The question was: Who did Paul McCartney play with at Shea Stadium last summer? Having experienced the concert from the field, I was the first caller to radio station WPLJ to correctly answer: Billy Joel. I now had a pair of floor seats for the first concert at Citi Field – Paul McCartney’s First Play on Friday, July 17.
I quickly called my brother, mother and everyone I could think of who would share in my excitement. Having been brought up on rock & roll, I developed an early love for the Beatles. I quickly offered my parents the tickets for their upcoming anniversary, but I knew that I would have to figure out a way into the sold out show just like I did for Billy Joel’s last play at Shea last summer.
After countless emails and phone calls, I ended up buying a pair of tickets off a girl on Craigslist who couldn’t make it to the show. Unlike my parents’ floor seats valued at $175 each, my tickets cost $60 each and were up four levels from the field. I knew I would have to work some magic to get myself closer, but when there’s a will, there’s a way, and I found my way onto the floor.
The crowd went wild as Paul and his band came out. The opening number “Drive My Car” was nothing short of stellar. After the second number, “Jet,” McCartney said he was going to take a second to drink it all in and gazed around at the 40,000-plus screaming fans.
“Long time since I was here,” he said. “I’ve got a feeling that we’re going to have a little bit of fun tonight.” And boy did we ever!
McCartney went on to play such favorites as “Got To Get You Into My Life,” “Let Me Roll It,” “Band On The Run,” “I’ve Got A Feeling” and “Hey Jude,” just to name a few. The show was stunning! The instruments and vocals were well defined – especially on the harmonies. The pyrotechnics of “Live and Let Die” were show-stopping. There were a lot of references to Beatles performances at Shea 40 years earlier.
During the encore, the much-talked about special guest, Billy Joel, came out to play keyboard on “I Saw Her Standing There.” The crowd went wild as most of the floor stood up on their seats to shake their tail feathers. Beatlemania was back and strong as ever!
After two-and-a-half hours and more than 30 songs, Paul was nothing short of amazing. So, I did the only logical thing a fan could do: I showed up Saturday night for his second show and found someone to sell me a ticket outside the stadium.
Editor’s Note: Keith Fiocca enjoyed the second concert so much he is going back to the final show on Tuesday, July 21. He will provide a running diary of the final concert complete with photos and insights available on qns.com.
