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Sir Paul Proves Himself King of Queens Once Again
By
Billy Parker
Published Jul 18, 2009
Modified Jul 18, 2009
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By
Billy Parker
Published Jul 18, 2009
Modified Jul 18, 2009
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Last night may have been the first time since it opened this spring that Citi Field was home to fans cheering loudly for over two consecutive hours. That's because fresh off his return to (the top of) The Ed Sullivan Theater, Paul McCartney once again played on the home field of the Mets where the Beatles had their legendary Shea Stadium shows. And by all accounts, Macca brought it.
The levity brought on by the screaming teenagers in the mid-sixties was replaced by several moments of seriousness from the artist in his twilight with dedications going out to John Lennon, George Harrison and his wife Linda, whom Sir Paul noted "was a New York girl." A sense of looking back wasn't the only new addition forty years later—pyrotechnics gave McCartney a boost after a lull in the show when new material from his Fireman album was accompanied by a downpour and "Got to Get You Into My Life" was played alongside video animation from the Beatles' Rock Star game.
For the encore, Billy Joel came out to join Paul for "I Saw Her Standing There," no doubt wincing on the song's first line: "Well, she was just seventeen." Most of the Beatles and Wings' hits were kept close to their original form, leading the Times to note: "So when Mr. McCartney did make changes, they were striking — particularly when he segued from the middle of “A Day in the Life” into “Give Peace a Chance,” with a peace sign on the video screen and the crowd raising two-fingered V-signs while singing along." McCartney has two more shows at Citi Field—tonight and the final one on Tuesday.
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paul mccartney
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shea stadium
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