Several years ago, I created a bucket list of artists whom I really wanted to see in concert while both of us still roamed this earth! My list consisted of Van Morrison, James Taylor, Steve Winwood, the Foo Fighters, Roger Waters, David Gilmore, Dave Matthews and Paul McCartney. Good fortune followed me as I methodically eliminated most of the list by traveling to see these elusive artists. Before Saturday night, the list shrunk to two. Come Sunday morning, I was down to one.

Traveling to the campus of Wake Forest University in Winston Salem, NC with my son, we were armed with two floor seats for Paul McCartney that evening. Nearly fifty years after first seeing the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show, I was about to experience that era and the decades that came after with an evening of Paul McCartney’s music.

A few months ago, it was announced that Paul would embark on a 13-city tour of the States with the “Got Back” tour. Looking at the list, I honed in on the closest show to home, Wake Forest Univ. in Winston-Salem, NC. Only four hours away and on a Saturday night, that was the goal. I was in the Ticketmaster site on the designated sales day at the right time and I was able to choose seats on the field about three quarters of the way back from the stage.

Next was choosing who would I take with the extra ticket? I put it to my two adult children to decide and my son got the nod. So, on Saturday, May 21, we headed out on the road for the concert site in No. Carolina. We tailgated through two rain storms which forced us to abandon our seats in the flatbed of his Toyota Tacoma for the shelter of the cab. When we decided to make our way into the stadium, the size of the crowd was daunting. We somehow found a fast-moving line and we were in the stadium and on the field in plenty of time to explore the surroundings. I observed that the Merch booth was busier than all of the beverage stations combined. They had to have made a mint that night as the line on the field was hundreds long from pre-show through encore.

Likely due to the earlier rain, the show didn’t begin until 8:30, When it did begin, Paul went back to the 60’s with Can’t buy me Love and weaved his way with Wings and Beatle tunes. The complete set list can be found at www.setlist.fm/setlist/paul-mccartney/2022/truist-field-at-wake-forest-winston-salem-nc-4bb70bf2.html.

Along with many favorites songs and a few lesser-known tunes came a touching moment when, through the power of today’s technology, he sang I Got a Feeling with a video image of John Lennon from a live session they performed while still known as the Beatles. Peter Jackson, a filmmaker who has worked with Paul, told him that he had been able to isolate John’s vocals from all other vocals and instruments from that live recording. What ensued was a duet, as live as possible, of Paul and John singing together. It was an emotional moment and Paul acknowledged that as a special moment in his career-singing along with his friend and bandmate, together again. Then Paul pulled out a ukulele, a gift from George Harrison, and played George’s hit, Something, to the crowd’s delight. The pyrotechnics accompanying Live and Let Die was entertaining and well done as was the video that accompanied Helter Skelter, during the encore.  Paul concluded with Let it Be before coming back to encore with the aforementioned, I Got a Feeling, Birthday, Helter Skelter, Golden Slumbers, Carry that Weight and The End, from the Abbey Road album.

Paul Mc Cartney, nearly 80-years old, had nothing to prove that night or any other night of his tour. However, nearly three hours later, he leaves you not wanting for anything more. Certainly, we all have our favorites and maybe he didn’t play one or two of yours but he played enough of those tunes to leave the thirty to forty thousand fans satisfied.

From my original Bucket list, all that is left is Roger Waters, for whom I have tickets to see this August in Atlanta. Cha Ching!

#GotBack #PaulMcCartney #Wings #theBeatles #Wake Forest #Winston-Salem