My ultimate Christmas CD

It’s hard to find a great Christmas CD with songs that everyone likes.  People want the well known version of songs, not Michael Buble trying to cover the Drifters’ White Christmas.  Due to legal issues and the music industry not being able to play together nicely, I decided to make my own mix CD.  I have gotten a lot of compliments on it, so I’m going to do one of my famous “track by tracks” and share it with my readers as an early X-mas gift.  All these songs have been selected and sequenced in this order.  The compilation fits on a standard 80 minute CD-R with 5 seconds to spare! 

Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree sung by Brenda Lee is the quintessential feel good song from the rocking guitar part to the background singers. 

Jingle Bell Rock sung by Bobby Helms. 

What Christmas Means to Me by Little Stevie Wonder.  He really sings his heart out here.  You can actually hear distortion in the vocal track (as was the case in the 60’s) that shows how powerful his voice is (was).

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was made popular by Gene Autry.  With his simple melodic approach to singing, it’s easy to see why he was so popular and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame under each category (I think he’s the only one, by the way, correct me if I’m wrong).  Also, it’s a shame that this song only exists from a record, I could not find a version that didn’t have record noise. 

Run Run Rudolph sung by Chuck Berry (but not written by him).  There is an interesting story about this song.  Chuck Berry is listed as writer, but he didn’t write it.  The writer is actually Johnny Marks but the publishers gave C. Berry credit to cover up that J. Marks wrote it.  I like Chuck Berry, but he is a bit conceded and a lot of his songs sound the same, just in different keys.  This, like a lot of other songs has grown in popularity because it was used in numerous films, like Home Alone.

The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don’t Be Late) was written and recorded in 1958.  It won three Grammys® that year including one for best engineered record.  It is still a secret how Ross Bagdasarian did the recording trick, but he is singing all three voices and is Dave Seville.  I would like to say that it is a piece of cake to do something like that now with digital and pitch correction, but in the 1950’s you had analog tape and no such thing as pitch modification.  Ross was a genius and a true pioneer.

Holly Jolly Christmas  Burl Ives had such a distinctive voice.  He also voiced the snowman in the ‘Rudolph’ TV special from 1964.  The guitar part on this song is crazy.  It has some delay but the riffs are outstanding.  It sounds like an old archtop. 

It’s Beginning to Look a Lot like Christmas  There are just some singers that make you think of Christmas.  Bing Crosby does this for me, maybe because White Christmas is my top 5 favorite films of all time?  He did record the original White Christmas, the smash hit from the 1940s. 

Most Wonderful Time of the Year.  I didn’t want to OD on Andy Williams.  He is very talented, but he and Johnny Mathis start to get on my nerves after a while.  I took his most famous song and put it on here.  There is too much reverb and echo on his vocal, take a headphones listen and you’ll hear what I’m talking about.

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow  Dean Martin was very talented.  This is his trademark holiday classic.  He has a very deep and powerful song.  He sings this as only he can, he even has inflections during some parts that makes it sound like he has a girl in the vocal booth with him for inspiration (just saying).

Pretty Paper  Roy Orbison had such control of his pitch.  The song was written by Willie Nelson.  It sounds like an Orbison penned dark brooding song.  Like most of his songs, he is the underdog that most people pass by and not give a second thought to.  Earlier this month, I read that Barbara Orbison (his wife, manager etc) died on the same day as her husband, 23 years earlier. 

Here Comes Santa Claus sung and co-written by Gene Autry.  Made popular by National Lampoons Christmas Vacation.   

Sleigh Ride  This is one of the best songs from Johnny Mathis’ Christmas album.  It’s lush orchestral arrangement and stereo separation is no too distracting as some recordings from the 1960’s (read my blog about the Beatles) can be.

Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer  What can we say about this song?  It is a great campy song to get you in the mood.  It also makes you think twice about how jolly St. Nick can be.

Getting Ready for Christmas Day  Leave it to Paul Simon to write a Christmas song and not really be a Christmas song.  I get a lot of people wondering why I put this on here, but I love this song.  It’s sort of a bitter sweet view on Christmas and shows the other darker side of the holiday. 

Christmas Vacation sung by Mavis Staples.  Who doesn’t love National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.  It is the best ‘Vacation’ movie.  Mavis was the perfect choice; she has a lot of soul in her voice and belts it out.  I could have done without the 1980’s production values, synthesizers and the weird vocals of the background singers, and it’s clearly a drum machine.  It was a great way to open the film. 

Feliz Navidad  Jose Feliciano is one of the most underrated guitarists ever.  He is amazing and he’s blind!  He really a shredder on that guitar, and his electric skills can’t be beat.  He has such power in his voice that he deserves to be better known and more appreciated than he is.  This is one of his commercial hits from the 70s. 

The Original White Christmas by Bing Crosby.  Thanks to Irving Berlin for this one.  Bing makes this song, there should be an act of Congress against colorizing films and covering this song, no one should be able to do it, besides the Drifters!

Santa Baby  Eartha Kitt makes this song.  The production of this song is simple and background singers only add to Kitt’s performance.  Her demands are quite un-realistic.  And if interpreted in a different way than was meant in 1953, it is a dirty song.

The Christmas Song by Nat King Cole is a holiday staple.  He has a silky smooth voice that ‘helps to make the season bright.’

Mele Kalikimaka by Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters.  Such a cool and campy song, and might have been forgotten about if not used in Christmas Vacation. 

All Alone on Christmas written by Little Stevie and sung by Darlene Love and backed by the E Street band.  It’s clear that Clarence is on sax.  It just sounds like him.  Darlene can really belt it out.  She still sounds really good for being in her early 70’s. 

Frosty the Snowman  I used to have the Jimmy Durante version on the CD, but recently switched to the ‘Wall of Sound’ Phil Spector version.  Ronnie does a great job, the stereo is a bit forced, but it’s a cool track none the less.

Winter Wonderland  The last Johnny Mathis song we have on the mix.  His is the definitive version.  It is also skillfully orchestrated. 

Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy  Bowie’s and Crosby’s voices blend like Simon & Garfunkel.  It was like one industry giant “handing over” the reigns to the new generation.  Crosby died about a month after recording this.  Wikipedia has some fun facts about it.  It seems that Bowie bitched and moaned the whole time. 

Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)  This song needs no commentary.  It’s a shame that the sound is so distant though, might have been an affect of the Wall of Sound.

Wonderful Christmastime  The one and only Paul McCartney closes out the set.  This song is infectious.  It’s so dated with the synths opening the song and throughout the song.  Technically this is not a Wings’ song but was released before the band broke up.  The B-side is Rudolph the Red Nosed Reggae.  According to accounts, McCartney recorded this song on his own during the McCartney II sessions.   

Merry Christmas to all my readers and Happy Holidays.  All thoughts and statements are mine, so don’t take anything personally.  See you in 2012! 

Year In Review

Its been a busy year, so lets try to wrap it up in a few pages.  I went to many concerts this year and I shot a movie.  First, a little about the movie.  We wrapped on principal photography for my film, THE RELUCTANT DETECTIVE.  That’s a fancy way of saying we finished it, it’s in the can.  Since there is no “can” anymore, it’s in the hard drive.  It was a cathartic experience that makes me want to explore that avenue again someday, in the far distant future though.  I could not have done it without my support system, my mother and aunt.  My friend Erik helped a bit too. Check out the website for the film, http://reluctantdetectivemovie.com/

On to the concert reviews, because after all, I know that’s why everyone reads this thing.  It wasn’t my best year, but I went to 16 big concerts and a few smaller ones too.  I saw a taping of a late night show and I attended two concerts that have wound up released on DVD!  The first concert of the year was Elton John at Mohegan Sun Arena.  I always bring my mother to see him, she loves Elton!  Even though he has the range of a speaking voice, he still puts on a great show.  With Nigel at the throne again, he has that old sound back with him and it sounds like Elton John, 40 years on.  I got floor tickets from Elton’s fan club.  Always good seats, check out the Rocket Club membership.  He sells his allotment of tickets to a show to fans, so we can get great seats.  My mother was Crocodile Rockin’ all over the place.  The next show was Elton John at Madison Square Garden.  I took Austin for his birthday (I’m such a good friend, right?  I hope he appreciates the little things).  It was such a let down.  The sound, the performance everything.  It’s his favorite place to play in the whole world, but it was a let down.  After seeing Leon Russell come out for the second time in a week and do a 40 minute mini set, I was getting kind of tired of it.  Their album, The Union was fantastic and should win a Grammy®. 

The next stop in my pilgrimage of concerts was winning band bench tickets to see Paul Simon on Jimmy Fallon.  You can read the post about that, but was a great experience to see how a ‘live on tape’ show gets put together.  After that, there was a surprisingly low key offbeat performance by Colin Hay.  I got my tickets for his show next year, back at the Ridgefield Playhouse, he always sells out, and it’s always a great intimate show. 

I saw Paul Simon at the Beacon, back to back, feel free to read the posts. A week or so after, I was seeing Crosby-Nash, although, they didn’t play a lot of hits, the set list was well balanced and the concert was airing live from little old Stamford CT and being recorded for a live DVD.  The DVD doesn’t look all as good as I’m sure it did in HD.  Graham if you’re reading this, we need a Blu-Ray!  Speaking of which, I would love a Blu-Ray concert DVD of CSN in recent years, maybe next time you come to the Beacon, I can shoot it for you. 

I sort of OD’d on Paul Simon this year, but I love his music and how he approaches making a set list.  The fact that he is doing a lot of songs he has never done before, is even better.  The Webster Hall show was recorded for a DVD for PBS.  I already donated all my money to PBS for the DVD, I am getting his new CD too, but I already own 2 copies, so the first reader to contact me, gets it for free! 

I took my mother to see Paul McCartney at Yankee Stadium and she fell asleep during Hey Jude!  I think Paul has a lot of chutzpah to charge as much as he does for such a formulaic show.  Would it really kill him to learn a few new songs?  Junior’s Farm was a welcome change and I was in the audience for the first time, The Night Before was performed in public, kind of cool, but 46 years too late! 

The next night, I went to see Peter Frampton perform the complete Frampton Comes Alive! album.  It was billed as a 3 hour long rock extravaganza, but we got the casino show, he did the album and closed with While My Guitar Gently Weeps.  So it only took 90 minutes for him to earn my $65.50 for balcony tickets.  He did a great job, he is an amazing guitar player and I got to take the show home via Abbey Road Live, about 10 minutes after the show, which was really cool.  Didn’t care for the mix, I would have rather had a board feed with some audience mics and called it a day, like David Crosby did.  It will never compare with the lush Mark Knopfler simfy recordings from his tour last year. 

I was pretty focused on the movie in the summer, so there weren’t any concerts to distract my focus.  I did my annual James Taylor show at Tanglewood.  It was a crappy show with a crappy set, and he brought out Amy Grant and Vince Gill.  They did a mini set and it’s a good thing they shed has dirt floors, since I vomited.  At the end of August, CSN was doing 2 shows at the Beacon, but due to delays in flights, they had to postpone the first show, but the second show was fine.  You can read the post.  Stephen Stills should get more credit than he does.  I own a Stephen Stills White Falcon signature series guitar and it is big and bulky and the Bigsby tremolo is really cool.  It’s like the one he played in Buffalo Springfield. 

In October, I went to see Jackson Browne at the Palace Theatre in Waterbury.  We had nosebleed seats in the balcony and the sound was a bit weak and Jackson had something in his throat for the first half of the show.  He had 17 guitars lined up and ready to play any song people might want to hear.  It was great, he was taking requests and did not have a set list.  He started playing one song, then someone yelled out another, so he would switch guitars.  It was very cool.  Someone wanted to hear Shaky Town, an old Danny "Kootch" Kortchmar song.  He is a great guitarist and lives in CT by the way.  Jackson said that he spoke to Danny today, he was down at Wall Street.  Said he’s been protesting his whole life.  Jackon’s tech brought out the words so he wouldn’t screw them up, but then Jackson said “now I need my glasses.”  It sucks getting old, as evidenced by the fact that it was his 64^th birthday the next day.  He was very rough the first half, but he must have steamed his throat or something, because the second half was an hour and thirty minutes and he sounded like our Jackson again. 

October was Stephen Stills month.  I saw him at the Wolf’s Den at Mohegan Sun and at the Tarrytown Music Hall in the quaint little town in Westchester.  He opened the Wolf’s Den 15 years before and it was their big anniversary weekend.  I took my friends Austin and Marcin (his first appearance on the blog).  And to clear the questions, he has not had a stroke or anything like that, he is hard of hearing though.  He made a joke about his hearing aids, that “at a restaurant, he could hear the bus boys making horse bets, but couldn’t hear a fucking word that the people he is dining with are saying.”  I wish the CN would let him talk more, he really is funny.  Also, it’s really weird, but when he’s not with Crosby and Nash, he sings really well.  I think when it’s just him, he can relax and doesn’t have to worry about harmonizing and doing the “Stills” part.  At Mohegan Sun, the Wolf’s Den is free.  You have to line up and they let you in.  The problem is that they saved all the tables for the high rollers, so they only let about 4 people in from the line of 1500 to see the show.  The rest of us had to stand outside the open air venue to see the show.  Stephen was on fire.  And on the way home, we were driving with his tour bus down I-95.  He was supposed to be in Long Island the next night, so we followed it from the casino for like 50 miles.

In November, my neighbor talked me into going to see CSN at the Beacon.  They ended up adding a third show, so I got tickets for the third show.  Knowing me, I have to go to all of them.  So I found that CSN was selling charity tickets, where they charged a few extra bucks and anything over face value goes to the Guacamole Foundation and you get to meet CSN after the show!  I took my Aunt to this show.  We went to Ruth’s Chris Steak House and had some serious beef beforehand.  We went to the show, it was great, and we were about 10 rows back from the stage in the center.  We got commemorative lanyards with the date embossed on them.  After the show, Tom our liaison, directed us to the location and said he was going to go get the ‘boys.’  A few minutes later, David Crosby and Graham Nash came out.  I was waiting for Stephen to come out.  Finally someone asked, and Tom said that Stephen wasn’t coming out he was unwinding in the bus and probably wouldn’t come out at all.  He was on fire that night, he was doing like Chuck Berry moves while doing his guitar solos.  I was a bit disappointed because I really want to meet Stephen.  And I have hard stories about David Crosby being a mean SOB.  Before I lose you, he was very pleasant and shook my hand and we spoke for a few minutes.  Everyone got a picture taken, it was very nice.  They had a very nice spread of nuts, cheeses and drinks for the reception. 

The following night my neighbor and I went to see them again, they were a bit off.  The harmony just wasn’t there and when Stephen is the most “on”, we’ve got trouble.  Helplessly Hoping actually made my ears bleed.  For the really good shows I have seen by these guys, this wasn’t at the same level, but I forgive them, as they do have a combined age of 205 years. 

It was a heck of a year for concerts, saw so many good shows by so many great performers. 

Elton John (2)

Jimmy Fallon-Paul Simon

Colin Hay

Paul Simon (4)

Crosby-Nash

Paul McCartney

Peter Frampton

James Taylor

CSN (3)

Jackson Browne

Stephen Stills (2)

See you in 2012!

CL

Happy 70th Birthday Paul!

How Terribly Strange to be Seventy...You're Still Crazy After All These Years

I’d like to take this opportunity to express my appreciation of this man and his music.  It’s really hard to distinguish between a famous person’s work and the person themselves.  In a case like Paul Simon, he lives a very dull life in Connecticut and is rather private.  I met him once and that was enough for me.  I’m glad the way it happened, because if he was mean to me, I don’t think I would have recovered from the shock.  I’ve heard horror stories about people who have met him and I know how difficult he can be sometimes.  He seems to have gotten more difficult with age.  He doesn’t flaunt his celebrity around like other superstars and still drives his kids to school every day and coaches Little League. 

Now, on to meeting the living legend.  Austin (my best friend-for new readers), his then girlfriend Rosa (now finace) and I had gotten tickets to see Harper Simon (Paul’s grown son from his first marriage) at the Mercury Lounge.  The place was standing room only and wasn’t quite filled, maybe 150 people.  There was an opening act, as I remember it was a ska band with a horn section.  All the while, Austin and Rosa kept teasing me that Paul would show up.  I wasn’t expecting it since the night before he had played the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Anniversary Concert at MSG.  We were in the back just waiting for Harper, trying to pass time as the opener wasn’t really good.  All of the sudden, it was like a near death experience, I don’t think anyone else noticed it, but I saw a short man with a scarf wearing a fedora with grey hair sticking out walk in with a tall lanky young boy.  I knew it was Paul Simon and his oldest son with his current wife, Adrian.  I have run into Adrian at the Beacon for several shows and even the previous night at the show at MSG.  They had one bench on the left side and there was a small group milling around.  Paul sat down and was listening to the band.

I pointed him out to Austin who was really excited because we usually run into Paul’s double, his brother Eddie (read the other posts), but this time it was Paul in the flesh.  I really contemplated going over to say hello, but I’m glad I didn’t because some other young girls had the idea too and he was having nothing to do with it.  He was waving people away and wouldn’t sign anything or even talk to you. 

After a few minutes, Harper came out and did his set.  We rushed the stage and I ended up being dead center for the set.  About halfway through the show, Austin leaned in and asked me, who the woman in white next to me was, because she was really getting into the music and was dancing.  I looked to my left, and turned back with “oh, it’s Yoko.”  Yoko Ono was next to me busting a move and I didn’t even know it!  She was on fire.  After Harper finished his set, I leaned over to Yoko and said “you’re awesome” gave her a thumbs up (I don’t know why, just happened) and she said “so are you.”  I really gained a lot of respect for the lady after seeing her in the flesh and knowing how much tragedy she has seen in her life.  So now when I see dead head hippies at the Paul McCartney concerts wearing their, “I still blame Yoko” t-shirts, I want to punch them in the face. 

Yoko was whisked away by her man servant.  I know her son Sean and Harper are best friends, they grew up next to each other at the Dakota.  Harper walked off stage and began to sign CDs for the few people who stayed.  I was waiting my turn, when Paul came from the corner and basically cut me and two other people to come talk to Harper about the show.  I do remember there was a young kid who kept trying to get him to sign a Graceland CD.  Paul again, would have nothing to do with that.  So after Paul left, Harper signed one more CD then I pulled out the CD and asked him to sign it.  Harper obliged.  I told him how much I enjoyed the show and how great the CD is (I mean, that, you should check it out) and how I really liked the song Tennessee.  He apologized for not playing it.  He inscribed the CD to me handed my pen back to me and was making the rounds with his friends.  What I noticed was that there were more of his friends and family there than actual people to see him.  Paul was also milling around talking to people that he obviously knew.  We were just milling around too soaking up the atmosphere and realizing that something like this will never happen again, Harper, Paul and Yoko in a small venue??

I had to run to the bathroom and was going to meet Austin and Rosa outside.  A few seconds after I got out I met them, it seemed that fate had intervened as Paul was leaving too.  I turned to him, and said “hot set last night, and I really enjoyed the Capeman.”  He said, “I’m glad you enjoyed it” I even got a handshake.  He and his son crossed the street to an unmarked black SUV and were out of there faster than it happened. 

The next night was Halloween, so there were a lot of people dressed up walking around.  We passed many on our way to the Bleecker St subway.  I was humming the S&G song Bleecker Street in my head as we walked past the freaks. 

October 30, 2009, a day that I will never forget.  Thanks Paul for being cordial, and if Paul McCartney didn’t own the rights to Happy Birthday and I didn’t have to pay royalties, I’d sing it for you sometime. 

Crosby Stills & Nash Wednesday August 31, 2011 Beacon Theatre NYC

While I was waiting in line at the Crosby & Nash concert in May (here), I heard two guys behind me talking about CSN doing a show at the Beacon.  I had not heard of this, so the next day I did some checking and found they were doing a show, but it was sold out.  I also found out they added an extra date when the first one sold out so fast, so I got a ticket for the second show.  I was happy I got tickets for the second night, because they were not doing a lot of touring and sometimes, the first night after being off for a while can be a bit bad.  Unfortunately because of Hurricane Irene, the first night got moved to November, but I found out my show was fine and was going to happen on the scheduled date.

 

One affect music can have on you is that it can change your mood.  I didn’t really feel like going to the show and I didn’t know why.  I almost wanted my show to be postponed too, but I dragged myself to the 5:50 train that got me into the city for 7:18.  Kind of cutting it close I know, but I just felt blah.  After a shuttle ride and a few subway stops uptown on the 3, I got there with about 15 minutes to kill.  I usually get to concerts too early and have to wait around for a long time.  After I found my seat, row C, which is actually 7 rows from the stage, I started to perk up.  The show started about 8:10.  The song that came on before they walked out was a Mark Knopfler song.  It’s good to see that fellow musicians like him too. 

The stage went dark and they didn’t come out for about thirty seconds so there were some cat calls.  CSN finally walked out and strapped on their guitars.  Graham Nash had a new guitar (new meaning I have not seen him play it before), it was a red Gibson SG.  Stephen had one of his old Strats on (probably from the 50s).  David Crosby did his usual “hello” and was singing a bit, most likely he does this to check that his monitors were on.  Stephen started the guitar riff for Woodstock while David was still singing “Hello.”  Stephen was a bit rough around the edges all night.  I love the guy and think he’s one of the best guitar players out there, but he has not been able to sing for a while now.  It’s not a shot at him, but it sounds like he has a combination of marbles and cotton in his mouth and just took a hit of Novocain before coming out on stage.

After Woodstock, Graham Nash thanked us and welcomed us.  He then announced they were going to do the entire show in memory of their friend Ahmet Ertegün.  Further research would find he was the former president and founder of Atlantic Records who passed away because of a fall sustained backstage at the Beacon Theatre before a Rolling Stones concert in 2006. 

After the opening lines of Military Madness, I knew this would probably be very similar to the Tanglewood show I saw 364 days prior on September 1, 2010.  I could tell this was a ‘one off’ where they were just meeting their contractual obligations because when Stephen Stills would come out to the lip of the stage and play a monster guitar solo, he was in the dark, they didn’t have a follow spot.  Don’t get me wrong, the show was amazing, but it’s these little details that not everyone notices that are what makes blogging about a concert interesting and fun for me.  Plus my public would be let down if I let things like this slip through the cracks.  Graham substituted the line he used to say about Bush for the current president, “I hope Obama discovers, what’s driving the people wild.”  Graham used to say “I hope Bush remembers what’s driving the people wild.”  There is still hope for the President.    

Stills started Long Time Gone.  Crosby sang this with vim and vigor.  He just recently celebrated his 70^th birthday, and is like Oprah with his weight.  Last year at Tanglewood, he was huge, but tonight he was healthy looking again.  Graham quipped “not bad for ninety year olds.”  That got a rousing reception and Graham got out his cowbell, so I knew Bluebird was up.  Stills and Nash sang together, Stills was a bit rough, but made up for the vocals by playing the hell out of his Fender® Strat during the solo.  His vocal solo for the bridge “look at all those blues…” was yet again undistinguishable.  He really sings with soul and energy to compensate though.  CSN, with a combined age of 205, really still have the energy for the rock ‘n roll lifestyle.  The missing lyrics “do you think she loves you…” were added, most likely an offshoot of when The Buffalo Springfield reunited for the mini tour earlier in the year.  After the final guitar solo, Stills gave the band a 1, 2, 3, 4 count to come back in.  Stephen was really on fire.

Graham announced that the first time they ever recorded as CSN was at the Record Plant in NYC in December of 1968.  David added another old age joke “which most of you know was right after the civil war.”  That got a laugh as they started a song that was brought back after a semi-retirement.  Marrakesh Express chugged along and Stephen fudged the solo a bit, maybe because it’s been over a year since they played this song?  Graham was playing his signature Martin acoustic guitar and Stills was playing his jumbo arch top he usually slings for this song.  Crosby’s son James Raymond plays the “guitar/train” sound from the record on his piano with help from his Macbook and maybe Garageband (just speculating)? 

Graham quipped that they “have so many bloody songs we could be here for a week.”  Stephen replied “that’s the plan.”  Then David remarked about how he has been ‘living’ at the Beacon recenlty.  He saw Steely Dan and he played with the Gregg Allman and then said the Beacon is one of his favorite rooms.  There was such camaraderie between the Crosby Stills and Nash throughout the evening. 

Stephen got on his signature White Falcon guitar (I own one), so I knew it was time for Southern Cross.  He did an admirable job singing the vocal line.  Some lines were slurred, but most of it was clear.  Crosby was once again too high in the mix for my liking.  James Raymond was heard singing in his high voice smoothing out any blending problems between CSN.  Stephen Stills is embarking on a solo tour while Crosby and Nash tour Europe this fall.  I got my tickets for the Tarrytown Music Hall, a really cool place in the heart of Westchester.  He is also playing the Wolf’s Den at Mohegan Sun Casino.  It’s like a small club in the middle of the casino where a lot of big names play for free.  The solo in the middle was played by Graham and Stephen and was perfect.

During the dedication for the next song, Graham said it was going out to the preacher who burned the Koran in Florida.  People were chuckling and booing and Graham said he should be booed, “20 people died because of that fucker.”  In Your Name is a little prayer about the millions of people who have been killed in the name of religion. 

CSN is still very political, Barrel of Pain was a song from No Nukes.  There were activists walking around the lobby handing out paraphernalia about the dangers of nuclear energy before the show started.  Graham commented on how they hadn’t sung this song for about 30 years (except recently at the MUSE concert, with Jackson Browne and Bonnie Raitt).  Next up was Long May You Run, no mention of Neil Young though.  During the verse “maybe the Beach Boys have got you down…” Stills extended his arms and pretended to be riding a wave.  It was quite funny and uncharacteristic of him. 

Déjà Vu was its usual ten minute jam session, including the harmonic solo from Graham.  Wooden Ships was up next.  You can tell they are going to play that by the way Stills starts the count off with his muted striking of the strings on his guitar.  Stephen beat the shit out of that guitar, playing a great solo in the dark (see above about the spot operator).  After Wooden Ships Graham announced they would take a 15 minute break (that was actually 21). 

After the intermission, CSN came out and played a well harmonized version of Helplessly Hoping, a classic Stills penned song.  Next up was a surprise.  Just a Song usually gets alternated with Marrakesh Express.  They rarely play both of them at the same concert.  As I’ve mentioned before, this is one of my favorite songs of all time.  At the Foxwoods concert in 2009 Graham explained that his friend bet him a 100 bucks that he couldn’t write a song before he went.  Graham wrote it and won the 100 bucks, and he said the hundred bucks was framed and hung over his toilet.  I should also mention that Graham was once again barefoot, I have yet to see him perform with shoes on. 

Stills strapped on a small acoustic guitar I’ve never seen before.  After some research I deduced it must have been his signature Martin 0-45S.  He used it to play Bob Dylan’s Girl from the North Country which has been getting a lot of play recently.  Stills then swapped the small guitar for his signature D-45 with that distinctive Stephen Stills sound to play The Rolling Stones’ Ruby Tuesday.  This got a rousing reaction from the sold out crowd during the opening lines. 

David dedicated the next song to his wife Jan for the “800^th million time.”  He didn’t know where she was sitting, but I guess she was out there.  Guinevere has never been one of my favorite songs, but it has an interesting finger picking melody line.  Next up was What Are Their Names, Graham and David got the starting note from James so they could start in the right key.  Crosby noted that the previous song was him being peaceful, but the next song was him being pissed off.  They Want It All was played in Stamford which I just found out that the Stamford Palace show will be released on DVD next month.  There was a little lyric flub from Crosby during this song.  Once again Graham “I need more cowbell” Nash pulled out the cowbell (insert SNL cowbell joke here_____). 

 

Graham walked to the piano and was about to start the next song when someone yelled out Cathedral.  Graham said, “you wanna hear that old thing?”  I think they were actually going to do Wind on the Water (the song they alternate with Cathedral).  He started Cathedral with a cold start, no intro, no Orleans or anything.  This song paints such a vivid picture in my mind of ancient times. 

Before Graham started Our House, he said “I know I wrote this for Joni, but it’s for Judy tonight.”  He started the song but stopped to check to make sure the key was correct on the piano because he said he changed it for Wind on the Water (which he did not actually play).  Crosby couldn’t let that go.  Crosby said that it’s usually him that screws up, so he was going to relish this moment.  In Graham’s defense, he usually never messes up, in fact he remembers all the words without the use of the TelePrompTer.  Crosby and Stills both have one in front of them.  They are disguised as floor monitors, but in fact are TelePrompTers (Tom Petty, Paul McCartney, Ringo all use them too).  They did the usual sing along bit where they let the audience sing a verse.

Next up was the Crosby penned Almost Cut My Hair.  Crosby was in excellent voice and Stills played hot riffs.  The line where Crosby holds the note “I feel…” seemed to be held longer than in previous shows.  That got the crowd up, and Stills launched right into Love the One You’re With.  When he started the song, the crowd didn’t seem to know what it was, but when he started to sing everyone figured it out and the crowd went crazy.  The current arrangement is in a different key and is also about half tempo of the recording.  Stills did a satisfactory job of singing, but there were lines in there that even I couldn’t distinguish--knowing the words as I do.  Graham had an “all time best fuck up ever” moment when he started singing “and there’s a rose…” where there was an instrumental breakdown part.  It was very uncharacteristic for Graham to mess up on that scale.

After this, Graham said “goodnight Beacon Theatre” and they started to walk offstage, but our cheering ‘pulled’ them back (I love forced encores).  Stills slung on a Strat and started playing the Buffalo Springfield song For What It’s Worth.  This got everyone up on their feet; I’ve never seen a crowd get so excited before.  Finally for the one zillionth time, they dedicated the next song to the underappreciated and underpaid teachers.  After Teach Your Children Graham quickly introduced the band members again, they did their bows and Graham wished us peace.  The show was really over, you can tell because the house lights come up they start playing music over the PA. 

As we were filing out, I was chatting with the lady who sat next to me and it was her first time seeing CSN.  She didn’t know much about them because early on in the show, she also asked me if Neil Young was coming out. 

I got the 11:22 and was home at 1AM and at work the next day at 7am. 

This concert was probably the best I’ve seen from CSN.  I think it was the intimacy you get in a small theatre, versus a huge outdoor amphitheatre.  Plus, I was also close, I joke that I was close enough to smell Crosby farts; David if you’re reading this, I’m just kidding.  I’ve forgiven you for ignoring us in Stamford too.

Woodstock

Military Madness

Long Time Gone

Bluebird

Marrakesh Express

Southern Cross

In Your Name

Barrel of Pain

Long May You Run

Déjà Vu

Wooden Ships

Helplessly Hoping

Just a Song

Girl from the North Country

Ruby Tuesday

Guinevere

What Are Their Names

They Want it All

Cathedral

Our House

Almost Cut My Hair

Love the One You’re With

For What It’s Worth

Teach Your Children

Paul Simon Sunday May 29, 2011 MGM Grand/Foxwoods

Welcome back Paul Simon!  I have been neglecting my blogging duties and skipped the Foxwoods show in order to get the Webster Hall post up.  MGM Grand at Foxwoods is a lush beautifully tuned theatre that seats a little over 4,000 people.  The seats are comfortable and the staff is accommodating and friendly.  It’s quickly becoming my favorite venue. 

I got my tickets through an American Express pre-sale.  I got row M, house left.  I got the last seat in the aisle.  The seat was close enough, but I could also see the screens.  The theatre has robotic cameras (as Peter Frampton quipped, “it’s like CNN, there’s no one working that thing!”).  I guess Paul is not used to having video for these intimate theatre shows because they had large black flags hanging in front of the screen so you could not see the video screens from the stage, but the house could see it.  I guess Paul didn’t think he was so beautiful, but so what! 

Earlier in the day, I took my mother shopping at the mall near Foxwoods that she enjoys and let her buy me lunch at Longhorn.  We had fantastic burgers and sub par iced tea, with extra lemon.  We made it to the casino at around 5:30 with plenty of time to valet park and also had plenty of time to gamble.  I found my 2 penny slots and was losing, so I just watched as my mother was actually winning, but her problem is that if she hits for a few bucks (like 20 or so) she puts it right back in and loses it again.  My mother detests Paul Simon (although she loves S&G) so I left her gambling and I made my way to the theatre at about 7:15.  I purchased an overpriced bottle of water ($4.50) and made my way to my seat.  A few minutes later after my row started to fill up, I was chatting with the people next to me and I told them that this is my third of four concerts for this tour and 13^th concert total.  I don’t think they believed me since they said, I was so young.  The man told me that he tried to get tickets for the 1991 tour, and had bought scalped tickets, but was refused admittance at the gate.  I told him that this tour is much better than that one and we made idle chatter until the show began.

The guitar tech brought out a freshly tuned Martin OM-42 with no capo.  I turned to the guy next to me and said, I bet he’s going to open with Boy in the Bubble.  I was surprised because his usual opener until this concert was Crazy Love, Vol. II.  Paul and the band came out and settled, then Tony started Boy in the Bubble, I love it when I’m right.  That was the only shake-up.  Everything else was the same.  For the Boy in the Bubble, Paul is not strumming, he’s picking alternating A’s and it really punchy.  The sound was clear and his voice was impeccable.  They shook up the arrangement a bit and Bathiki had a new solo in the middle.  I noticed that Mark was playing slide guitar a bit which surprised me, but it really helped double the bass rolls on the fretless bass for “these are the days of miracle…”

Dazzling Blue was next.  After that was 50 Ways, the crowd really got excited about this number.  Paul was in a great mood and I could tell he was relaxed and in total control.  It was a home state show and he was ready to rock.  He screwed up the words for the chorus the second time round and laughed a bit at himself.  The band was so tight and well rehearsed and everyone at the top of their game.  After 50 Ways, he said “I’m back in my home state of Connecticut.”  There was a lot of feedback from the semi-hollow electric red 12-string he put on for the next song.  The feedback cut through “Connecticut.”  Paul backed the guitar away from the mic and the feedback went away.  This is not the first time this guitar has done this either.  He then did So Beautiful or So What.  After this song when they launched into Vietnam/Mother & Child Reunion I thought we were getting a “casino” show (a casino show is where the artists modify the set list to do the minimum amount of show to accommodate the casino and get people back out on the gambling floor, Peter Frampton, CSN and John Fogerty have all done this.  Mark Knopfler did not do this).  Usually Slip Sliding Away would come next, so I was a bit disappointed.  But don’t worry, because as I would find out, it was not a “casino show.” 

Andy got a longer sax solo during That Was Your Mother.  Paul was in very good spirits and good voice this evening.  I noticed this especially during Hearts & Bones that can go either way vocally.  I was able to see Jim more clearly and see how much guitar work he put into Mystery Train and Wheels.  This medley shouldn’t work, but it does.  Jim is just as good at guitar as he at the drums.  Next up was Slip Slidin’ Away which Paul opted to play on his red Gibson (not the one for So Beautiful).  I am not the biggest fan of this song being played on an electric because I think nothing sounds better than the sound Paul gets from his signature Martins, but I like when he changes things up.  Rewrite is one of those songs that grows on you, at first I did not like it (take a look at the album blog review).  The live version is amazing and it shows off the musicianship of all the members of his band.  I read an interview with Mark Stewart where he said that the band will rehearse two bars of music for two hours sometimes until it’s perfect.  Two bars could be like 10 seconds of music depending on the song.  Could you imagine working for Paul Simon?  It has to be the worst, hardest but most rewarding job in the world.  Peace Like a River is a weird song to do, but I really like it, although I would have preferred Duncan because it gives Mark a chance to play his penny whistle, but Tony really shines on his muted trumpet work.  Once again Jim plays guitar on this song.  I have not actually tried to figure out if this is down a few steps, but I know that it is much slower, maybe half tempo of the original.  Paul can still sing beautifully.  It’s good go see he’s still choosing songs that challenge him vocally.  Paul really nailed the guitar solo on this song, but I still don’t attempt to understand the piano solo at the end. 

The Obvious Child blows me away each time I hear it.  I really like the sound of his Olson guitar (I verified on Olson’s website, they were surprised to hear he was playing one too).  Paul plays the song on his 12 string and Vincent doubles him on his big Gibson.  Tony has written an accordion part that wasn’t on the original track.  Andy plays bells and Bathiki plays a big ol’ bass drum.  They don’t even mic it because it’s so boomy and loud. I really had reservations on how this was going to sound without a five piece rhythm section like on previous tours, but I must say it sounded better than the Central Park ’91 version.  Paul’s voice did crack a bit doing the bass vocal that Briz did on the album, but it was barely audible.  Paul switched 12-strings back to his Martin and started The Only Living Boy in New York.  His voice was silky and unchallenged by the 40 year old vocal line.  He still does the high part of the “echo chamber” part of the song.  Vincent does a bass vocal, even Mark can’t go as high as Paul.  His range is just amazing.  Yes his voice is gotten deeper with age, but he can still hit a lot of notes that artists of his generation don’t even attempt anymore. 

The last few times I’ve been to Foxwoods for shows, they let the first five or so rows rush the stage towards the end of the show.  During the opening lines of Diamonds, a few “hot to trot” twenty something females did this, followed by their older rounder mother.  Paul laughed and looked down and said, “you’re the rich girl?”  He laughed through the rest of the intro, it was funny and unrehearsed and shows that he is still having a good time doing the job he’s been doing for 50 years now.  Diamonds was amazing, although he doesn’t do the high pitched wailing anymore, the fact that they went back to doing the standard arrangement of the song is wonderful.  The interplay between Jamey and Jim at the end if great too, Paul goes off to the side of the stage just to watch them.  It shows that he doesn’t have to be the center of attention all the time, he can let his amazing band shine too.  After this song, he put the capo up two frets and they started Gumboots.  I love Gumboots, but I think it would still work better if they closed the main show with Diamonds.  Gumboots is double tempo from the Beacon in 2009.  It sounds better faster, but the guitar work has to be double time too, Vincent and Mark really get a finger workout playing this song.  After this song, Paul and the band left that stage. 

Paul came back out to a dark stage to sing a pitch perfect version of Sound of Silence.  Kodachrome® followed and was spectacular and the fact that the played it like the record made it even better.  I would have never thought that Kodachrome® and Gone at Last would fit together, but both of these songs deserve more air time than they have gotten in the past.  After this there was another encore break.  Paul came back out with Mark and Tony to play Here Comes the Sun.  This version was spot on as well.  I think they should have recorded this show for a DVD instead of Webster Hall, the overall performance was better. 

Late in the Evening was rocking as usual and he didn’t say the “smoke myself a ‘J’” line.  Maybe he had family in the audience, but I do know that his family was not at the Beacon on the second night so he actually said the full line that time.   

After Late in the Evening, they did another encore break.  After a bit, the stage went dark, the techs were running around setting things up.  The guitar tech came out with a Martin with a capo on the 5^th fret and put it in the stand by Paul’s mic.  I really thought we were getting Crazy Love.  Paul came out and did Still Crazy.  Andy did a killer solo as usual.  There was a weird pause where he was contemplating doing another song, but then opted to grab the mic and introduce the members of the band.  After the show as everyone was filing out I was filled a sense of amazement.  I am still in awe of how he can still be so good at his age.

After the show I treated my mother to Junior’s for some iced coffee and a piece of cheesecake.  I saw this twenty something kid with a set list, I guess he waited by the stage for it.  I was going to ask to see it, I was really curious to see if Crazy Love was on the list of potential extra songs to be played, but I couldn’t catch him.  So if you’re reading this, let me know, ok? 

Boy in the Bubble

Dazzling Blue

50 Ways to Leave Your Lover

So Beautiful or So What

Vietnam

Mother & Child Reunion

That Was Your Mother

Hearts & Bones

Mystery Train/Wheels

Slip Slidin' Away

Rewrite

Peace Like a River

The Obvious Child

The Only Living Boy in New York

Love is Eternal Sacred Light

Father & Daughter

Diamonds

Gumboots

Sound of Silence

Kodachrome®

Gone at Last

Here Comes the Sun

Late in the Evening

Still Crazy

Paul Simon to tour in the fall

Paul is very predictable...he follows the old school way of doing things, he has a successful spring/summer tour and then comes back in the fall to do some more tour dates.  Lets cross our fingers for a Radio City show so I can actually get tickets and not have to buy them from scalpers!  I will keep you posted if and when the tour dates are announced, but here's to hoping that he will include another US leg! 

UPDATE: STOP THE PRESSES!!

Here is the list of dates, lets hope they add more East Coast dates.  The venues look weird, he's playing a lot of bigger places, even some "arenas" and amphitheaters on  his little theatre/club tour.

10/17/2011 Phoenix, AZ – Comerica Theatre
10/19/2011 Los Angeles, CA – Gibson Amphitheatre
10/20/2011 Berkeley, CA – Greek Theatre
10/22/2011 San Diego, CA – Viejas Arena
10/23/2011 Santa Barbara, CA – Santa Barbara Bowl
10/24/2011 Las Vegas, NV – Colosseum at Caesar’s Palace
10/26/2011 Denver, CO - 1stBank Center
10/28/2011 Grand Prairie, TX - Verizon Theatre
10/29/2011 Memphis, TN – Mud Island Amphitheatre
11/4/2011 New Orleans, LA – UNO Lakefront Arena
11/5/2011 Austin, TX – Cedar Park Center
11/6/2011 Oklahoma City, OK – Civic Center Music Hall

Still holding out for a RCMH show!  

Crosby & Nash Sunday May 22, 2011 Palace Theatre Stamford

So the rapture didn’t come and the world didn’t end.  I don’t want to blame it all on David Crosby & Graham Nash, but I think they might have had a part in it.  We’re still here, and I got to see them at the Palace Theatre in Stamford.  I got tickets in March and one of my usual accomplices my Aunt was going to come, because she really enjoyed the CSN concert at Tanglewood last year.  But at the last minute she had to bow out and I was left with an extra ticket.  I was thinking of who to ask, and I remember my neighbor has been in love Graham Nash for forever so I ran over and asked her, and she obliged.  She was very excited so we made plans and that was that.  To sweeten the pot for me, I found out that this was going to be televised on HDNet.  I was scrambling look for a friend or co-worker with this channel, but no luck.  Anyone catch it?  I’m sure it was awesome! 

We drove down to Stamford, and sat in traffic as is the norm for driving southbound on 95.  We parked in the mall which is free on Sunday and walked the half block to the Palace.  I checked out the merch table and it was freaky because the guy that ran it looked just like a thinner Stephen Stills without the speech problems.  I saw that they were selling USB drives of the show.  I tried to see if I could get better than 320mbps, but that’s all they had.  This might be the audiophile in me, but I think mp3 is the root of all evil (not really but as you can see by my other posts, I really don’t care for it).  The lanyard USB drives would be ready about 30 minutes after the show, which is pretty fast turn around.  As I was getting my ticket to secure my drive after the show, my neighbor, who we’ll call Stacey was chatting up “Stephen” about how to maybe get her Graham Nash book she brought with her signed.  This woman overheard us and said that the tour bus is parked across the street outside and there is a security guard that looks like Graham Nash out there that could fill us in as well.  This woman’s husband looked amazingly like a tanned David Crosby.  So all the look a likes were out there that night!

Outside we went to chat with Bill, who really looked like Graham Nash, down to the mustache and white hair.  He told us that it might be possible right after the show as they walk to the bus.  After chatting with Bill and the other nice security personnel, we went back inside and found our seats in the ‘mezz and waited.  The show started at 7:31 on the dot (maybe to make up for the intro video HDNet made up for the opening credits).  They played a lot of hits, but there were some misses, but all in all the night was great.  I’m writing this while listening to my USB.  

 They opened with the Byrds rocker 8 Miles High.  Graham sang  I Used To Be King, (even though he still is king) and said that they reached into the past for that one.  Wasted on the Way was one of the many highlights for me, I have been to see many CSN concerts and have always wanted to hear this song.  Dean Parks replaced the violin rather nicely with his pedal steel guitar.  Long Time Gone was a standard arrangement.  Next up was a James Raymond (David’s long lost son) penned song called Lay Me Down.  Very mellow and melodic, James really is talented.    

I’m not that big a fan of David Crosby, I mean I like him, but Still and Nash are my favorites, but I did enjoy the Lee Shore which was written by Crosby.  Just a Song is one of my all time top favorite songs and was glad that it has come back into the rotation after being in semi-retirement.  Next Graham ribbed David that during normal shows, this is the part where David gets nervous, but since it’s on TV, it should be ok because David was going to sing a new song.  Slice of Time sounds like most his songs.  It’s good to know that they are still writing, maybe we will get another CSN/CN/CSNY/N album some day.  Next up was the politically relevant Don’t Dig Here.  Graham extended his thoughts and prayers to the poor people of Japan and said that nuclear disasters are now on a global level, and they not just local anymore.  Powerful stuff.  Critical Mass was once again pre-recorded but was the opener for the ever powerfully penned Nash song, Wind on the Water about the whales.  Dead did a fantastic job of mimicking a crying whale with the guitar.  I have never heard of Cowboy Movie, but it was enjoyable.

I have a knack for guessing what song will be played by what guitar the artist is given, and I guessed Marakesh Express and surprised Stacey that I was right.  Now only if I could make some money doing this!  Usually with CSN, James Raymond plays the distorted guitar part on the record, but Dean was playing it on the pedal steel and it sounded really good.  I was very impressed with his playing.  He filled in for Stephen Stills rather nicely.  Graham quipped that somewhere in the bowels of Abbey Road there is an 8 track tape of The Hollies trying to learn this song.  He also added that The Hollies were a great band, but just couldn’t get this one.  I should mention that CSN are doing 2 secret shows at the Beacon in late August.  I say ‘secret’ because you can actually still get tickets for it and I didn’t even know about it.  I overheard some guy say something about it in the merch line.  After Déjà vu there was a 20 minute intermission.

Stacey was off to scope out the bus situation and I was in the line to get an autographed set list.  I also got an autographed poster.  It’s nice to get genuine autographs and you don’t have to be ‘hosed’ on eBay buying something that can be a bit dodgy.  This is when I ran into that lady I sat next to at the Paul Simon Beacon show, the one with the whistler.  After I got my poster and setlist, I got back to my seat just in time for the lights to dim for the second set. 

The second set opened with a great song which Graham dedicated to his wife Susan.  For Simple Man he was playing the guitar and harmonica and singling brilliantly.  For being 69, he still sings incredibly well and goes to show that age really is just a number sometimes.  David dedicated Guinnever to his wife Jan.  They both said they have been on the road for months and miss their family.  In Your Name is a great song or a prayer really about how many people have been killed in the name of religion.  What’s good about Graham’s songs are they make you think.  Some of them may be toe tappers, but most of them have an underlying message to get out there.  

What Are Their Names was short and sweet as usual, one of Crosby’s politically charged thinking songs.  It warmed us up for They Want it All.  Graham told a story about a giant Jesus statue that inspired him to write Jesus of Rio.  Camera was dedicated to David’s father who was a photographer and cinematographer.  Graham said that he shot High Noon the classic film from the 50’s.  Orleans was the introduction to the momentous Cathedral.  The next in the line of hit laden songs was Our House.  Graham let the audience sing as usual and it was fun because everyone knows the words to this song.  Next up was Military Madness one of my favorite Graham songs.  He used to sing about Bush, but now has switched to Obama in the “and I hope Obama discovers” instead of “I hope Bush remembers, what’s driving the people mad” bit.  Almost Cut My Hair was a Crosby standard.  Leave it to Crosby to write a song about cutting your hair and then have it all fall out.  They closed the main set with Wooden Ships.  It was a nice jam session for everyone to show off their musical prowess. 

They came back on for the obligatory Teach Your Children and after letting us sing a bit, the song ended and then Graham started one of my favorite rockers, Chicago.  As soon as it ended, he sang “goodnight” into the mic, letting us know that show was really over.  Stacey was off in a mad dash to get to the tour bus.  She had told me she learned there was a VIP reception for Graham and Nash and that she would have more time than she thought to get down to the bus.  I was waiting in line for the lanyard and she was waiting to see her idol.  I missed Graham, and of all of them, Graham and Stephen are the ones I would love to meet.  I actually own a Stephen Stills signature guitar, and love it.  I wasn’t too keen on waiting around for David Crosby to come out because I could picture him being distant and cold…nail on the head people.  He wouldn’t even lift his head and say ‘hi’ to us.  He treated us like lepers.  He avoided us like the plague.  I don’t care if he was ‘tired’ or had a ‘bad’ day or whatever else excuse they use, you can at least wave to the people that shelled out money to come see you and waited in the rain too.  But on the bright side, we did get to see James Raymond.  He was very nice, actually stopped to chat for a bit and even signed our ticket stub.  Not like father like son!  

A note about the filming: it was very distracting being at the concert and watching the camera people walk in front of David and Graham all night, so it must have been just as distracting being them.  During each song, the steadicam would make it’s way in front of the boys and then there was the camera on the jib to do the sweeping crane shots.  I would love to see this concert so if anyone taped it…let me know. 

Guest Blogger Stacey's account:

I've loved these guys since I first saw them when I was a freshman in High School (CSN was my very first 'big concert'), and have an especially warm spot in my heart for Graham Nash.

First let me say, WHAT a performance!!!  It was perfection, and their band (which included James Raymond, Crosby's son) was amazing.  They televised it live in HD, so there were camera people everywhere and it was very exciting, but the electrifying atmosphere was due to the band and their performance, not the hype.

After the concert, I waited outside in the alleyway between theater and the bus, hoping... There was a "meet and greet" after the concert, so I had to wait a bit, but after awhile, Graham came walking by.  The security guy was rushing him along, even though there were only a handful of people outside.

I said, "Graham, I've been waiting 35 years to just say thank you"

He stopped and smiled, extended his hand and said, "Come here, Hon, give me a hug" and stepped away from the security guy.  We embraced, and I kissed him on the cheek. He was kind and gracious, and even signed my copy of his photography book (which I brought with me, kind of hoping...)  My life is complete :)

8 Miles High

I Used to Be King

Wasted on the Way

Long Time Gone

Lay Me Down

Lee Shore

Just a Song

Slice of Time

Don’t Dig Here

Critical Mass/Wind on the Water

Cowboy Movie

Marrakesh Express

Déjà vu

Simple Man

Guinnevere

In Your Name

What Are Their Names

They Want It All

Jesus of Rio

Camera

Orleans-Cathedral

Our House

Military Madness

Almost Cut My Hair

Wooden Ships

Teach Your Children

Chicago

A note: the pictures with the date burned in are from Lori, so thanks Lori for being there to share in the moment. 

My Dream Paul McCartney setlist on the run with my money to Yankee Stadium

You can look, but I doubt you’d find a bigger Paul McCartney fan, or Macca as we uber fans refer to him as.  I have stuck with this man through tick and thin, and now that he has no voice left, I’m not about to give up on him.  I went to all three nights at CitiField and sat through the SAME EXACT SET LIST all three nights, and even got rained on during the first night (tears from Heaven as Macca dubbed it).  That’s the kind of dedication I have for this man.  I have spent $1770 to date to see this man, so this is how I figure I can be brutally honest about him in my blog. 

Paul your set list is getting a bit stale.  When you introduce one new song, the audience gasps for more.  There is no reason you can not retire some of the older songs.  People would love to see a Paul McCartney solo show.  Below I have made two ideal set lists, one for the stadium shows you have been doing, and one for the small theatre/club shows you should be doing to showcase some of your best and forgotten solo material.

I have sculpted his recent set list into something that I think is perfectly balanced with Beatles songs and solo and Wings material.  Face it, the world would not end if he didn’t do Beatles songs, but for some reason he feels like he must do them, so I picked the ones that have not been done for a while or at all.  I have also taken his voice into account, because lets face it, for 68, he’s not the best singer anymore, and I have been there for some major fuck ups, but I have been there for some great shows too. 

I also think the problem lies with the band, they have gotten too comfortable with the songs and need to be shaken up a bit.  His youthful band (most of them in their 40’s and 50’s) has been playing with him for 10 years now.  I can’t believe it, but Driving Rain is now 10 years old.  It wasn’t the best album, lets face it, it wasn’t even on the top 25, but it did what all of us wanted, it got Macca back on the road where he belongs. 

Macca does not need the money, his divorce didn’t wipe him clean, his children’s great grand children will still not to have to work for a living, so why does he have to charge so damn much to see him?  He says it’s not up to him, but it is.  Paul is sometimes like Liberace.  He is always over the top.  Can we go with 2 video screens instead of 10?  Does every show have to professionally filmed for it never to be released?  You’re Paul McCartney, not God.  Your every move does not need to be documented for future release.  Also, what is happening with this footage, it will never be released, so why even bother?  Don’t get me wrong, his shows can be impressive when he remembers the words.  There is no excuse to not remember the words, he has been using a teleprompter since the 2002 tour.  When he’s getting paid $12,500 a minute, you want to make sure he sings the songs right.

As I always say, I have a love/hate relationship with Paul.  Some things he does get on my nerves, but I will still shell out another 300 bucks to go see him at Yankee Stadium.  I’m lucky that I already booked Peter Frampton tickets (for 35 bucks btw) on the night he is doing the second concert and Yankee Stadium, so I can only go the Friday night one.  My wallet thanks me for that one, also, a back to back show can go either way with him sometimes. 

Below are the ideal set lists:

Stadium shows                                                            Macca Club Shows

Hello, Goodbye                                                            Venus & Mars

Jet                                                                                Rockshow       

Flaming Pie                                                                   Jet       

Drive My Car                                                               Letting Go

Junior’s Farm                                                               Let Me Roll It

Letting Go                                                                    Flaming Pie

Let Me Roll It                                                               Coming Up

You Won’t See Me                                                      Another Day    

She’s A Woman                                                           Take It Way    

Got to Get You Into My Life                                        Beautiful Night

Maybe I’m Amazed                                                      Fine Line

Long & Winding Road                                                  Let Em In

1985                                                                            Ballroom Dancing

Let Em In                                                                     Sing the Changes

Listen to What the Man Said                                         Temporary Secretary

Blackbird                                                                     Every Present Past

Everynight                                                                    Tug of War

Eleanor Rigby                                                               Picasso’s Last Words

Mrs. Vanderbilt                                                            Mrs. Vanderbilt

Too Many People/She Came In Through….                 Everynight

Penny Lane                                                                  With a Little Luck

Good Day Sunshine                                                      Band on the Run

Band on the Run                                                           Too Many People

Back in the USSR                                                        Press

Paperback Writer                                                         The World Tonight

Ob-la-di                                                                       You Gave Me the Answer

Maxwell’s Silver Hammer                                             Wanderlust      

Live & Let Die                                                             C Moon          

Hey Jude                                                                      1985

                                                                                    Soily

Yesterday

Get Back                                                                      Hi Hi Hi

Helter Skelter                                                               My Love

                                                                                    Listen to What the Man Said

I Saw Her Standing There

Please Please Me                                                         Maybe I’m Amazed

Day Tripper                                                                  Silly Love Songs

                                                                                    Uncle Albert

Lady Madonna

Let It Be                                                                       Juniors Farm

Sgt. Peppers/The End                                                   Live & Let Die