"Good Day Sunshine"

(Coachella review,published by Examiner)


“I hope he doesn’t really pull this electronic version shit that everyone’s talking about.” My sentiment exactly, Mr. 55-year-old-joint-rolling-Deadhead-who-is-standing-too-close-to-me. The anticipation in the sea of 2,000 eagerly awaiting McCartney fans hung strong in the air like the “smell of burning flesh” which Morrissey referenced in protest moments ago. The impending concert was not just another set by another band at another show at another festival. For the vast majority of attendees, and at the risk of sounding overly dramatic, this was a show most had waited a lifetime for. Unlike Franz Ferdinand or any other main stage act of the night, Sir Paul did not tour last year, nor does he have a tour announced for next year. With just he and Ringo as the remaining Lads from Liverpool, a Beatles-obsessed gal like myself had to wonder, “Will I ever see Paul in concert?” Sure, rumors abound concerning an upcoming tour, but nothing is confirmed. And let’s just come out and say it: the guy is 67 years old for God’s sake. The lasting total of McCartney tickets to be had is in short supply, to say the least. So naturally, this sold-out crowd is becoming something more than restless. Since 11 am, every act began their set precisely on time, sometimes even two or three minutes before. Yet it is now 8:27 pm, and Sgt. Pepper himself has now kept us anxiously waiting for almost a half hour. Confession: my mind began to race. “What if he isn’t really here? What if this is just the biggest hoax ever played in the history of music festivals? I knew this was too good to be true!” And just as all hope was fading away into the cloud of marijuana smoke beside me, Abe Laboriel Jr. moseyed across the stage to his drum set. McCartney excitedly rounded the corner of the stage to the deafening accolade, axe in one hand, and waving the other in gratitude to this hyped-up mob.
An energetic McCartney immediately expressed genuine excitement and appreciation to the Coachella Valley for the invitation (uh, as if we weren’t beside ourselves in elation that he even accepted?) and kicked off his unbelievable 35-song set list with the dynamic “Jet”, and followed it with stand-by Fab Four favorites “Drive My Car”, “Got To Get You Into My Life”, “The Long and Winding Road”, “Eleanor Rigby” and “Back in the USSR”. The bouncy “Mrs. Vanderbilt” and “Let Me Roll it to You” drew out McCartney’s playful jokester persona, his enchantment in simply performing visibly evident. The evening took an unexpected turn as the now-poignant Beatle shifted gears a bit to confide that it was actually the eleven-year anniversary of his wife, Linda Eastman’s passing. She lost her battle to breast cancer in Tucson, Arizona, a mere three hours away from the stage in which he proceeded to sing “My Love” in a moving tribute to her. Obvious that he was particularly emotionally connected to his songs tonight, sentiment continued to run high as he later began strumming a sitar, explaining that it was indeed a gift from the late George Harrison. After a unanimous Coachella roar died down, he went on to reveal that Harrison’s wife, Olivia Harrison, was actually in attendance that night. As the close of yet another shout of approval took place, he went on to perform an unprecedented song that both I and my 1,999 cohorts never would have dreamed we would see him perform: “Something”. An additional tribute was had in honor of Lennon, with a buoyant sing-along rendition of the very currently appropriate “Give Peace a Chance”.
Pyrotechnics lit up the sky during “Live and Let Die”, and “Hey Jude” produced an overwhelming chorus of “Na Na Na Na Na Na Na!” vibrating through the desert night-air. His first encore delivered the unforeseen opening chords of “Birthday”, a trip back to 1964 with “Can’t Buy Me Love” and pleasant surprise “Lady Madonna”. Now 12:14 am, with the warning we received all day that the grounds would be evacuated at midnight (no matter what!) looming in the back of our minds, we prayed that another encore was still forthcoming. Our appeals answered, the fresh-as-daisies foursome trotted back on stage to break our hearts with “Yesterday”, make us move with “Helter Skelter”, “Get Back”, “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”, and resonate in utmost sincerity with eyes closed and hands pointing back to Paul as he points to us, “And in the end, the love you take, is equal to the love you make.”