I had seen Paul once before - it was in St. Louis in the early 90"s. I took my oldest daughter, Stephanie, with me to Busch Stadium. We stood and sang through the entire concert and when it was all over I thought to myself, "Seeing Paul McCartney - I can check this off my bucket list!"
Fast forward to November of 2005 - Paul is coming to the Valley of the Sun. He's 63 years old. I said to Sherri, "We really should go - this may be the last time we can see him live and in person." We went, had great seats and stood and sang through the entire concert. I left with a good feeling. I had seen Macca before he retired.
Only one problem - Paul didn't retire! He's been to Phoenix two more times since 2005 and we went both time, again thinking "this is probably it, the last time." Wrong! And now, Paul comes back next week to sing 39 Beatles, Wings and solo hits. We'll probably stand and sing right along with him.
Some folks I know are a little dismayed that some of the old rockers, like the Rolling Stones and the Who, are still doing concerts. They call it a "money grab." It seems like folks are willing to pay lots and lots of money for a ticket to see their musical heroes one more time.
With McCartney, it's something more. He genuinely loves to entertain. He was the Beatle who missed the connection with the fans when the Fabs quit touring. Paul was the one who, when the group were going through their season of discontent, wanted to go back on stage. He felt that being a band, as they once used to be, would help them see what being a Beatle was all about. Unfortunately, John, George and Ringo had had enough.
So, we're going to the concert next week. It may be the last time we can see Paul in concert. Or maybe not.
I do know this - a splendid time is guaranteed for all!
