Where were you on September 17, 2005? Maybe you were a teenager, child, or toddler. Maybe you didn’t live in Tampa. Hell, maybe you weren’t even born yet. But some special people were at Amalie Arena, then known as the St. Pete Times Forum, seeing Sir Paul McCartney, a quarter of the biggest band of all time, live. It was only his third time in Tampa. Until his 1990 stop at the old Tampa Stadium, his only time in Florida for a ticketed performance was in Jacksonville with The Beatles in 1964.
But now, things are different.
In April, the people over at Amalie Arena made the groundbreaking announcement that The Cute One was going to present his One on One tour at the venue, causing a practically instant sellout. People were literally standing in line at the box office to get their tickets the old fashioned way. Those that had seats behind the stage were probably feeling incredibly lucky because we all knew that if we didn’t have a ticket already, we’d have to be dedicated to Macca enough to risk buying an overpriced nosebleed seat on StubHub, and then face the fact that there would be a slight chance that you wouldn’t get in, considering all the bots on there.
The doors opened at 6:30, food and merchandise stands opened, and at 8:38, the blue spotlights on stage went out. Some eighteen-or-so seconds of darkness later, there he was. Macca, in a white button down and dark blue blazer, received probably the loudest roar of excitement ever given at this venue upon walking out. The show opened with A Hard Day’s Night, a song that he hasn’t played on tour since The Beatles’ 1965 tour, followed by a lively blast-from-the-past, Junior’s Farm.
“I’ve got a feeling we’re gonna have a lot of fun here tonight!” Paul declared. There was no doubt in anyone’s mind that he was right. Every element of the show, from the 39 song set list to the psychedelic laser show during Being For The Benefit of Mr. Kite!, made the tickets worth purchasing in every way. And only two decades of his long and winding career were ignored. Though pushing the 90s and 2000s aside, Paul went as far back as The Quarrymen’s In Spite Of All The Danger. Whaddya mean “who?!” They were the band that would evolve into The Beatles! On the other hand, the first few verses from his 2015 collaboration with rapper Kanye West and singer Rihanna, FourFiveSeconds, was also given a segment to shine.
To bring the 60s into the show, Paul and friends made a point to pick and choose mostly the better known songs of his off of every Beatle studio album, except for Beatles For Sale and Yellow Submarine. Representing the 70s, to a lesser extent, were those monumental anthems from Wings. A piano-driven Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five, and a turbulent ride through Jet were both early specifics on the setlist. The 80s? We were treated to 1980’s Temporary Secretary, and also a heartbreakingly poignant composition from his career, which I’ll get to.
Paul told stories of all kinds, from the time he saw Jimi Hendrix open a show with the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band title track two days following its release, when he was told by the Russian Defense Minister how his records helped him learn English, and to when he fell in a hole onstage during his last visit to Tampa. “I’m lucky to be here tonight.” he remarked. Sadly, many of his musical compadres were not so lucky. He dedicated songs like Love Me Do to late Beatles producer George Martin, who passed away last year, and earlier, Maybe I’m Amazed to his first wife, Linda Eastman.
But the two major dedications he made were to the two fallen Beatles, John Lennon and George Harrison.
Paul dedicated his 1982 album track, Here Today to Lennon, following a twenty-six second applause, after Paul demanded to “hear it for John.” The song was written shortly after his 1980 death in New York City, and was written as “like, a conversation we never had, where I could tell him things I couldn’t tell him.” A lot could have been gotten out of the entire show, but he concluded that segment with a really good life lesson:
“If you want to tell someone something, tell them now.”
Later on in the show, Paul was handed a ukulele, and began a relatively upbeat rendition of the Harrison penned Beatles track, Something. But out of nowhere, once the first three verses were complete, the entire backing band broke in and finished the song off the way it originally sounded, with a slideshow of photos of primarily Harrison scrolling by.
Following his main set ending with Live and Let Die, which involved about four explosions and some fireworks, and Hey Jude, which surprisingly did not start much of a sea of cellphone flashlights, Paul brought up two fans to the stage: A Sarasota veterinarian in Paul’s Sgt. Pepper outfit, and her son, sporting a black shirt with the Beatles logo on it. They, by Paul’s request, danced onstage together to Get Back. “Speaking of getting back, we’ve gotta go home!” he concluded, to which boos and moans were his response. His band ripped into the medley you hear at the end of the Abbey Road album, which involved Golden Slumbers, Carry That Weight, and The End. “Tell you what, we’ll see you next time!” were his final remarks to Tampa.
Many people probably doubted that, but from the good spirits Paul was in, and the way he sang and played, there just may be a next time. But hopefully not with a twelve year gap in between.
Josh Bradley Live 