What a great night.

We drove out to Montreal yesterday evening to catch the Paul McCartney concert. The tickets, purchased right on the dot as they went on sale, were a bit pricey, but well worth it. Paul McCartney is a living legend and top of my list of performers I’ve always wanted to see. He is a huge musical influence for Tyler, and who knows how much longer he is going to tour? So we jumped at the chance to see him.

I made a mix of songs for the road, and the anticipation grew as we sang along and talked about which songs we loved, and which ones he might play. Getting there and parking was easy, and we walked towards the Bell Centre a couple of hours early. People were already gathering, posing with the bronzed Maurice Richard statue, listening to an old fellow with a keyboard pound out Beatles covers.

We walked far enough away to grab a quick bite at a place that wasn’t packed, and then headed back to the Bell Centre about an hour before show time. The square and surrounding areas were jammed with people – some seemed to be in lines, some were milling around, others rushing off. We got in a line but the masses of people cutting in everywhere made it stock still. I felt a bit nervous in the pit of my stomach – I’m not big on crowds, and the amount of people was overwhelming.

Finally a guy ushered us towards a side door and we got into a line snaking around inside. Another 20 minutes or so later and we were in. We were also pleasantly surprised to find out that our seats, row W on the floor, actually were 22 rows from the front and not as close to the back as they had seemed on the seating chart. The arena filled quickly, but the crowd had a nice buzzy energy. The lady next to me stood and just clapped for about 20 minutes straight, waiting for her idol to appear.

There was no opening act, just some guy with a computer playing tunes, and Sir Paul took the stage around ten minutes to 9. He kicked things into high gear quickly, belting out “Hello Goodbye”, and charming the crowd by attempting to speak French.

As the show went on, I felt like one of those giddy schoolgirls from the stadium show footage in the 60s. I couldn’t help jumping up and down practically crying with excitement and I was not the only one, as he launched into “All My Loving,” “Junior’s Farm,” and then “Jet.”

Since our tickets proclaimed that you couldn’t bring a camera, I left mine at home, like a good girl, and while we watched every second person whip out their iPhones and digital cameras to snap away, I wished that I didn’t always follow the rules. I did remember my crappy 4 year old cell phone had a camera, so I took a few grainy shots (enjoy!)

But we were so close and the music was so good that I preferred to have my hands and eyes free anyways. I’m glad we got floor seats – I was on my feet the whole time, dancing, clapping, and singing along and we could see – actually see – Paul McCartney, up close and in person. And better yet hear him!

Paul was just incredible. He’s 69 now, but he must still love touring because he made each song seem like he hadn’t performed it hundreds of times before. He played bass for many of the songs, went to the piano for a few (“The Long and Winding Road”, “Let it Be”), played mandolin and even the ukulele (for George Harrison, on “Something”).

He still has such stage presence and charisma, thumbing his suspenders, thanking the audience and holding up his instrument after each song, acknowledging it like a faithful band member, including the guitar on “Paperback Writer” which was from the 1960s and used to record that song. He didn’t forget a word all night, and his voice is still strong and so recognizable in the mix of classic Beatles tunes, some Wings songs, as well a few solo McCartney numbers.

His band was fantastic (guitarists Rusty Anderson and Brian Ray, Paul “Wix” Wickens on keyboards and Abe Laboriel, Jr. on drums) – they’ve been playing together for ten years and were very tight. Abe, the drummer, was animated and had so much energy, and was doing some awesome dance moves while not behind the drum kit that had everyone laughing.

I loved “Let Me Roll It” and I was so happy that he played “Eleanor Rigby” (we used to watch the quirky Yellow Submarine movie over and over as kids). Maybe I’m Amazed is another great song and Tyler and I stood still and let the melody wash over us, thrilling in the moment. He also played a few off the White album, like “Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da” and “Birthday”.

“Live and Let Die” is another favourite of mine and the song started out quietly enough, with Paul on the piano, then flames shot up into the air from the front of the stage! I could feel the heat, and actually screamed with delight as fireworks went off and more flames burst upwards in time with the chorus.

There was also a beautifully touching song called “Here Today” which he told us was in the form of a conversation, and urging us to tell our loved ones every day that we do care, he dedicated it to John. I’m sure he has played every song and told every story countless times, but he made it all seem fresh and as engaging as if it were the first time and I teared up at this one.

He played for close to 3 hours, including 2 long encores including “Lady Madonna,” “Helter Skelter” and “Yesterday.” Mid-way through the second encore, a few people who had been flashing fluorescent green signs in the audience were invited to come up on stage.

Most of them were people wanting him to sign their bodies – so they could get the signature tattooed on! The second girl was shy and giggly, and her sign told us she had flown all the way from Japan for this.

“And what is your name?” Paul asked her. “Yoko!” she replied. Paul laughed a bit and said “Oh. Well, we know that name, don’t we?”

He finished off the night back at the piano, playing “Golden Slumbers/ Carry That Weight/ The End” before confetti flew everywhere. Tyler and I just grinned at each other through the red and white pieces scattering everywhere.

I thoroughly, completely enjoyed myself and the only downside is that I don’t know if I will ever go to such an amazing concert ever again. Seeing Paul McCartney live in concert was everything I expected and more.