swift and uncomplicated entrance for all concert goers, but not here in the Hartford Civic Center. Uh uh. As the minutes ticked away, the frustration level rose, and then rose some more, but luckily, the show was delayed about 45 minutes so not a single note of the upcoming musical extravaganza was missed by the snail-like march of ticket-holders! And at the hefty prices we shelled out for this twice-in-a-lifetime experience, that certainly was a smart and justified move on behalf of the knuckleheads responsible for letting the crowd ever-so-slowly siphon it's way in!! Sitting in seats oddly and eerily located basically in the very same spot on this venues floor plan that mirrored our seats at the previous concert, we finally managed to sit back and enjoy the show once safely inside. And what a show it was!! Check out my April 21st entry for more details--or buy the "Back In The U.S." DVD or CD (or BOTH!) The two shows were remarkably similar, right down to our star's "spontaneous" stage patter, but it was all so wonderful the first time around, merely enjoying the performances' subtle nuances the second time around still made for a worthwhile trip. Oh, there WAS a bit of a change in the set list over the five month interval--three new numbers were added, three old numbers were eliminated. The first ever stage performance of "She's Leaving Home" joined "Michelle" and "Let 'Em In" on this leg of the tour, replacing "Mother Nature's Son", "C Moon", and "Vanilla Sky", an upgrade in each and every instance, to my way of thinking. I absolutely loved it, Lynn absolutely loved it, the crowd in general absolutely loved it!! Julie? Well, I'd love to report that she was won over by the magic of the evening, but I can't honestly say that that's what happened. I will tell you, happily, that her resistance was finally--FINALLY!!-- broken down--albeit just the teeniest tiniest bit--when, during the crowd singalong portion of "Hey Jude", I glanced over to see my kid, big smile splashed across her face, "Na Na Na NaNaNaNa"-ing with the best of 'em! Lemme tell ya, that small but indelibly memorable moment pretty much made all the hassle of bringing Julie along worthwhile. Silly love songs? Sure. But, well, like the man asked, what's wrong with that, I'd like to know?... |