This bird can sing

It was quite an evening.  Sure, historically speaking, it had been 44 years since Paul McCartney last performed in San Francisco, and that was way back in 1966 when he played with his little band, the Beatles.  But tonight was magical because while Paul and his band played on, the other 39,999 fans and I forgot about the cold misty drizzly night to embark on a journey of tunes that spanned five decades of rock history.  Three hours of musical enchantment ensued.  And I loved every minute...well, except for the filler stuff from his Wings period, but I will forgive him all the same because I can honestly say I even enjoyed those songs.

Here tonight with Dave and his parents (Dan is the epitome of a true Beatle/Paul fan), sitting center stage and only seven rows back, we experienced together an once-in-a-lifetime moment where parent and child rocked together at a concert by a Beatle!  Let me say it again...Beatle!  Oh my, I was giddy as a school girl because I used to have a crush on Paul and John way back in the late 1970s when I first learned to love and listen to music.  My first favorite songs (which happen to be by the Beatles) were "She Loves You" and "I Wanna Hold Your Hand."  And now, my life has come full circle sitting in these amazing seats a few yards away from the rock demigod himself.  Don't get me wrong.  I love John Lennon too.  And George Harrison.  And even Ringo (maybe a little less).  But without each one of them, they wouldn't have been the best rock band in the universe. 

Paul is the consummate performer.  This guy has a true gift of making a sea of thousands feel like he is singing to YOU and your few close friends.  He knew when to rock the crowd into a frenzied pace like the pyrotechnics display that ignited "Live and Let Die" or  just the moment to bring us back down like the acoustic "Blackbird" that took my breath away.  I even cried when he sang his tribute song "Here Today" in honor of John Lennon and "Something" for George Harrision.  The next moment, I was jumping out of my seat gleefully singing along to some of my all time favorites "I'm Looking Through You," "Hey Jude," and so many more.  I cannot fully express how overjoyed and fortunate I am to see this amazing performance in my lifetime. This concert may just have ruined me for future concert adventures.

Paul sang these songs tonight:

Setlist:
1. Venus and Mars/Rock Show
2. Jet
3. All My Loving
4. Letting Go
5. Got To Get You Into My Life
6. Highway
7. Let Me Roll It/Foxy Lady Jam
8. The Long and Winding Road
9. Nineteen-Hundred and Eighty Five
10. Let 'Em In
11. My Love
12. I'm Looking Through You
13. Two Of Us
14. Blackbird
15. Here Today
16. Dance Tonight
17. Mrs. Vanderbilt
18. San Francisco Bay Blues
19. Eleanor Rigby
20. Something
21. Sing the Changes
22. Band on the Run
23. Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
24. Back in the U.S.S.R.
25. I've Got a Feeling
26. Paperback Writer
27. A Day in the Life
28. Give Peace a Chance
29. Let It Be
30. Live and Let Die
31. Hey Jude

Encore 1:
32. Day Tripper
33. Lady Madonna
34. Get Back

Encore 2:
35. Yesterday
36. Helter Skelter
37. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)
38. The End

In My Life

"In My Life"

by The Beatles

There are places i'll remember
All my life though some have changed
Some forever not for better
Some have gone and some remain
All these places have their moments
With lovers and friends i still can recall
Some are dead and some are living
In my life i've loved them all

But of all these friends and lovers
There is no one compares with you
And these memories lose their meaning
When i think of love as something new
Though i know i'll never lose affection
For people and things that went before
I know i'll often stop and think about them
In my life i love you more

Though i know i'll never lose affection
For people and things that went before
I know i'll often stop and think about them
In my life i love you more
In my life i love you more

I woke up early this morning at 5:44 AM and took Daisy out. I couldn't get back to sleep. I started reminiscing about random memories of my youth, of past friends and acquaintances, and of my life now. Thoughts of friends and family left in California when we moved to the Midwest. Thoughts about how much I already missed my sister (she and her husband flew back home yesterday after a visit over Labor Day weekend). This Beatles song "In My Life" started playing in my head. I laid in bed for another hour fully awake. I finally got up and went downstairs. Turned on the iPod and played the song a few times. Felt better and went back upstairs and started to rouse the house. Time to start the day.

The greatest rock band that ever was

Today is the day.  Beatles Rock Band for Wii is finally here! Needless to say, I have been waiting impatiently for this very day to arrive. In fact, I've been obsessing about this particular game for quite some time. Sure, we like RB1 and RB2 decently, sneaking in some play time when the kids are asleep or when we have guests. But, to have Rock Band comprised of ALL Beatles tunes is something to foam at the mouth for. 
     
My first real music recollection, I believe, was hearing "She Loves You" by The Beatles. I can't pinpoint the year or even how old I was. It was definitely after the age of four or five because I don't have any memories prior to these ages. I was only four when my family immigrated to the USA in 1975 and I stand by my belief that although my first language was Vietnamese, my first memories seem to be in English. My mom has told me that I used to play with neighborhood kids and although I couldn't speak English yet, I would play alongside the other kids just fine all the while jibber jabbering away in Vietnamese.
     
My only memory of these early times is a brief snippet of me as a very young girl knocking on a neighbor's door asking to play. My childhood memories always seem to come in snippets.
     
"I Want to Hold Your Hand" is vivid in my memories as were "Strawberry Fields Forever" and "Penny Lane" (I knew all the lyrics and used to sing them to myself all the time--I still do sometimes). Funny note--I used to think "Dear Prudence" was "Dear Brutus" (outrageously funny, I know)! 
     
There is one particular memory that solidified my love for the Fab Four. This crisp and clear memory brings me to the age of eight or nine years old when I was knocking on doors throughout my neighborhood collecting unwanted items for some school project (now forgotten). I remember one particular neighbor, an elderly gray-haired woman who lived alone. She invited me in and offered milk and cookies while I waited for her to gather her discards. She reappeared with boxes (the number of boxes is unclear) of some very cool stuff!
    
"Please take these--my girls are all grown and I don't have any use for them," the nice lady said.
     
One box held a bounty of costume jewelry. At that time, it felt like I had just received a bottomless treasure chest of the most exotic jewels in the world. I still think about those baubles from time to time even though I cannot recall any specific individual piece. Another box held a bunch of random magazines.  Old issues of "Life", "Saturday Evening Post" and others. I thought little of the box of magazines at the time.

     
At home, after playing at length with the costume jewelry, I started browsing through the magazines. They were filled with 1960's culture--clothing, hairstyles, advertisements, and The Beatles. Every magazine seemed to have an article about them. Pictures of girls screaming at concerts, snapshots of Paul, John, Ringo, and George either together or alone, all splashed throughout the magazines. I read and reread these magazines over and over and I came to treasure the magazines more than the costume jewelry. I became obsessed with the Fab Four--I often wished that I could transport back in time and live in that era. So, in the late 1970's, I discovered and became fascinated by The Beatles and the 1960's era (another story entirely).
     
In 1980, I was nine and walking down the steps of my elementary school (Oak Park Elementary--Des Moines, IA) when I first heard that John Lennon died. I remember being very sad. 
     
The Beatles is one of, if not the greatest, rock band that ever was and perhaps will be. I still listen to them every week and hope to expose my own kids to their magical, simple yet profound lyrics and music. Today on 09-09-09, there will be a musical tribute to The Beatles in this household.