My Second Pilgrimage to ‘Macca’

EDIT: BY STRANGE COINCIDENCE, I JUST LEARNED THAT TODAY IS PAUL'S 68TH BIRTHDAY. HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAUL!

Growing up, some of my best memories were of listening to The Beatles. In the early 1990’s, my Uncle David bought my parents their first CD player (which was roughly the size of a VCR). He bought them two “compact discs” to go with their new player—“A Decade of Steely Dan” (which I’ve only just recently learned to appreciate) and The Beatles album “Revolver.” My sister Amber and I used to crank up “Revolver” while we were home alone...

There was much couch jumping.

In 1993 Paul McCartney came to Kansas City to promote his then-current album "Off the Ground." Even though I knew very little about The Beatles, I knew that this was a big deal. My parents had never taken us to a concert before, so I didn’t know what to expect when my parents told us we were going. I was in elementary school, so while I don’t recall 100% of the show, it had a profound effect on me. I started buying records (cd’s) shortly after the concert. I started accumulating all the other Beatles albums (which I gave to my other sister Lindsey, after I got the remastered boxset a year ago).

I've been to a lot concerts since that Sunday night in 1993, but none have compared to McCartney’s show. I guess it's true what they say--you never forget your first time.

The concert was at Arrowhead Stadium and I remember there was no opening act—McCartney just got on stage and started playing “Drive My Car.” I only later came to understand how strange this was (most bands today usually have TWO opening acts). I also think there was an intermission (though I can’t be sure about that). I do know that it was light outside when the show started and nearly 11:00 at night when it was over.

Who knew that Muslims really do love him do?

While the show is a bit blurry I can recall a few key moments. Like the fireworks during “Live and Let Die,” and the really cool neon-lighted/psychedelic piano that Paul played during “Magical Mystery Tour.”

When I found out my Mom was pregnant a few years later, I became determined to make my unborn sibling a Beatles fan. I used to put headphones on my Mom’s belly and play Beatles albums. I’m not sure if Lindsey had a choice, but she has since grown up liking the Fab Four. A few years ago, while I was still in college I took her to see 1964 A Tribute, which is a Beatles tribute band I’d seen a few years earlier.

I made sure we sat up in the balcony so it’d be kinda hard to tell they weren’t the real deal. And while 1964 is fantastic, nothing beats the real thing. I missed the boat on seeing The Beatles because I was born too late which still kinda bums me out. I guess that's about as good an excuse as one could have, but it still smarts. Seeing McCartney was as close to seeing The Beatles as I could ever get, and I’ve always felt bad that Lindsey didn’t get the opportunity I had.

After all, McCartney is still alive. And touring.

So I every year I’d check and see if McCartney was coming anywhere near Missouri. I missed him once, in St. Louis (oddly enough) because I found out about the show too late to go. I swore I'd never let that happen again. Which is why I'm happy to report that on Saturday July 24, 2010 I’m going to see Paul McCartney once more in Kansas City. The show is going to be at the new Sprint Center (downtown), which I’ve never been to before, which adds another (albeit small) layer of excitement to the show.

But the real reason I’m excited isn't because I'm seeing Paul McCartney, the legend, live in concert one last time. And it's not because I get to go inside a shiny new concert venue…

No, I’m excited because I’m taking Lindsey with me. Luckily for her, she’s a hell of a lot older than I was when I saw him, so hopefully she’ll remember more than I did. The tickets were, as expected, way too expensive (I think I owe Paul McCartney a kidney for these damn seats) but we’re going. And it’s going to be great.

Can’t I See Tegan & Sara?

It’s embarrassing, but there was a time when I didn’t listen to female musicians. I can’t say for certain if this was completely intentional, or merely a by-product of the music I was exposed to via “mainstream” radio. What I can tell you is, apart from a few No Doubt and Alanis Morissette songs—every female artist I heard growing up didn’t do much for me.

Then, when I was a little older, I started listening to Little Steven’s Underground Garage. This late-night “garage rock” program came on Saturday nights—a night that was my “Monday” for three years. And no—there is nothing more depressing that having 11:00PM on Saturday be your “Monday.”

Anyway, Little Steven plays fantastic rock both old and new. And he’s the guy that showed me that chicks can indeed rock. As a champion of rock, Little Steven is truly one of the most democratic jocks left on the air. One of the new acts that the Underground Garage introduced me to was Tegan & Sara.

Hot, Canadian, lesbian, identical twins.

I realize that perhaps I still have a long way to go with the “sexism” thing…but honestly even if Tegan & Sara weren’t “hot, Canadian, lesbian, identical twins,” I’d still dig their music. They began as a kinda/sorta folk group but have since become a pretty rad rock duo. For those not in the know, I strongly urge you to check out either SO JEALOUS or their current album SAINTHOOD. Both are really good rock records with excellent lyrics and killer hooks.

A few weeks after I’d bought one of their records, Little Steven mentioned on his radio show that he’d seen them perform live and that “they were cool.” So, when I found out that the hot, Canadian, lesbian, identical twins…er—band…was coming to Kansas City I bought myself a ticket. I was to see them a few days after going to this other concert (The Bravery—kinda like The Killers, but less good).

I was also going to Hawaii for the first time right after seeing Tegan & Sara. It was going to be a kick-ass week for me: two concerts AND Hawaii!

I went to my first concert (The Bravery—kinda like seeing The Killer…but less good) and in the course of an evening bumped up against someone that was deathly ill. How do I know this? Because I soon got incredibly sick and was forced to skip Tegan & Sara so I could rest up for Hawaii. Now, up until this point this incident was the only time I’d ever bought tickets for a concert and then drop out of seeing the show (this of course happens to me more often than I’d like now). It was a major deal for me to miss this concert.

Well guess what? I had tickets to see Tegan & Sara when they were recently in Saint Louis.

And guess what?

I didn’t get to go.

I got damn close, though.

I was less than a mile from the concert venue—but once again illness kept me from seeing the band. Now, there is a very interesting story behind this “concert miss,” however I can’t tell it because it involves my wife—and her barricading herself in the ladies room of a bar after eating bad hospital calm chowder (I ask you, is there any other kind?).

So, if Tegan & Sara come to town again I will buy tickets…but I don’t suspect I’ll make the show.

Dear Drunk Girl at Every Concert Who Wants to Dance in the Exact Spot Where I'm Standing,

Dear Drunk Girl at Every Concert Who Wants to Dance in the Exact Spot Where I’m Standing,

How are you? Nursing another hangover? Really. That’s pretty surprising considering you only had fourteen Long Island Ice Teas last night. Well I’m sure you’ll be up and dancing again in no time.

Which reminds me, the reason why I’m writing you is to remind you that I’m seeing Franz Ferdinand this weekend. I’m going to be wearing a blue Hawaiian print shirt, and I’ll be standing about four people deep from the stage. I hope you can find me—I don’t want a repeat of The Ting Ting’s show where it took three songs to find me. I’m not sure what I’d do if I didn’t have you stepping all over my toes—and flipping your hair at my face.

I might have to…gulp…actually watch the band perform! We wouldn’t want that, now would we?

Are you still smoking? What a silly question, of course you are. I hope you remember wear something flame-retardant, because I will. We wouldn’t want a repeat of the Vampire Weekend incident. Speaking of Vampire Weekend, are you still dating that guy I saw you with? You know, the frat-boy-looking dude with the up-turned collar and the constipated look on his face? I think you two make a cute couple—you “dance” all over my feet, sometimes spilling beer all over my shirt…and he just stands there with both hands in his pockets. Adorable.

Anyway, if you’re still together you should bring him to the Franz Ferdinand show! I’d hate to see a band without getting a nasty look whenever your gyrating ass brushes up against my hand.

Your Fellow Concertgoer,

Jason