Jon Spencer has announced a brief summer tour with his newest band, the HITmakers, of the Midwest United States to promote his solo album Spencer Sings the Hits!
Reviews of his earlier shows mention him playing not only new solo cuts, but also stuff from his massive catalog of other material from the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Boss Hog, and Pussy Galore.
Tour dates are as follows:
Wed 8/28 – Pyramid Scheme – Grand Rapids MI Thu 8/29 – HI-FI – Indianapolis IN Fri 8/30 – Schubas – Chicago IL Sat 8/31 – H.O.G. National Rally, Harley-Davidson Museum – Milwaukee WI Sun 9/1 – Turf Club – St. Paul MN Mon 9/2 – Vaudeville Mews – Des Moines IA Tues 9/3 – Ignition Music Garage – Goshen IN
Electric Light Orchestra is one of my wife’s favorite bands and I’ve always appreciated the way bandleader Jeff Lynne and his mates combined classical music with pop and prog-rock. Lynne had been touring with the newest version of his band for several years, but this was the first time we’d been able to catch one of Jeff Lynne’s ELO shows.
We were surprised to learn that Dhani Harrison(yes, George’s son) and his band were the opening act. They played a solid rock set that melded industrial, psychedelia, and groove. Dhani, much like his father, rocked both electric guitar and ukulele.
Dhani Harrison and crew
Starting with “Standing in the Rain,” Mr. Lynne and his twelve-piece backing band had the crowd with them from the first note. Throwing down “Evil Woman” as the second song and “All Over the World” as the third had the entire United Center jumping.
“Standing in the Rain”
Two nice treats during the main set were “Do Ya” by the Move (one of Lynn’s first bands) and him playing the Traveling Wilburys‘ “Handle Me with Care” with Dhani Harrison playing along and singing his father’s vocal parts. “Last Train to London” and “Rockaria!” were also great, and I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the great visuals throughout the entire show. You wouldn’t expect less from a band named Electric Light Orchestra.
“Handle Me with Care”
One odd moment for us, at least in the section where we were seated, was during “Shine a Little Love” and hardly anyone was clapping at the right moments during the chorus. I tried to encourage everyone around us to take part in, you know, the rhythm section of the song, but alas, we only saw a few people doing it.
They ended the set with the quadruple threat of “Telephone Line” (one of the best sad songs of the 1970’s), “Don’t Bring Me Down,” “Turn to Stone” (which still packs a powerful punch), and “Mr. Blue Sky.” The encore was a cover of Chuck Berry‘s “Roll Over Beethoven” that featured the band, and Lynne, shredding their respective instruments.
“Shine a Little Love”
It was a fun night, and we were happy to check this off my wife’s bucket list of shows. They’re still touring throughout the summer, so grab some seats if you can.
Keep your mind open.
Jeff Lynne – still shredding guitar and rocking sunglasses.
[Why not shine a little love on the subscription box while you’re here?]
“‘At the Party,’ finds a slice of solace in navigating the human experience with similarly marginalized friends by her side. Here, ‘the party’ is the crooked world Paul journeys in solidarity with her fellow POC; together, they make the best of life’s wayward turns.” – Pitchfork
“Katherine Paul delivers hums and oooh’s that melt into the mellow drums, creating a foggy, subdued mesh of pretty sounds.” – FADER on “At the Party”
“[‘At the Party’] is an astounding reverb-soaked number with sprawling guitars that track up and down the length of the neck as Paul easily transitions between near-whispered verses and heady falsetto choruses.” – UPROXX
Black Belt Eagle Scout – the recording project of multi-instrumentalist Katherine Paul – presents a new single / video, “My Heart Dreams,” from her forthcoming album, At the Party With My Brown Friends, due August 30th via Saddle Creek. In conjunction, she announces a headline North American tour. “My Heart Dreams” follows lead single “At the Party.” Written in Ohlone land during a transitional part of Paul’s life, “My Heart Dreams” expresses a consuming desire to find new love in the midst of heartbreak. The accompanying video, filmed by Angel Two Bulls and co-directed by Angel and Paul, depicts Paul wandering amongst the Portland Pride parade, the scene eventually turning into a live performance.
“The idea behind this video was to do something fun while showing the resilience of the Indigenous people, particularly women and girls, which is why I chose to have the Black Belt Eagle Scout band be portrayed by young Indigenous girls.” describes Paul. “In an age where Missing and Murdered Indigenous women (MMIW) are finally getting the attention they deserve, it’s important to make their strength visible. The justice around MMIW is something we should all be paying closer attention to and I hope my platform serves to heighten awareness. The girls and extras in the video are members of the Portland Two Spirit Society, a special group of LGBTQ Indigenous and Native American/Alaska Natives and the Portland All Nations Canoe Family.”
Where her 2018 debut, Mother of My Children, was a snapshot of loss and landscape and of Paul’s standing as a radical indigenous queer feminist, this new chapter finds its power in love, desire and friendship. At the Party With My Brown Friends is a profound and understated forward step. The squalling guitar anthems that shaped its predecessor are replaced by delicate vocals and soft keys, sentiments spoken and unspoken, presenting something shadowy and unsettling; a stirring of the waters. The end result presents a captivating about-face that redefines Paul’s beautifully singular artistic vision.
Black Belt Eagle Scout was named a favorite new artist of 2018 by NPR Music, Stereogum, Paste and Under The Radar. She will continue to tour extensively, playing Sled Island, Newport Folk Festival, and Pickathon this summer before embarking on a headlining North American tour. Then, she will support Devendra Banhart on tour later this fall. Tickets are on sale now. One dollar from every ticket sold through presale will be donated to the National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center. All dates can be found below.
Watch Black Belt Eagle Scout’s “My Heart Dreams” Video https://youtu.be/cmGP7WZO4Pw
Listen to “At the Party” https://bbes.ffm.to/atpwmbf
Pre-orderAt the Party With My Brown Friends https://bbes.ffm.to/atpwmbf
Black Belt Eagle Scout tour dates: Thu. Aug. 1 – Seattle, WA @ ARTS at King Street Station Fri. Aug. 2 & Sun. Aug. 4 – Happy Valley, OR @ Pickathon Wed. Aug. 21 – Victoria, BC @ Bastion Square Parkade Thu. Aug. 22 – Seattle, WA @ Olympic Sculpture Hall Sun. Aug. 25 – Port Townsend, WA @ Thing Mon. Oct. 21 – Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios Thu. Oct. 24 – Seattle, WA @ Tractor Tavern Wed. Oct. 30 – Boulder, CO @ Boulder Theater * Fri. Nov. 1 – Omaha, NE @ Slowdown * Sat. Nov. 2 – Minneapolis, MN @ Varsity Theater * Sun. Nov. 3 – Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall * Tue. Nov. 5 – Memphis, TN @ The Hi-Tone * Wed. Nov. 6 – St. Louis, MO @ Foam Thu. Nov. 7 – Lawrence, KS @ White Schoolhouse Fri. Nov. 8 – Fort Collins, CO @ Surfside 7 Sat. Nov. 9 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Diabolical Records Sun. Nov. 10 – Boise, ID @ Neurolux Thu. Nov. 12 – Reno, NV @ Holland Project Wed. Nov. 13 – San Francisco, CA @ Cafe Du Nord Thu. Nov. 14 – Los Angeles, CA @ Bootleg Bar Fri. Nov. 15 – San Diego, CA @ Ché Café Sat. Nov. 16 – Tucson, AZ @ Club Congress Sun. Nov. 17 – Las Vegas, NV @ The Bunkhouse Saloon Tue. Nov. 19 – Mesa, AZ @ The Nile Wed. Nov. 20 – Albuquerque, NM @ Sister Fri. Nov. 22 – Austin, TX @ Barracuda Sat. Nov. 23 – Dallas, TX @ The Foundry Sun. Nov. 24 – Houston, TX @ Satellite Tue. Nov. 26 – Fayetteville, AR @ George’s Majestic Lounge Wed. Nov. 27 – Nashville, TN @ DRKMTTR Sat. Nov. 30 – Detroit, MI @ Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit * Sun. Dec. 1 – Toronto, ON @ Danforth Music Hall * Tue. Dec. 3 – Montreal, QC @ L’Olympia * Wed. Dec. 4 – Boston, MA @ Wilbur Theatre * Thu. Dec. 5 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel * Sat. Dec. 7 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club * Sun. Dec. 8 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer * *= w/ Devendra Banhart
Austin, Texas’ annual Levitation Music Festival has announced its second wave of bands for the four day experience, and some heavy-hitters have been added to the already good lineup.
Thursday’s lineup has added, among others, Jjuujjuu, Stonefield, Troller, and Creeping Death.
Friday’s lineup has added no less than the Flaming Lips, Mercury Rev, David J., Elephant Stone, second sets by Holy Wave and Stonefield, and more.
Sunday’s sets now include Christian Bland and the Revelators, Ringo Deathstarr, and others.
Levitation still isn’t done announcing more bands and sets, by the way. They will announce the third wave (and set times) before the end of summer. Don’t wait too long to get tickets to shows. Chelsea Wolfe and Ioanna Gika’s show has already sold out, and I won’t be surprised if the Flaming Lips’ show sells out in a hurry.
Twin Peaks are elated to announce their new album, Lookout Low, due September 13th via Grand Jury. Where their last LP, 2016’s Down In Heaven, and 2017’s Sweet ‘17 Singles compilation were adventurous and compelling updates on their youthfully raucous formula, their fourth album, Lookout Low feels like a total revolution. Their most deliberate and seamless record yet, the album is a collaborative triumph, propelled forward by Twin Peak’s near-decade-long bond.
For Lookout Low, the five of them – guitarists Cadien Lake James and Clay Frankel, bassist Jack Dolan, multi-instrumentalist Colin Croom, and drummer Connor Brodner – committed to work countless hours in their studio and practice space. Meeting daily, they demoed 27 songs and relentlessly rehearsed them, eventually whittling down to a select ten tracks. The album was recorded at Monnow Valley with legendary producer Ethan Johns (Paul McCartney, U2, Kings of Leon), who lauds Twin Peaks as “the best Rock and Roll band I’ve heard for a very long time.” Already a well-oiled live unit, the band’s mission was to capture the exhilarating vibe of their shows. Often, they thrived on the thrill of live recording, going with the magic of the original first take. This life-affirming burst of adrenaline seeps into every facet of the LP.
Each individual member of the band upped their songwriting for the LP. These tracks are their most impressive offering yet – confident, experimentative, and bursting with energy. Throughout, Croom wrote horn arrangements that at times evoke the soulfulness of Allen Toussaint and the burly Americana of the E Street Band. The auxiliary percussion from drummer Kyle Davis expands the already breezy and expansive compositions. OHMME’s Macie Stewart and Sima Cunningham contribute their spectral harmonies on seven of the 10 tracks.
Lead single / video “Dance Through It,” a horn-infused, soul-inflected swing, champions the energy found across the album. The video was directed by Ariel Fisher and Léo Schrepel in Berlin. “Writing and arranging ‘Dance Through It’ felt like a dive into and embrace of experimenting with a new palette for us,” says James. “After having been directly involved in the creation and direction of all of our videos, it felt fitting to allow this song the breath of collaboration in having Ariel Fisher take the helm and run with it.”
“Working with Twin Peaks on this visual concept felt synergetic,” says Fisher. “We shared a mutual love for the film Fallen Angels and wanted to tell a story where the camera angles and lenses gradually shift as the narrative progresses. We wanted the viewer to become the participant, as we step into the actress’s shoes and begin to see the world as she sees it.”
Twin Peaks will bring their live shows across the states, including to Chicago’s Riviera Theatre (the band’s biggest hometown headline show to date), Los Angeles’ Teragram Ballroom, and New York’s Webster Hall, in addition to dual shows at Nashville’s Basement East, Boston’s The Sinclair, and more. Tickets are on sale now.
WATCH THE VIDEO FOR “DANCE THROUGH IT” – https://youtu.be/U12MYd1DtOs
Fans can pre-order Lookout Low at indie retail stores on two different exclusive color pressings immediately. When US fans pre-order at participating stores they’ll get a “Dance Through It” 7″, which features an unreleased song on the B-side, and will be able to return to the point of purchase to pick up Lookout Low on September 13th. The album is available on Orange Swirl LP or on a Chicago-area exclusive Electric Blue LP. A list of participating stores is available here.
LOOKOUT LOWTRACKLIST: 1. Casey’s Groove 2. Laid in Gold 3. Better Than Stoned 4. Unfamiliar Sun 5. Dance Through It 6. Lookout Low 7. Ferry Song 8. Under A Smile 9. Oh Mama 10. Sunken II
TWIN PEAKS TOUR DATES: Thu. Sept. 12 – Detroit, MI @ Majestic Theatre * Fri. Sept. 13 – Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom * Sat. Sept. 14 – Columbus, OH @ Newport Music Hall * Thu. Sept. 19 – Milwaukee, WI @ Turner Hall Ballroom * Fri. Sept. 20 – Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line Music Cafe * Sat. Sept. 21 – East Moline, IL @ The Rust Belt * Tue. Oct. 8 – Berlin, DE @ Musik und Frieden & Wed. Oct. 9 – Hamburg, DE @ Molotow Musikclub & Fri. Oct. 11 – Rotterdam, NL @ Rotown & Sat. Oct. 12 – Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso Mon. Oct. 14 – Cologne, DE @ MTC & Tue. Oct. 15 – Paris, FR @ La Boule Noire & Wed. Oct. 16 – London, UK @ Dome Tufnell Park & Fri. Oct. 18 – Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club & Sat. Oct. 19 – Oxford, UK @ Ritual Union Sun. Oct. 20 – Cardiff, UK @ SWN Festival Wed. Oct. 30 – Louisville, KY @ Headliners Music Hall # Thu. Oct. 31 – St. Louis, MO @ The Ready Room # Fri. Nov. 1 – Omaha, NE @ The Waiting Room # Sat. Nov. 2 – Denver, CO @ Gothic Theatre # Tue. Nov. 5 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Metro Music Hall # Thu. Nov. 7 – Seattle, WA @ Neumos # Fri. Nov. 8 – Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom # Sat. Nov. 9 – Vancouver, BC @ VENUE # Wed. Nov. 13 – San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall # Fri. Nov. 15 – Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom @ Sat. Nov. 16 – Solana Beach, CA @ Belly Up Tavern # Mon. Nov. 18 – Phoenix, AZ @ The Crescent Ballroom # Thu. Nov. 21 – Dallas, TX @ Deep Ellum Art Co. # Fri. Nov. 22 – Houston, TX @ Satellite Bar # Sat. Nov. 23 – Austin, TX @ The Mohawk # Fri. Nov. 29 – Chicago, IL @ Riviera Theatre Wed. Dec. 4 – Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground Ballroom ^ Thu. Dec. 5 – Boston, MA @ The Sinclair (early) @ Thu. Dec. 5 – Boston, MA @ The Sinclair (late) ! Fri. Dec. 6 – New York, NY @ Webster Hall ^ Tue. Dec. 10 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer ^ Wed. Dec. 11 – Washington, DC @ Black Cat ^ Thu. Dec. 12 – Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle ^ Fri. Dec. 13 – Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse ^ Sat. Dec. 14 – Nashville, TN @ The Basement East ^ Sun. Dec. 15 – Nashville, TN @ The Basement East ^ ~ = w/ PUP * = w/ Slow Pulp and Dehd & = w/ Dehd # = w/ Post Animal & OHMME ^ = w/ Lala Lala & OHMME ! = w/ Lala Lala @ = w/ OHMME
Keep your mind open.
[Dance your way over to the subscription box while you’re here.]
The last show I saw at Fort Wayne, Indiana’s Clyde Theatre was the Flaming Lips with Le Bucherettes, which was a communal psychedelic experience and not the type of place in which a mosh pit breaks out while someone screams at you with rage and fury. Now, however, I was seeing three bands who brought plenty of rage and fury – Clutch, Killswitch Engage, and Cro-Mags “JM“.
My friend and I walked in as Cro-Mags “JM” were unleashing their rage with a furious hardcore punk rock set. The “JM,” by the way, stands for “John Mackie” – as in vocalist John Joseph and drummer Mackie Jayson. Joseph and Jayson are two of the longest-serving members in the legendary Cro-Mags band (which has gone through multiple lineup changes). Joseph talked about songs written in 1989, such as “Street Justice,” when there was no such thing as being an online troll (“You said what you needed to say face to face. You didn’t hide behind a keyboard. And if you had to put your fists up, you threw down.”). It was a fast, hard set, yet no mosh pits broke out, which I found baffling.
Cro-Mags “JM”
I’d heard of Cro-Mags from my high school punk rock days, but I’d never heard anything by Killswitch Engage despite the fact they’ve been together for two decades. My metal music collections leans toward stoner and doom, so metalcore is a mostly unexplored genre for me. They put on a heck of a show, bringing relentless energy and a packed house. A lot of people showed up for their set, and a few small mosh pits broke out during it. Crowd surfing was even more popular. A particular highlight was the live debut of their newest single, “I Am Broken, Too.” Lead singer Jessie Leach‘s vocal stylings reminded me of Ronnie James Dio, so I was delighted to hear them close their set with a cover of Dio’s “Holy Diver.”
Killswitch Engage
Clutch came out gunning with the always-invigorating “X-Ray Visions” and “Firebirds!” Bassist Dan Maines had some technical issues in the first two tracks that kept him from putting out as much sound as he wanted, but a couple swapped cables and batteries fixed the issue by the time they got to “Gimme the Keys.”
Psychic warfare is real, and Dan Maines’ bass apparently shoots lasers.
The crowd had thinned a bit, which is a shame, because a lot of the metalcore fans who left missed a great groove-rock show by Clutch that included a lot of tunes I’d never heard live before such as their version of the blues classic “Evil,” the rare cut “Willie Nelson,” “Smoke Banshee,” “Hot Bottom Feeder” (which my friend loved for both the groove and the fact that the entire song is a crab cake recipe), and “Rats.”
Clutch lets us know that Willie Nelson only smokes killer weed.
They ended the night with an encore of “H.B. Is in Control” and “How to Shake Hands,” two more songs I hadn’t heard live until now. I’ve always loved how Clutch changes up their setlist every night. They keep a core of a few tunes for each show but mix in whatever else they want to play. I wish more bands did this, but not every band is as confident as them. So, go see them. It will be a unique experience.
Keep your mind open.
Thanks to Doug Weber of New Ocean Media for getting me a press pass to the show.
Clutch announce the release of “Precious And Grace”. The single is the second in a series of new studio recordings that comprise the newly launched Weathermaker Vault Series and the first new official music Clutch is making available since the release of their critically acclaimed album, Book Of Bad Decisions. Future tracks will follow as part of the new series throughout the 2nd half of 2019. These songs are bound to become another classic milestone in the band’s stellar career.
“Precious And Grace” was mixed by 6X Grammy Award winner and Clutch collaborator, Vance Powell (Wolfmother, The Raconteurs,Arctic Monkeys). A video for the song can be viewed at this location: https://youtu.be/9RvJt7MGziM
“It should be fairly obvious by now that Clutch are huge fans of ZZ Top,” states vocalist Neil Fallon. “They’re a band that we grew up listening to – and we still listen to them to this day. ‘Precious & Grace’, from their classic Tres Hombres LP, is easily one of our favorite ZZ Top songs and that’s really the only story behind the choice.” Clutch has curated their own Spotify playlist “Clutch’s Heavy Rotation” at this location: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3NlZsjNNOoCvwjCv58mcNR
On Friday, Clutch will embark on a co-headlining tour of the US with Killswitch Engage that also includes Clutch’s curated Earth Rocker Festival in Inwood WV.
Clutch & Killswitch Engage Co-Headline US Dates: Tickets available here. Fri/Jul 12th Syracuse, NY at SI Hall Sat/Jul 13th Inwood, WV at Earth Rocker Festival @ Shiley Acres Sun/Jul 14th Myrtle Beach, SC at House Of Blues Tue/Jul 16th Fort Wayne, IN at The Clyde Thu/Jul 18th Sioux City, IA at Hard Rock Casino Fri/Jul 19th Cadott, WI at Rock USA Festival Sat/Jul 20th Peoria, Il at Tailgate N’ Tallboys Festival Mon/Jul 22nd Tulsa, OK at The Brady Theater Tue/Jul 23rd St. Louis, MO at The Pageant Thu/Jul 25th Bethlehem, PA at Sands Bethlehem Event Center Fri/Jul 26th Asbury Park, NJ at Stone Pony (Outdoors) Sat/Jul 27th Bangor, ME at Impact Music Festival Sun/Jul 28th Montreal, QC at Heavy Montreal Festival Tue/Jul 30th Huntington, NY at The Paramount Thu/Aug 1st Columbus, OH at Express Live (Outdoors) Fri/Aug 2nd Pittsburgh, PA at Stage AE (Outdoors) Sat/Aug 3rd Port Chester, NY at The Capitol Theater Sun/Aug 4th Worcester, MA at Palladium (Outdoors)
We were delighted to see Bebel Gilbertoagain this year. In case you still don’t know, Ms. Gilberto is bossa nova royalty and has one of the loveliest voices on the planet. She played at a small venue outside Washington D.C. while we were on a trip there last month.
It was just her and her guitarist, Guerreiro Montero, playing an intimate set of some of her favorites like “Baby,” “Aganju,” “Simplesmente,” “Mais Feliz,” and her fine covers of Neil Young‘s “Harvest Moon” and Radiohead‘s “Creep.”
It was our first time seeing her without a percussionist, but she and Montero did a great job and kept everyone entertained and bouncing. Ms. Gilberto knows how to work an audience and stage and there was a funny moment when she bowed and accidentally knocked her microphone off its stand. She bent over to pick it up and the top of her dress came undone as she did so. Montero, blushing and giggling all the while, had to fix the wardrobe malfunction on stage. She handled it well and used the moment to make jokes and flirt with the audience.
She recently finished her spring tour, but don’t miss her show if she’s near you. Any opportunity to see her live should be taken.
Halloween is fun. Halloween in Paris would be even more fun (although I’m not sure how big the holiday is there). Halloween in Paris while a music festival is happening would be even better.
Pitchfork Paris has revealed its 2019 lineup, and it includes heavyweights like Chromatics, Belle & Sebastian, Charli XCX, Ezra Collective, Jamila Woods, Weyes Blood, and more. Get your tickets now before they go up in price.
Keep your mind open.
[Subscribe before you go and keep up on music news and reviews.]
Thanks to a missing comma, Ft. Wayne apparently renamed the city “Fort Wayne Paul” in McCartney’s honor.
The buzz for Paul McCartney‘s first show ever in Fort Wayne, Indiana was so big that local news outlets were telling people to get to the Memorial Coliseum early, make early dinner plans, and be ready to face construction on Coliseum Boulevard.
I managed to score some upper level tickets at overinflated prices on StubHub after my initial efforts to buy face value tickets were dashed within minutes. I waited months to finally buy the tickets we had. I almost didn’t, but I couldn’t resist the chance to see a living legend in a small arena just over an hour’s drive from my house.
The crowd was enormous and buzzing from the get-go. The merchandise booth was jam-packed with people buying everything from coffee mugs and shirts to tote bags and blankets (Yes, Paul McCartney blankets.). I opted for the limited edition show poster (limited to 100 copies) for the same price as a tour shirt ($45.00). Inside, we also discovered that Sir Paul had vegetarian and vegan food options available at some of the concession stands.
We eventually made our way to our seats, which were nearly ten times face value. Scalpers suck.
The view from our $432.00 seats. Those on the floor in the first section were more than double that EACH.
They turned out to be well worth the money. Sir Paul and his band came out and started with the Beatles‘ “Hard Day’s Night” and then followed it with Wings‘ “Junior’s Farm,” which I didn’t expect and was delighted to hear.
“Hard Day’s Night”
“All My Lovin'” and “Letting Go” followed before they got to “Who Cares” (an anti-bullying song) and “Come On to Me” from his new album Egypt Station (with “Got to Get You into My Life” sandwiched between them).
“Come On to Me”
The Wings track “Let Me Roll It” was followed by a brief instrumental cover of Jimi Hendrix‘s “Purple Haze” and McCartney telling a fun story of him seeing Hendrix play in London just a couple days after Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band was released. Another Wings highlight just a couple songs later was “Let ’em In” – a personal favorite of mine.
“In Spite of All the Danger”
“Maybe I’m Amazed” is still powerful, and even more so live. Another fun treat was he and his band performing the first Quarrymen song “In Spite of All the Danger.” He told a fun story about the recording of “Love Me Do” (in which he admitted you can still hear how nervous he was singing it in the song after John Lennon asked him to do it so he could play the harmonica on the track) before playing a fun version of it and then playing a solo acoustic version of “Blackbird,” which is still beautiful and poignant. His ode to Lennon, “Here Today,” also tugged at the heartstrings.
In case you’re wondering, Sir Paul played bass, electric guitar (on which he can shred, by the way), acoustic guitar, mandolin, piano, and ukulele throughout the show. The ukulele he played, by the way, was the one given to him by George Harrison. The song he played on it? Harrison’s “Something,” of course, which sounded great.
“George was a very accomplished ukulele player. Many people don’t know that.”
McCartney’s band were no slouches either, with two guitarists, a keyboardist, a drummer, a three-man horn section, and a top-notch sound and video crew doing great work throughout the three-hour show. The graphics on “Back in the USSR” were great, and the pyrotechnics during “Live and Let Die” (complete with jets of fire and cannon explosions) were big crowd-pleasers.
“Back in the USSR”“Live and Let Die” (with cannons and flame throwers)
The main set ended with “Hey Jude.” That alone with over two hours. The encore was another half-hour and included “Birthday,” “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,” “Helter Skelter” (a wild, unexpected treat), “Golden Slumbers,” “Carry That Weight” (another welcome addition), and ended with (What else?) “The End.”
“Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”
He looked great, sounded great, and brought us all a great time. He shows no signs of slowing down, so catch him if you can. The stories he tells are almost worth the ticket price by themselves.
Keep your mind open.
[You don’t have to carry the weight of finding music news. Subscribe and I’ll do it for you.]
