Camping World Stadium
May, 2022
36 songs.
22 Beatles classics.
Half a dozen interesting stories.
5 musical instruments.
One soon to be 80 year-old legend.
2 hours and 40 minutes of rock ‘n roll majesty, without a break, or as far as we could see a sip of water.
Maybe, I’m amazed…
Paul McCartney visited Orlando over Memorial Day weekend and delivered another show for the ages. I saw the Beatles legend for the first time almost a decade ago – you know, when he was a sprite 70 year-old. I was curious to see how his show stood the test time. Bottom line: I was blown away.
He could play only songs from his solo and Wings days and still deliver nonstop iconic music, but thankfully he also gifted his fans with plenty of tracks from the Beatles. I’m not a Beatles nor Paul McCartney fanatic, but I still knew well 32 of the 36 songs. Amazingly, he replaced 18 songs that he had played on his last trip through Orlando, and still had a phenomenal setlist.
The Camping World Stadium crowd was near capacity. Our seats were side of the stage up high, so we didn’t get to take full advantage of the video screens. There was one large one behind the five-piece band ad two huge ones flanked the stage.
As we settled into our seats, it was a nice surprise to see so many young folks in attendance. They made up a large portion of the audience. As it turned out, they were engaged and happy throughout the evening.
The night kicked off with the 79 year-old icon delivering the vocal opening to “Can’t Buy Me Love. The stadium was immediately rocking and the fans were in full throat. The first half of the show featured about a 50/50 split between Beatles/Wings classics and a handful of deeper cuts. He joked with the crowd that the stadium lit up like the Milky Way as fans recorded with their cell phones during the classics. Then, it appeared as a black hole during the deeper and newer tracks. He assured us the band didn’t care as they liked playing the new stuff.
He was in a story telling mood on this warm evening, regaling the crowd with numerous flashback moments. He shared thoughts on his bandmates, George Martin and other musicians. McCartney also delved into the challenges faced by the young Beatles as they tried to breakthrough in the sixties.
Sir Paul’s voice was far from perfect, but no one really expected perfection. He sounded good, looked great and kept the fans involved. There were a few notes that probably sounded better sixty years ago, but who the hell cares? The fact that he’s still belting out those tunes all these decades later is simply amazing.
Drummer Abe Laboriel Jr. was animated and fun all night. He had a few on-screen shining moments during “Dance Tonight.” Another fun moment was the unveiling of the Beatles original demo, “In Spite of All the Danger,” a song they released as The Quarrymen. Throughout the evening, McCartney reminisced about the old band, particularly the genius of Lennon and Harrison.
As you can expect, there were some fantastic singalong moments. “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” was a boisterous fun example earlier in the set. “Let It Be” was perfect as the stadium was awash in light from all of the cell phones while folks sang a long. Goose bump moment for sure. The highlight, was a wonderfully interactive version of “Hey Jude.” Perfection. (If you were wondering, there was no “Yesterday” this time.)
The band took a bow and left the stage after “Hey Jude.” When they returned for their six-song encore, they took to the stage waving flags, including a Ukrainian and a Pride flag. Nice touches.
As typical at a McCartney show, there were precious few special effects. It’s more about the music being played. But there were a few exceptions. During a brief acoustic set, McCartney got “high, and came a little closer to his fans. There was also a beautiful tribute to John Lennon during “I’ve Got a Feeling” that was one of the shining moments of this fantastic night. And, we got our “Live and Let Die” pyro. And it was spectacular. And loud. It was actually more impressive than the effects we saw at the KISS show last week.
The show ended with the last few songs from Abbey Road, as he typically plays. The night ended with “The End” which featured triple guitar solos traded off several times from McCartney and his longtime bandmates Rusty Anderson and Brian Ray.
And in the end
The love you take
Is equal to the love
You make
Rock On!
Bob Creedon
