August 1, 2015 -- Macca Report News EXCLUSIVE!!!
Paul at Lollapalooza !!! A night of magic and surprises
July 31, 2015 - Lollapalooza - Grant Park - Chicago, IL
SOUND CHECK - July 30, 2015 (day before Lolla)
1. Honey Hush
2. Honey Don't
3. Matchbox
4. Blue Suede Shoes (lots of guitar riffs and an extended jam)
5. Sing The Changes
6. Another Girl
7. Letting Go
8. Save Us
9. Miss Ann
10. My Valentine
11. Nineteen Hundred And Eighty-Five (Paul screams at end in full voice!)
12. Every Night
13 .On My Way To Work
14. Alligator
15. San Francisco Bay Blues
16. We Can Work It Out
17. Live And Let Die (no fireworks, testing lasers)
18. Blue Moon (Frank Sinatra version) Paul teaching band the chords
SOUND CHECK NOTES
Paul arrived at Chicago's Grant Park at 7:40pm in a black SUV directly from the airport. The band arrived in Chicago on Tuesday and was shuttled to Grant Park in a small bus from their hotel 90 minutes ahead of Paul's arrival. His vocals were flawless. At times the sound volume from the stage was lower or raised during the songs. The sound check lasted an hour and 15 minutes.
CONCERT SETLIST (COMPLETE)
1. Magical Mystery Tour
2. Save Us
3. Got To Get You Into My Life
4. Let Me Roll It/Foxy Lady Coda
5. Paperback Writer
6. My Valentine
7. Nineteen Hundred And Eighty-Five
8. Maybe I'm Amazed
9. I've Just Seen A Face
10. FourFiveSeconds
11. We Can Work It Out
12. And I Love Her
13. Blackbird
14. Here Today
15. Queenie Eye
16. Lady Madonna
17. Eleanor Rigby
19. Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite!
19. Something
20. Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
21. Band On The Run
22. Back In The U.S.S.R
23. Let It Be
24. Live And Let Die
25. Hey Jude
ENCORE
26. Hi Hi Hi
27. Can't Buy Me Love
28. Get Back (with Britney Howard of Alabama Shakes)
29. Helter Skelter
30. Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight/The End
THE CONCERT
A crowd estimated to be over 100,000 filled the area in front of the Samsung Galaxy stage inside Chicago's Grant Park to see Paul McCartney. The show began on schedule at 7:45pm with a shortened version of the the pre-concert video rolling on enormous video screens surrounding the stage. At 8pm Paul appeared on stage to the deafening roar of the crowd.
Also at times the volume of the music would be lower than usual and then it would be boosted up again. Same issue happened at the sound check the day before.
The Lolla crowd was comprised of mostly 20 and 30-somethings. Macca was a must see for them and did not disappoint. He had the crowd in the palm of his hand. Though not familiar with his solo songs, the rowdy audience did enjoy them. The Beatles songs had them singing loudly and Wings songs, "Hi Hi Hi", and "Nineteen Hundred And Eighty-Five" got a very enthusiastic reaction. He responded with "Thank you Lollapaloozans!" Many under 30 concertgoers, wore Beatles and Wings T-shirts.
Paul's voice throughout the concert was stellar. The opener, "Magical Mystery Tour" started out with rough vocals, but by the middle of the song his voice had cleared. During the very emotional "Maybe I'm Amazed" and "Hear Today" Paul struggled to keep his composure and his vocals reflected that pain.
By the end of the concert the Lolla crowd was buzzing about how outstanding Paul's performance was. Several 20-somethings remarked that Paul' blew away most of the artists they had seen at other concerts who were younger than him. They marveled at how well his voice held up throughout the show and how young he looked. Many were talking about how incredible the experience was and that they couldn't believe a 73-year-old man could sing like that! Some were talking about wanting to see Ringo's concerts after seeing Paul's.
CONCERT HIGHLIGHTS
After reading the signs, Paul started strumming the acoustic guitar. Then he sang the first verse of "FourFiveSeconds," Rhianna's #1 hit that he co-wrote. The audience knew the song and started singing along. After the refrain he seque nicely into "We Can Work It Out."
Paul told some of his usual concert stories, but when he did his introduction to "Here Today," a song about an imaginary conversation with the late John Lennon, a nearby stage was blasting dance music. It was so loud that it clearly annoyed Paul. He none-the-less began to strum the opening chords as the dance music continued to blast. Then he stopped and said, "Oh, by the way, you'll notice here, we got like, the disco going on over here. I intended this. What I'm doing is kinda, it's like... it's a crazy mash-up with this song and whatever shit they're playing." That brought the house down, roaring with laughter and clapping in agreement. Paul did a wave in the direction of the offensive music stage and then started the song again.
Afterwards, he sat down at the Magic Piano to play "Queenie Eye" and said, "OK, now we got some amplification. We can blast them off the planet!" People giggled and clapped.
"Live And Let Die" had an amazing fireworks show exploding behind the stage. It was timed perfectly during the song, which ended with an explosion of dazzling fireworks cascading upwards like a reversed waterfall.
PHOTO: MJ KIM
For "Get Back" Paul called on stage a "special guest", Britney Howard from Alabama Shakes, who played right before Paul, on the same stage. During the song, Britney sang a verse and also sang on the chorus. She also played some smoking guitar leads.
When the song paused, Paul said, "Hey Britney do you want to get back?" She answered with, "Let's get on back home, Paul." He asked again, "Do you want to get back? She answered, "We're all trying to get back home Paul."
"Me too baby!!!" said Paul.
They continue with him singing "Get Back!" and Britney doing the answer backs. When the song ended he asked the crowd, "How 'bout that Britney?" The audience erupted in applause. He added, "She wants to get back (pauses) to Alabama!"
After "Hey Jude" Paul and the band took their bows, exited the stage and came back a couple of minutes later waving giant flags. When the crowd saw Paul waving the US flag they started chanting "USA! USA! USA!"
The concert continued with "Hi, Hi, Hi" and ended with the Abbey Road Medley.
Paul said his goodbyes to the Lolla crowd and exited the stage at 10pm. Fireworks began shooting upwards behind the stage for about a minute or so.
August 1, 2015 -- Paul McCartney Twitter (photos MJ Kim)
Paul tweets to Lollapalooza crowd
Thank you Chicago! A night and a skyline like no other,
Hey Lollapalooza you were unbelievable!
August 1, 2015 - Chicago Sun-Times
Lollapalooza Day 1: Paul McCartney closes out the night in grand style
Paul McCartney, the legend, can handle anything, including the competing beats of electronic dance music.
McCartney, 73, ran onto stage Friday night with the energy of a far younger man as he closed out day one of Lollapalooza. He toyed with the crowd, who knew every word and sang along.
He brought out the nostalgia, playing "Paperback Writer" with a guitar he used to originally record the song. He made jokes about the blaring electronic dance music coming from the closest stage, where McCartney could see a dramatic light show ahead of the city's sweeping moonlit skyline.
"My song will be a mashup of this song, and whatever s*** they're playing over there," he said to laughs and cheers. The sound bleed became a problem for the crowd, but McCartney took it with a grain of salt, even playing "Something" on a delicate and quiet ukulele as dance beats continued from afar.
McCartney brought out Alabama Shake's Brittany Howard for a performance of "Get Back," - as his set came to a close.
Beatles fans, young and old, danced around the park grounds, grinning ear-to-ear. McCartney's performance seemed to be one of the most universally liked sets the festival has seen in 11 years.
"This is so cool I'd rather take a moment to drink it in myself," McCartney told the crowd, before playing hit after hit, including "Maybe I'm Amazed," I've Just Seen A Face," "Blackbird," "Let It Be," and "Hey Jude.
Howard, Alabama Shake's frontwoman wowed a large daytime crowd, soaking up rays at the stage where McCartney would soon close out the night. Howard screams. She shrieks. Her vocal range stretches word by word and seems intrinsically linked to the emotional lyrics of her songs. She wore a beautiful long-sleeved dress - and was probably burning up.
But she didn't show it. Instead she showed thousands how strong of a guitarist she is, and how unique of a voice she has. Friday's performance was a win for the band, who was forced to cancel their performance in 2012 amid a massive downpour that led to the festival's evacuation. '
http://themaccareport.com/news/report.htm