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Travelog and Photos
 Pat
and John picked me up just after noon on Friday, July 15th, 2011.
I first saw Paul McCartney two years ago in Queens, NY at Citi
Field, home of The New York Mets. Prior to that 2009 show, I
made the mistake of calling ahead for rules and regulations. I
was told that no cameras or picture taking of any kind would be
allowed. Reluctantly, I purchased a Nikon Coolpix. When
I arrived at Citi Field, my heart sank as I saw dozens of people
entering with full-size SLR cameras and zoom lenses. Even
though I was in the 4th row, I emerged with only one halfway decent
photograph. Ironically, that picture ended up on the cover of
Classic Drummer Magazine and I received a photo credit. Go
figure. Damn the rules and regulations. This time I came
prepared.
We arrived on Manhattan's West Side at about 3PM and found a spot
for Pat's Toyota right on the street. After a quick pint at a
nearby Irish bar we ventured across town to Eataly, an amazing new
culinary complex on 23rd and 5th. Eataly is owned by celebrity
chef Mario Batali and two partners, one of whom owns a similar food
and wine emporium in Turin, Italy. Eataly is the world's
largest artisanal Italian marketplace. For food and wine
lovers, it's 50,000 square feet of heaven in New York's Flatiron
District. Eataly offers premier Italian staples and delicacies
as well as non-food items like cook books and kitchen supplies.
It also features multiple restaurants specializing in pasta, pizza,
fish, meat, salads, vegetarian dishes, cheeses, coffees and deserts.
Eataly has the look and feel of an enormous open-air market in,
well, Italy. You could easily spend an entire day there.
We only had about two hours but we made the most of them.
After taking a quick look around, we found a table and proceeded to
gorge ourselves on crispy wood fired pizzas, bowls of al dente
pasta, freshly baked bread and glasses of excellent chianti.
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Barely able go get up from our table, we departed Eataly and headed
for 161st Street and River Avenue in Da Bronx.
 McCartney
and his band, Paul 'Wix' Wickens (keyboards and musical director),
Rusty Anderson (electric guitar), Abe Laboriel Jr. (drums) and Brian
Ray (electric guitar and electric bass) hit the stage just after
8:30PM. From the initial downbeat of their opening number
"Hello Goodbye", to the lilt of the final encore "Golden
Slumbers/Carry That Weight/The End", McCartney had the crowd
mesmerized. Besides being a gifted songwriter, singer,
musician (he plays electric bass, electric guitar, acoustic guitar,
mandolin, ukulele, and piano at various times during his concerts)
and entertainer (he joked about Derek Jeter having more hits than
him), McCartney's a survivor. While other "kings" of rock and
pop have come and gone (Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson come to
mind), Paul McCartney has been the actual master of the musical
universe since 1964.
Paul and his incredible band played non-stop for two and a half
hours and McCartney never left the stage.
 Most
of the audience, which was sprinkled with celebrities such as Alec
Baldwin who was just a few rows in front of me, were on their feet
for the entire show. Is it just me or is Alec Baldwin
everywhere these days? Paul's band has the ability to
flawlessly recreate his extensive catalogue note perfect while also
tastefully breathing new life into the songs with occasional
unexpected fills, solos or riffs. Paul sits on top of a very
short list of modern music's most prolific songwriters and he has a
virtual bottomless well of material to draw from. His set list
consisted of Beatles hits, Wings chart-toppers and hook-filled newer
material such as the catchy Fireman (one of Paul's side projects)
anthem "Sing The Changes". As these powerful rhythms and
haunting melodies come at you in rapid succession, it begins to sink
in that you're beholding something very, very special. Paul
McCartney may not have as many hits as Derek Jeter but he's
certainly belted out as many majestic home runs as Babe Ruth.
Several people who were at Yankee Stadium that night told me later
that they were brought to tears. It's easy to figure out why.
Seeing and hearing Paul McCartney in concert is witnessing history
while at the same time revisiting your fondest memories.
 Towards
the end of the concert, the "house lights" were brought up as Sir
Paul encouraged the audience to sing the "Hey Jude" coda. I
turned around and observed nothing but smiling, happy faces
chanting, "Na, na na, na na na na". Ditto on the subway ride
back to the lower West Side. Total contentment throughout the
five boroughs on a steamy July night? Seriously? This
was a clear demonstration of the power of The Beatles and Paul
McCartney.
As the band took their final bows and turned to depart the stage,
cannons on both sides of the gigantic bandstand fired small,
rectangular pieces of red, white and blue confetti into the air.
The colorful paper fragments completely engulfed the dazed fans on
the field and created a dramatic spectacle for the majority of the
audience who were farther away in the conventional box and reserved
seats. July 15th, 2011 was one of the best days of my life.
Three friends traveled to one of the greatest cities on earth,
shared 50,000 square feet of gastronomical bliss, took the D Train
uptown, and hopped into a time machine with 50,000 Beatle friends on
a beautiful summer evening in Yankee Stadium's outfield. If
this all sounds like a religious experience, it's only because it
was.
Story and Photos by Rick Bedrosian
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