To Sir, with Love: Paul McCartney at Dodger Stadium

How many septuagenarians can rock like 72-year-old Sir Paul McCartney? (Mick Jagger, perhaps.) I saw the ever mighty Paul McCartney at Dodger Stadium last month; jeesh it seems so surreal even as I type it. “I did what?!” My best friend and I prepared to buy our tickets in April. She and I spastically texted each other nonsensical exclamations (“WTF?” “WAIT WHAT?!” “Holy SH*T!”) with what felt like preshow jitters as we waited for the clock to strike 10:00 am to buy tickets. We were especially restless because he was set to play over my birthday weekend and what could make a birthday weekend, and who could make a birthday weekend more spectacular than McCartney? If you hadn't already guess . . .

We got the tickets!

“WTF? WAIT WHAT?!,” is right.

The anticipation built over the entire summer. Everyone I spoke to who had seen Paul before kept saying things like “He’s going to absolutely blow your mind,” and “The man is a machine. His bandmates who are 20 years his junior take more breaks than he does,” and so on and so forth. My birthday weekend was already off to a great start by the time August 10 rolled around. Drinks with friends, the beach, a fancy dinner, karaoke—a weekend worthy of the title “Best Birthday Weekend Ever” already, but the best was yet to come. We arrived about two hours before the show, early enough to each snag a Dodger dog and a beer.

Post-Dodger dog!

As the sun set, and the Supermoon that made an appearance that night rose, our eagerness grew. Paul McCartney, a Beatle for cryin’ out loud, stepped onstage with his Höfner bass in tow, waving and nodding in thanks for the thousands of cheers that welcomed him. Paul McCartney was IN FRONT OF US. Without a single word, just a nod to his bandmates, they went right into it; a near 40-song set, including two encores. After two songs, he shouted “Los Angeles! Dodger Stadium? Haven’t been here for a while . . .” He hadn’t played at Dodger Stadium since 1966 with his Beatle cohorts. The crowd, us included, went nuts.

Pyrotechnics for “Live and Let Die”

He played for nearly three hours but it felt like a 20-minute blur that I made up in a dream. We screamed our lungs out to favorites like “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da“ and “Live and Let Die,” pretended not to cry during “Blackbird” and his tribute to George Harrison with a ukulele version of “Something,” and felt like we were ascending into the heavens while 50,000-plus people chanted along to “Hey Jude.” The entire night was electric. I didn’t see him take a single break, not even for a sip of water. To say it was memorable would almost be a disservice to his legacy. It was unforgettably spectacular.   So, it goes without saying that closing out my birthday weekend with my best friends and Paul McCartney is one for the books. I still don’t believe it actually happened.Check out all of Ms. Rockabye’s posts HERE, including the ones below:

 

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