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Paul in Paris
Paul in Paris
By Louise Peloquin
Beatles fans, this is for you and is dedicated to the late Malcolm Sharps of Liverpool.
The 2023 edition of The Lowell Review devoted an entire section to the Beatles. Charlie Gargiulo’s “Legends of Little Canada” also evokes their magic. (1) The memories shared in these texts are potent enough to wipe away the years and bring us back to days which changed our lives forever. In memory of the epiphany we experienced, I submit this text.
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On December 4th, my phone beeped and a message flashed on the screen: “What are you doing tomorrow night? Got an extra ticket to see Paul McCartney. Want it?” The sender was a good friend so this wasn’t some senior-scamming subterfuge. What else could I respond but “Yeah, yeah, yeah!”
Checking off this bucket list item started to sink in. My blood pressure dropped. I had to sit down. The Beatlemania wave was overwhelming me again. I had never seen any of the Fab Four on stage. This would be a now-or-never experience. You can discover my foundational Beatle moment here:
https://richardhowe.com/2022/02/15/little-child-wont-you-dance-with-me/
Paul McCartney performed with his band at the Paris La Défense Arena, built for the 2024 Olympics. The venue offers three separate configurations – rugby, swimming and concerts. It is the largest concert hall in Europe. 40,000 fans filled the Arena on December 4th and 5th leaving not a single seat or standing spot available.
Ticket-holders inched towards the entrances. In addition to the Arena’s private security detail, dozens of fully-geared police officers closely supervised the crowd – standard procedure since the November 13, 2015 terrorist attack at the Bataclan concert hall which killed 137 and injured at least 416. Were it not for the usual brazen, pushy, line-cutting scoundrels, the slow-moving queue was a joyous sight to see – not only baby-boomers like me but family members spanning three generations.
Once inside, the audience had to impatiently wait for just over a half-hour for Sir Paul to appear holding his Höfner bass. The already-electrified crowd went wild as the show began with “A Hard Day’s Night.”
At 82, “the incarnation of elegance,” as one French reporter described him, is juvenilely energetic. His voice is miraculously intact. Six years after his last Paris performance, he was back on stage for two and a half hours, non-stop. The astounding musicians in his band brought the music to perfection.
After the first song, he announced: “Nous avons quelques anciennes chansons, des nouvelles et d’autres entre les deux” – “We’ve got a few old songs, some new ones and others in between.”
“Drive My Car” and “Got to Get You into My Life,” lifted up by a phenomenal three-man brass outfit, put the crowd into a frenzy. No doubt about it, Paul McCartney and his long-time band rock.
A series of impeccably-pulled-off “Foxy Lady” riffs, paid homage to “good mate” Jimi Hendrix.
To salute his “great friend” John Lennon, “Blackbird” and the moving ballad “Here today,” written after John’s assassination.
Then came “Now and then,” based on an unpublished track from John, come to life by Paul, Ringo and AI. Meanwhile, the giant screens strategically placed here and there inside the Arena flashed a slide show of Paul’s and Ringo’s 21st-century silhouettes mixed in with John’s and George’s 60’s faces. To follow the path of nostalgia, Paul grabbed a ukulele saying “George gave me this” and exalted “Something.”
More dedications and tributes followed, notably “Maybe I’m Amazed”, the superb love song composed for wife Linda who passed away in 1998. Before this emotional “Wings” throw-back, Paul, alone at his grand Steinway, dedicated a melodious “My Valentine” to his “wonderful wife Nancy” sitting in the front row at the foot of the spacious stage.
To switch the mood, an energetic full-band performance of “Getting better” got everyone swinging their hips, waving their hands and opening up their vocal chords.
A remarkable sequence of “oldies” delighted the crowd. Accompanied by his Martin acoustic guitar, Paul sung his ”very first song” – “In Spite of all the danger” followed by the 1962 smash “Love Me Do” composed at the age of 16.
Of course, he had to sing “Michelle” in Paris, with an accordion adding a local touch.
The Arena swayed and rocked while the 40,000 fans sang along to “Let it Be,” “Hey Jude,” “Lady Madonna,” the electrifying “Obla Di Obla Da” and “Get back.”
“Live and Let Die,” the 1973 James Bond theme song, literally fired up the venue with its booming music and blasting fireworks show.
The roller-coaster concert traveled back in time again with a very moving virtual duo set to the screen by New Zealand filmmaker Peter Jackson’s images. Paul finished “I’ve got a Feeling” by thanking Jackson for giving him the opportunity to “sing with John again” after 55 years.
Above are but a few highlights of an exceptional performance of 22 Beatles, 8 Wings, 1 Quarrymen (2) and 5 Paul McCartney songs.
When Paul and his band opened “The End,” I realized that Beatlemania would never end. The Thursday December 5, 2024 show reassured me that elegant and prolific Paul McCartney, at 82 years of youth, remains a musical giant.
These lyrics only skim the surface of my emotional tidal wave:
only waiting for this moment to arise – (Blackbird – 1968)
Their production…second to none … / A splendid time … guaranteed to all – (Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite! – 1967)
wonderful to be here…certainly a thrill – (Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band – 1967 )
I’ve just seen a face I can’t forget the time or place – (I’ve just seen a face – 1965)
I find the things that you do … make me feel alright – (A Hard Day’s Night – 1964)
I’ve got to admit it’s getting better / A little better all the time – (Getting Better – 1967)
Everybody had a good time – (I’ve got a feeling – 1970)
Once there was a way / To get back homeward / Once there was a way / To get back home – (Golden Slumbers – 1969)
And in the end / The love you take / Is equal to the love you make – (The End – 1969)
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- Available at Loom Press – https://www.loompress.com/store/legends-of-little-canada – and at lala books, 189 Market Street, Lowell.
- “In Spite of All the Danger” is the first song recorded in 1958 in Liverpool by the Quarrymen, then consisting of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, pianist John Lowe and drummer Colin Hanton.
MAGNIFIQUE, LOUISE!!! Talk about a concert review!
Written like only somebody who lived through those magical days as an American youngster in 1964 could (Brits got a head start on us by a year), when Beatlemania spread through us faster than the 1918 Spanish Flu, but with a contagion that infected us with joy and positive energy and forever entwined all of us who experienced it with the communal soundtrack of our lives.
Thank you for sharing so eloquently your wonderful experience seeing Paul McCartney in Paris. Seeing a Beatle in concert for the first time is as magical as a first kiss. How sweet that one can still taste that magic well beyond our days of youthful innocence.
Your writing of the event and your emotions was so beautiful that it felt like I was on a magic carpet ride and got to be there myself. I am so glad and appreciative that you added another chapter to your earlier posted childhood experience of Beatlemania, alongside the other wonderful contributions in the 2023 Lowell Review by others who lived through what the Beatles meant to them.
It’s important that current and future generations are left with proof that such a time existed when our youthful idealism wanted desperately to believe that “All You Need Is Love,” our lost innocence then asked if we couldn’t at least “Give Peace a Chance,” and when even that failed, we still doggedly chose to “Imagine” a better world rather than surrender to the cynicism of the Dark Side.
It’s so encouraging to know that Paul and Ringo are still out there. And that many of us are too. The Beatles gave us hope after the horrible events of November 1963, the powerful spirit you shared with us that filled the Paris arena last week hearing Paul in concert is just what many of us need after the horrible events of November 2024.
Thank you, Louise. “Merci beaucoup” for the exuberant report from the McCartney front line in Paris, no less. You were clearly “waiting for this moment to arrive” as the song goes, and favored us with a stellar account of the show. With my wife Rosemary and our son Joe, I was lucky enough to experience the other Paul M. on stage in Boston twice (two shows each time, TD Garden and Fenway Park) as well as a Ringo Starr band concert outside on the harbor front. Unforgettable events. To know you are singing along with the actual voices you’ve enjoyed for a lifetime is remarkable. To be in the same room, so to speak, accompanied by tens of thousands live. On top of the written account, you included pictures to help us visualize the scene. The reproduction is high quality. It is so great for the Howe blog readers to have you as our French correspondent. Between McCartney’s triumph and Notre Dame renewed, and the national government shake up, France is making headlines these days. Again, thanks for sharing the love.