History was made at
the Halifax Common on July 11th as Paul McCartney performed his first
concert in Atlantic Canada and his only Canadian stop on this summer’s
mini tour of North America.
Aside from the name of the venue,
there was nothing “common” about this event. Ever since this concert
was announced on May 20th, there’s been a buzz around the city unlike
anything I’ve seen in the 10 years that I’ve lived here.
For anyone outside of our region,
Halifax is a mid sized city with mid sized concert venues. Due to
various socio-economic reasons many “big name” acts have passed
over Halifax, often a sore spot for residents of this beloved city.
Like
many people who live here, I know that Halifax is a world class city
deserving of the finer things in life. Thankfully, the tide is
beginning to turn with recent appearances by the Rolling Stones and
Elton John (to name a few). However, (with no offense to fans of
artists who have appeared here over the years), we’ve needed an artist
of immense status to anchor our reputation.
Musically, for me at
least, there has always been “The Beatles......and everyone else...”.
There are a lot of Beatles fans in this area that feel the same way.
Paul McCartney agreeing to appear in Halifax has a great musical and
emotional significance for residents of this fine city. It is nothing
short of a dream come true - the equivalent of winning the lottery. And
it gives this Beatles fan, the latest of countless reasons to
appreciate Paul McCartney.
I’ve been a Beatles fan ever since I
saw them on the Ed Sullivan Show as a five year old child. Because of
various circumstances in my life. I was reasonably sure that I would
never see a Beatle perform live during my lifetime. The first day that
the tickets went on sale (encouraged and supported by my wife Gerianne)
I eagerly joined the 1st day frenzy for ticket purchase.
I enjoyed all the hype and promotion,
recognizing that for once, it was well deserved. For the first time
ever, myself and my fellow Haligonians would be sharing the same living
space as a Beatle. The Beatle that has bravely, and with determination,
been the torch bearer for the group - especially since the deaths of
both John Lennon and George Harrison. One would think this to be a
daunting task but McCartney is not only up to the challenge, he
consistently exceeds expectations with an abundance of talent, charisma
and a genuine love of performing. This concert gave me a lot to look
forward to.
The reality of Paul
McCartney being in Halifax hit home for me on July 11th during the
afternoon soundcheck when Paul made his first appearance onstage at
l:45 pm. That was the first highlight of a day full of highlights.
During the soundcheck Paul and his
band did an impromptu tune which mentions “Halifax”, “Nova Scotia” and
the “Common” throughout the lyric. As many longtime fans know,
McCartney typically does songs during a soundcheck that aren’t part of
his concert setlist. For me, the musical highpoint of the soundcheck
was a full band version of “Celebration”. Hearing the first strains of
this song put a lump in my throat. The original recording of
“Celebration” is the concluding movement of “Standing Stone,” a
McCartney composed classical recording from 1997. “Celebration” evokes
the great love that existed between Paul and Linda McCartney and dates
back to what was her final days. It’s a composition that any loving
couple can readily identify with.
As Gerianne and I left the soundcheck,
we already felt like the day was worth the price of admission.
Several hours later, starting at
9:15pm, Paul McCartney bounded onstage and history was made. It was
evident that Paul knew it too, as he called out, "Good evening Halifax.
Good evening Nova Scotia. Good evening Canada," followed by an
enthusiastic roar from the crowd.
What followed was an incredible
setlist of 38 songs performed in a concert that lasted almost 3 hours.
As anyone who
frequents this site already knows, a Paul McCartney concert is going to
be great. You don’t need me to tell you that. It would be like trying
to describe a warm summer day or true love. It’s something that’s best
experienced and can’t be described to someone secondhand.
However, I have a few observations.
Anyone whose concert experience of Paul McCartney has been primarily on
home
video (as mine has been up to now), there’s no comparison to the actual
live
experience. You haven’t really experienced Paul McCartney until you’ve
seen him live.
In the few days since this concert,
I’ve heard comments from people in attendance, who weren’t fans, who
have been transformed by the experience of this concert. Many of them
are younger people. A new generation of fans are emerging.
Anyone who attended the Common on July
11th witnessed a performance by a legend in his prime. (Here’s where I
avoid the “age related” cliches that many others succumb to). Paul’s
voice remained strong and steady throughout the nearly three hour
performance - as evident by his amazing encore performance of “Helter
Skelter” - a song that would be a throat shredder for many singers at
any point during a concert.
A unanimous concert
highlight was “Live and Let Die” with pyrotechnics that drew an audible
gasp from the crowd (myself included). It was like being in the midst
of a James Bond film.
I always like it when McCartney digs
into his vast repertoire and performs something he rarely does live. In
this case, “I Got A Feeling” was a high point as well as “Day Tripper,”
a song which hasn’t been performed live by any Beatle since
1966, at Candlestick Park. I also enjoyed the full band treatment of
“Mrs. Vanderbilt,” also a rarely performed track.
I appreciated McCartney’s performance
of 2 songs from the recent “Electric Arguments” CD (which he recorded
with Youth under the pseudonym “The Fireman”). Both hard rocking tracks
from a very strong album, the edgy, contemporary “Sing The Changes” and
“Highway” benefited from a full band assault.
Other highlights included “The Long
And
Winding Road”, “Let It Be”, “My Love” and “Blackbird” (performed during
an acoustic set). And no one can deny the power of singing “Hey Jude”
with a crowd of over 50,000 fans - it’s very transcendental as you are
at one time, one with the crowd, yet it’s a very singular experience.
After having witnessed this firsthand, there’s no doubt as to why “Hey
Jude” is a staple of Paul’s concerts.
McCartney performed “Here Today”, a
tribute to John Lennon which was more poignant in a live setting as
McCartney showed visible emotion. After finishing the song. McCartney
called out “Let’s hear it for John!” followed by thunderous applause.
As a tribute to George Harrison,
McCartney performed an acoustic version of “Something” (using a
ukulele) which turned into a full band electric version mid way through
the song.
A humorous moment occurred during
“Paperback Writer”. Paul started off the song in the key of “A” while
the band started in the key of “G”. Paul admitted it was his mistake
and restarted the song, jokingly exclaiming “It’s my show”. (To which
guitarist Rusty Anderson responds “It’s your song”.)
One of the more personal moments for
me occurred as McCartney performed “A Day In The Life”. As the song
progressed I found myself thinking, “I love this song and you’re doing
great with it... but I really miss Lennon’s vocal”. Then, at that
moment, as if he was reading my mind, McCartney switched gears and
launched in a obvious tribute to Lennon with “Give Peace A Chance”.
A very fortunate fan had an amusing -
and amazing - incident after McCartney performed “Calico Skies”.
Distracted by a fan’s sign which read “Will you sign my arm so I
can get it tattooed?,” McCartney responded by having the young girl
brought on stage and signing her shoulder. McCartney appeared bemused
as the ecstatic girl hugged all the band members before being escorted
off stage. "YouTube"
Link . (A followup: The girl, Audrey Combs, who was visiting from
California, had the tattoo done on the day after the concert) [more
below in the “Concert Trivia” section]
Near the end of an extended encore,
during which the excited crowd enthusiastically wanted more (and
McCartney graciously complied), Nova Scotian hearts were warmed by the
rarely performed “Mull Of Kintyre” - which was accompanied by the local
“78th Highlander” pipe and drum band. McCartney made the
song, which is a tribute to a home he maintains in Scotland, feel like
a tribute to Nova Scotia.
A McCartney favourite, “Yesterday” was
performed using the same Epiphone acoustic guitar that he used during
the original recording, bringing the performer and one of his better
known songs full circle.
While the crowd loved McCartney's music, his interaction with the
audience endeared him to his fans.
“You’re a great crowd here tonight,” McCartney said during the
performance. “You’re making us feel at home.”
Toward the end of the evening, Paul exclaimed, “You
know, I do have to go home sometime -- and so do you!”,
to which the crowd yelled back in unison, “No!” Throughout the whole event, there was a
great rapport between McCartney and his audience.
At the end of a concert that held so
many musical and emotional high points that people will be on a jet
stream for weeks, Paul called out, “See you, Halifax! We
love you. We’ll see you next time.” We can only hope.
Concert Set List
1) Drive My Car
2) Jet
3) Only Mama Knows
4) Got To Get You Into My Life
5) Flaming Pie
6 & 7) Let Me Roll It / Foxy Lady
8) Highway (from The Fireman “Electric
Arguments”)
9) All My Loving
10) The Long and Winding Road
11) My Love
12) Blackbird
13) Here Today
14) Dance Tonight
15) Calico Skies
16) Mrs. Vanderbilt
17) Eleanor Rigby
18) Sing The Changes (from The Fireman
“Electric Arguments”)
19) Band On The Run
20) Back in the U.S.S.R.
21) Something ( uke / electric version
which was a crowd sing-along during the acoustic portion)
22 & 23) I’ve Got A Feeling / Jam
24) Paperback Writer (Paul
started off
in the key of A when the band started in the key of G. Paul admitted it
was his mistake and restarted the song)
25 & 26) A Day In The Life
/ Give
Peace A Chance
27) Let It Be
28) Live and Let Die (with amazing
pyrotechnics)
29) Hey Jude (he really rocks the
piano during the sing-along section)
First
Encore
30) Day Tripper (the 1st time any
Beatles has performed this song since 1966 at Candlestick Park)
31) Lady Madonna
32) Mull of Kintyre (performed with
the “78th Highlander Band” pipe and drum)
Second
Encore
33) Yesterday
34) Helter Skelter
35) Get Back
Third
Encore
36) I Saw Her Standing There
37 & 38) Sgt. Pepper Reprise / The
End
The stage set up at the Common was the equivalent of a
five story building.
Paul stayed in the Victoria Suite at the Lord Nelson Hotel on South
Park Street.
McCartney’s private jet touched down
on Nova Scotia soil Friday (the day before the concert). The source for
Metro News said his only requests were for lilies to be put in his
room, as well as a nice sound system, and for his suit to be pressed
before he hit the Halifax Common stage.
According the source, “He walked into
his room and he said ‘wow,’. “He saw that (the hotel) had rented him a
piano - which had to be taken apart to fit into the hotel’s
regular-sized elevator. He immediately sat down and started to play.”
The source said he was “very kind” to
staff, shared some family photos and for the most part “dined
in his
room,” adding the hotel provided organic food for
the vegetarian
musician.
McCartney also asked to have bicycles
on hand in case he had time for a ride around Point Pleasant Park, but
he was tired Friday night after flying from Europe and doing a sound
check.
Paul McCartney came and left Halifax in a flash, taking off shortly
after his spectacular Saturday night show, sources say.
“He departed right after the concert,”
a source who wished to remain anonymous, revealed yesterday. “He did
not return to the hotel.”
While the estimated crowd of more than
50,000 fans loved McCartney’s music, his regular interaction with them
also stood out as a highlight. You could hear many taken aback by how
much he seemed to be enjoying himself on stage.
Audrey Combs, the
nineteen year old
girl whose shoulder McCartney signed during the concert had to do some
time in the medical tent following her onstage appearance due to over
excitement. She had her tattoo done Sunday afternoon by a local
Halifax tattoo artist, Henry Kruger. Kruger, who was booked for five
months, cleared his schedule to do the tattoo. He insisted that Audrey
bring in Beatles music to play during the procedure. She returned with
a copy of the “Beatles Anthology 1” -
she broke down crying as “All My Loving” was played because she
flashed back to when McCartney performed it live at the Common.
The beautiful day certainly seemed to
drive up ticket sales, as a source estimated to Metro Halifax in the
late afternoon that about 10,000 tickets -- about 20 per cent of total
attendance -- bought their tickets Saturday.
78th
Highlander Pipe Sgt. Bruce Gandy said during one rehearsal for “Mull Of
Kintyre,” he had to work up some courage to point out a small error in
the handwritten musical score the band was working from. McCartney
autographed the corrected score, then wrote “Get it right” as a joke.
“Paul McCartney - Live in Halifax”
will be featured on pay-per-view (through Eastlink PPV and Shaw
Direct) starting Thursday, July 16th, and might be made into a DVD.
The same day Soundcheck ran for approximately an hour and a half. An
individual instrument check started around 1:10 pm. You could heard
snippets of many McCartney songs (the ukulele in “Dance Tonight’ was
easily identifiable) as the instruments were being set up .
Around 1:30, the band performed instrumental versions of “Let It Be”
(with backing harmony vocals) , “Live and Let Die” and “Band On The
Run” (with Rusty Anderson on vocals). Paul appeared towards the end of
“Band On The Run” at approximately 1:45pm. What followed was a mini
concert with many songs performed that weren’t included in the main
event.*
Sound
Check Setlist:
1) Matchbox*
2) Honey Don’t*
3) Coming Up*
4) Highway (from The Fireman “Electric Arguments”)
5) Celebration (band version of the “Standing Stone” classical piece)*
6) Let ‘Em In (a far rockier version than the original studio
recording)*
7) Lady Madonna
An “unplugged” set followed, with Paul playing acoustic guitar:
8) Midnight Special*
9) Lovely Day?? (An impromptu song which mentions “Halifax”, “Nova
Scotia” and the “Common” throughout the lyric.)*
10) San Francisco Bay Blues*
11) Dance Tonight
12) Leaning On A Lamp Post* (a brief bit of George Formby’s song)
13) Something (an acoustic uke version which switches to a full band
electric version mid way through)
14) A partial rendition of “Yesterday”
An unannounced Soundcheck (with a different setlist) also took place
on the evening of Friday, July 10th from approximately 8:45pm - 10:00pm
at the
Halifax Common.
Here is a list of the songs:
1) Hi Ho Silver (singing “Can’t get ova’ Nova Scotia”)
2) Let Me Roll It
3) Coming Up
4) Drive My Car
5) Only Mama Knows
6) Midnight Special
7) San Francisco Bay Blues
8) It's So Easy (the Buddy Holly song)
9) C-Moon
10) Celebration
11) The Long and Winding Road
12) acoustic jam
13) Mull of Kintyre (done 3 times with the “78th Highlander” pipe and
drum band)
How I was Able To Attend The
Soundcheck
I was fortunate to be one of 50 individuals who attended the Paul
McCartney Soundcheck prior to his concert at the Halifax Common on
Saturday, July 11th .
I was selected through a phone-in message contest offered by “Kool
96.5 FM” Radio
(with hundreds of applicants) as the person most deserving to attend
the soundcheck. With the number of deserving applicants and heartfelt
messages that were expressed over the past week, I was both humbled to
be chosen and blown away by this opportunity. For me, this is truly a
dream come true. Something I thought I would never experience in my
lifetime.
The following message was composed by my wife, Gerianne, read by
Jocelyn MacDonald and played on the air by Jamie Paterson, formerly of “Kool
96.5 FM” Radio in the early evening of July 9th:
“I am calling on behalf of
Gerianne Van Vugt. Her number is ***-****. Gerianne has speech
difficulties due to cerebral palsy but she really thinks that her
husband, Dan Van Vugt really deserves to go to the Paul McCartney
Soundcheck.
For 12 years, Dan has operated a
Beatles fansite right here in Halifax. It’s called “www.cyber-beatles.com”
and gets thousands of hits per day.
Cyber-Beatles.com is listed as
one of the best fan websites in the world according to “The Rough Guide
to the Beatles” by Chris Ingham; pg. 389 (copyright 2003).
Dan has spent countless hours
keeping fans up to date on the latest Beatles news. To attend the
Soundcheck and finally see one of his idols in person would be simply
amazing.
Thank you.”
I am indeed a fortunate man - to be living in a city that I absolutely
love, to have a wife that would carry out such a loving gesture
(knowing how much it would mean to me) - and have a friend who
willingly assisted her in her efforts.
I’ll remember the events of July 11th, 2009 for the rest of my
life.
Dan Van Vugt
Video Links: YouTube
- Paul McCartney on the Halifax Commons - Soundcheck (uncut) ;
YouTube
- Live And Let Die - Paul McCartney - Live in Halifax 07.11.09 ;
YouTube - Paul
McCartney Halifax July 11,2009 ;
YouTube - Paul
McCartney Halifax Common - Drive My Car ;
YouTube - Paul
McCartney Halifax Common - My Love
;
YouTube -
Paul McCartney Live In Halifax: Blackbird ;
YouTube -
Paul McCartney - Hey Jude ;
YouTube
- Paul McCartney Live In Halifax: Mull Of Kintyre .
Update (07/30/09): From
what I understand Jamie Paterson is no longer with “Kool 96.5 FM”
Radio. Jamie's had a
major role in encouraging Paul McCartney to appear at the Halifax
Common. He’s deserving of our thanks and support. I wish him all the
best in his future endeavors. I'm confident that someone of his
capabilities will affiliate with an organization that will appreciate
his considerable talents, enthusiasm and spirit of community (among
Beatle fans and his many good works with various charities, etc).