(Kingston, Ontario, Canada)

In about one week’s time, we are going to check off another item on our musical bucket lists.  Music is very subjective, of course, but I think the magnitude of this upcoming concert is similar to our evening with former Beatle Paul McCartney in Halifax, Nova Scotia back in July of 2009.

Driving to Nova Scotia from Ontario does not enjoy a great reputation. Yes, there were some long stretches of tedium. However, we were pleasantly surprised by our overnight stay in Riviere-du-Loup, Quebec, where we found an attractive downtown core with excellent food…and even bought a pair of Helly Hansen (see my previous post) shorts!

Next up was a long drive through New Brunswick. We had big plans for Fredericton but the legislature building was closed for renovations and the downtown generally seemed closed when we arrived late in the afternoon.  We pressed on to the tiny town of Sackville, home of Mount Allison University, to spend our second night on the road.   We stayed in a college residence: an excellent accommodation option in the summer months.  We also felt compelled to visit Mel’s Tea Room:  the jukebox, stools and menu were all in accordance with our expectations.

Early the next day, we crossed the border into Nova Scotia.  It was the day of the concert so we didn’t have much time to catch up with our friends before heading to the show.

So what is a Paul McCartney concert like?  Unlike his 1970s concerts with Wings, Paul’s latter-day concerts fully embrace his Beatle past.  It is truly remarkable to hear so many Beatles classics sung by the man who actually wrote them.  You get a feeling that you are a part of history:  many of these songs will be considered the “Classical Music of the 20th Century”.

However, and this may seem like sacrilege to some, Paul has been emphasizing his Beatles hits (and his essentially solo “Band on the Run” album) in concert for so long now that I sometimes found myself wishing that he would skip some of the more overexposed or less-melodic songs.    “Paperback Writer” and “Get Back”?  Er, heard those the last time, thanks…don’t really need to hear them again.   On the other hand, I certainly can’t find fault with songs like the enormously popular “Hey Jude” and it was great to hear energetic versions of only slightly-less familiar tracks like “All My Loving” and “I Saw Her Standing There”.   These songs still sound fresh and brilliant after half a century, and they weren’t even singles in most of the world!

So, while I would have liked to have heard a few more surprise selections from his solo work (“No More Lonely Nights”, for example, was a huge hit and has a great tune to boot), it is a very minor quibble.  To be fair, I also have seen Paul McCartney perform live before and have seen several of his concert videos.  The bottom line is that his concerts are about three hours in length, immaculately performed, and feature 95% of the songs that casual fans will want to hear.

McCartney still clearly loves performing and his band looks equally thrilled to be there.  I’ve never seen so many people be so happy at a concert from beginning to end.  This “shared experience” makes it easy to understand why many reviewers employ quasi-religious language when describing McCartney shows.  Tickets aren’t cheap but, if you’re a fan, I have no hesitation in recommending these concerts.

After all that, you may be wondering who we’re seeing next week.  It’s another living legend whose story is every bit as compelling as (and perhaps more so than) Paul McCartney’s.  Feel free to guess…or stay tuned for my report in about a week’s time!