I think Prine's audience -- of which I am an enthusiastic member -- really looks forward to new material and wishes he'd record more of it. The people who come to Paul's shows are mostly coming for a nostalgia act, which I find utterly depressing.
But they don't. They find it utterly joyful. I get it. I would sign on for a Beatles-free Paul show in a heartbeat. I've seen him twice in the past 10 years and I don't plan to go again because, well, you know. That said, the folks who do go see him are absolutely thrilled. Just reading the reviews and talking to a couple friends who saw him last Friday in Austin and all they could talk about was what a joyful communal experience it was. We live in fractious times and Paul is one of the few experiences that brings thousands of people together of all ages to sing songs they all know and be happy for a couple of hours. I find that inspiring. Not depressing. Even though I personally wouldn't go a third time to see him these days (unless of course someone else paid!).
I've seen Paul 5 times since 2003/Back In The World. Before seeing him for the first time I'd bought the Back In The US VD and watched it through several times. During All My Loving, they cut to a Baby Boomer in floods of tears. Figuring this was a chance one off caught on camera I thought nothing of it; until I saw the same reaction in person. People remembering, and breaking down at the immediacy of the guy whose music soundtrack their youths was still here, playing those same songs. Heck, even my wife & I sniffled in 2015 when Paul played Maybe I'm Amazed as it was our first dance when we married in 2005. Beatlemania is long gone, and everyone concerned who is still here is much older and probably wiser. These reactions are entirely genuine, not driven by mania or hysteria. I ay well have personally geeked out over Ram On/Wonderful Christmas Time (2011) and Temporary Secretary (2015), but most were there for Beatles & Wings numbers and they were a joy to be amongst whilst THAT guy sang THOSE songs before our collective very ears.
Don’t get me wrong, I think My Valentine is a fine bit of songwriting. I just personally felt it fitted Kisses about as well as Try Not To Cry did Run Devil Run. (I like that one too, by the way). Got to love Stevie on Only Our Hearts! Come to think of it, I think My Valentine features the best collaboration between Paul and Eric too.
I think they both fit their respective albums just fine. In fact, I'll say that placing Try Not to Cry right after Lonesome Town is the stroke of genius that makes Run Devil Run a minor masterpiece.
The larger the venue, the more you have to pander to the masses. Paul plays stadiums much of the time, hence the safe sets. Having said that, he has enough mega-hits that he could mix it up a bit and not lose the casual fans. U2 are currently getting away with doing an entire tour with no Joshua Tree songs. The world is still turning. Paul could also easily do a small showcase tour where he plays theaters and does Egypt Station all the way through. He doesn't need the money.
Beautiful post! “Maybe I’m Amazed” was my wedding song too. You have caught the emotional essence of why it’s so special to go see Paul.
You know, I just watched the Austin show again because I only caught the second half the other day. The good news is ..he unexpectedly hits some of the high notes in songs I haven't heard him hit lately . The bad news is.. in many of the songs his voice has picked up a wavering, wobbly sound that I don't recall his voice having before, and it has nothing to do with hitting high notes. He's starting to get an Ethel Merman- like shake in his voice . Picking a song at random, listen to " Hey Jude" at around 1:49:00 or so, or even worse, "Band on the Run"at 1:30:00. For the folks that have seen Paul in the last couple of years, is this a new development or not?
The wobble made its introduction around 2014. Some gigs it’s very frequent, sometimes not there at all. But since that time he’s no longer able to control his voice. When I saw him around 2009-2012 his voice was already rough, but he could force out notes with a shout, or he would work carefully around certain notes. Now he still tries that, but his vocal instrument is no longer cooperating. It’s even audible on studio work, you can hear it on the intro of ‘Do It Now’ (without the effect).
I love seeing him with Hokusai's work (my favourite musician with work from my favourite artist); it was that sort of image that inspired 'Frozen Jap(anese)'.
D'oh! I would have preferred "Junior's Farm" over "Hi Hi Hi" in Edmonton- "Junior's Farm", one of my favourite McCartney songs of all time. (I will take "Can't Buy Me Love" over "All My Loving", though)
All the discussion about solo/wings vs Beatles songs played throughout the many tours & years had me wondering what the numbers really were... A few thoughts: –Remember how tantalizing the prospect of hearing McCartney play a Beatles tune was just 5 years after the breakup? When he started scratching that itch in '75, there was a palpable almost euphoric release in the audience. The buzz is still there at shows today, but at that point in time, wow. – You can see a lower % of Beatles tunes during '89, '93, '02 and '07 when he was touring new material. – Check out the Springsteen-esque endurance over the last 15 years or so! enjoy, discuss. (source: random samples from setlist.fm) Wings ‘72 - ‘74 7% (1/14) Wings ‘75 - ‘76 17% (5/29) Wings 1979 18% (4/22) McCartney ‘89 58% (18/31) McCartney ‘93 56% (18/32) McCartney ‘02 58% (21/36) McCartney ‘03 70% (26/37) McCartney ‘05 66% (25/38) McCartney ‘07 58% (14/24) McCartney ‘08 65% (20/31) McCartney ‘09 62% (24/31) McCartney ‘11 68% (25/37) McCartney ‘13 67% (26/38) McCartney ‘15 64% (25/39) McCartney ‘17 73% (29/40) McCartney ‘18 71% (22/31)
And yet, the 2018 show I saw didn't seem as oversaturated with Beatles songs as the 2012 show did, even though there's a higher percentage of Beatles songs in 2018. Maybe it's because he's busted out some less played Beatles songs this year that it doesn't seem that way...
