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Post by johnpaulharstar on Jul 16, 2009 13:03:44 GMT -5
This Saturday I will be going to New York to see Paul McCartney play at Citi Field (the Mets new stadium). This will be my first time seeing McCartney in concert. I'm quite excited! I'll give a full report, probably on Monday or Tuesday.
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Post by John S. Damm on Jul 16, 2009 13:23:21 GMT -5
Superb!! Have a great time! My first Paul concert, Dec. 03, 1989 in Chicago, IL at the Rosemont Horizon, was one of the greatest nights of my life. I went with three other really good college friends, one of which has since fallen off the face of the earth and we don't know where she has gone and the other has suffered some serious health setbacks. I just e-mailed her recently and we both agreed that night was perfect, a magical night never to be forgotten or topped. We were young and thought that the world was ours and Paul still looked so young and sounded so. I have seen Paul many times since but that was the one, the magical one. Have the time of your life! Savor it.
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Post by Joe Karlosi on Jul 16, 2009 13:51:43 GMT -5
My first Paul concert, Dec. 03, 1989 in Chicago, IL at the Rosemont Horizon, was one of the greatest nights of my life. Same here, JSD - almost! I also first saw Paul later that month in December 1989, at Madison Square Garden (I believe I went to two of the four shows). Let me ask you if you're as blown away by something as I am ... I was thinking that -- when we saw Paul in Dec. 89 -- the Beatles' "old" rooftop concert was then 20 years old. But NOW in 2009, our memory of the 1989 concert is what's 20 years old!! How could that be the same frame of time when it doesn't seem as old to us??
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Post by jimc on Jul 16, 2009 16:40:29 GMT -5
Superb!! Have a great time! My first Paul concert, Dec. 03, 1989 in Chicago, IL at the Rosemont Horizon, was one of the greatest nights of my life. I went with three other really good college friends, one of which has since fallen off the face of the earth and we don't know where she has gone and the other has suffered some serious health setbacks. I just e-mailed her recently and we both agreed that night was perfect, a magical night never to be forgotten or topped. We were young and thought that the world was ours and Paul still looked so young and sounded so. I have seen Paul many times since but that was the one, the magical one. Have the time of your life! Savor it. Wow, we were young then? ;D I saw one of those Rosemont shows also. Can't remember which night, however. I'll have to look it up. Sunday, maybe? Not sure. I was off to the left side of the stage, above. They were great seats and it was an extraordinary show. I remember I came by the tickets through a high school kid who was a newspaper stringer for me. He knew someone from the Rosemont management.
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Post by John S. Damm on Jul 16, 2009 23:17:08 GMT -5
Joe and Jim, here was Paul's brief 1989 North American leg of his 1989/1990 World Tour: 1. Nov 23, 1989 Los Angeles, CA USA - Los Angeles Forum 2. Nov 24, 1989 Los Angeles, CA USA - Los Angeles Forum 3. Nov 27, 1989 Los Angeles, CA USA - Los Angeles Forum 4. Nov 28, 1989 Los Angeles, CA USA - Los Angeles Forum 5. Nov 29, 1989 Los Angeles, CA USA - Los Angeles Forum 6. Dec 03, 1989(Sunday) Chicago, IL USA - Rosemont Horizon 7. Dec 04, 1989 Chicago, IL USA - Rosemont Horizon 8. Dec 05, 1989 Chicago, IL USA - Rosemont Horizon 9. Dec 07, 1989 Toronto, Ontario Canada - Skydome 10.Dec 09, 1989 Montreal, Quebec Canada - Montreal Forum 11.Dec 11, 1989 New York, NY USA - Madison Square Garden 12.Dec 12, 1989 New York, NY USA - Madison Square Garden 13.Dec 14, 1989 New York, NY USA - Madison Square Garden 14.Dec 15, 1989 New York, NY USA - Madison Square Garden* Paul and band then breaked for the Holidays and played several dates in Birmingham, UK starting Jan. 2, 1990, then many dates in London, Wembley Arena, not coming back to the U.S. until Feb. 2, 1990, Detroit. You'll remember that Paul made the cover of RS in this period with a photo of him playing guitar on the side of a highway in Toronto. I saw the December 3rd and 4th concerts but for some reason missed the 5th! ;D I can tell you why: I used what little extra money I had to go to the 3rd and 4th shows and I was just one year into my job and my employer wanted me back getting billable hours and wondering whether they had hired a Paul groupie. Jim, you and I were at the same place, same time on Sunday, Dec. 3, 1989. I was the loudmouth shouting, "Hey Paul, play 'Mumbo'!" ;D We were in the first row of the second level directly across from the stage so we had decent viewing seats but awesome listening seats. I was very lucky to see both Indianapolis shows, Feb. 14 & 15, the 14th sitting on the side of the stage right behind a young James and one of the younger two girls(I don't know whether Stella or Mary, I suspect Stella as she was younger). Finally, I saw Paul July 29,1990, at the tour grand finale at Soldier Field Chicago. That was awesome and perhaps my 2nd favorite McCartney concert as by then "Birthday" and "Let 'Em In" were added and Paul did the Lennon Medley which I absolutely love to this very day(he first did it in Liverpool which is the recorded version from the "All My Trials" c.d. single). * www.freetimeweb.nl/home/muziek/beatles/paul_tour_dates.html#1989
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Post by jimc on Jul 17, 2009 0:00:06 GMT -5
John, thanks for the memories. (My cousin was at that Soldier Field Show -- definitely a casual fan who probably doesn't remember something like the Lennon Medley at all) I'm not sure if I saw Sunday or Monday. I must dig to figure that out. So far, I can't find the stub. Either way, we saw the same show.
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Post by Steve Marinucci on Jul 17, 2009 0:00:17 GMT -5
Joe and Jim, here was Paul's brief 1989 North American leg of his 1989/1990 World Tour: 1. Nov 23, 1989 Los Angeles, CA USA - Los Angeles Forum 2. Nov 24, 1989 Los Angeles, CA USA - Los Angeles Forum 3. Nov 27, 1989 Los Angeles, CA USA - Los Angeles Forum 4. Nov 28, 1989 Los Angeles, CA USA - Los Angeles Forum 5. Nov 29, 1989 Los Angeles, CA USA - Los Angeles Forum 6. Dec 03, 1989(Sunday) Chicago, IL USA - Rosemont Horizon 7. Dec 04, 1989 Chicago, IL USA - Rosemont Horizon 8. Dec 05, 1989 Chicago, IL USA - Rosemont Horizon 9. Dec 07, 1989 Toronto, Ontario Canada - Skydome 10.Dec 09, 1989 Montreal, Quebec Canada - Montreal Forum 11.Dec 11, 1989 New York, NY USA - Madison Square Garden 12.Dec 12, 1989 New York, NY USA - Madison Square Garden 13.Dec 14, 1989 New York, NY USA - Madison Square Garden 14.Dec 15, 1989 New York, NY USA - Madison Square Garden* Paul and band then breaked for the Holidays and played several dates in Birmingham, UK starting Jan. 2, 1990, then many dates in London, Wembley Arena, not coming back to the U.S. until Feb. 2, 1990, Detroit. You'll remember that Paul made the cover of RS in this period with a photo of him playing guitar on the side of a highway in Toronto. I saw the December 3rd and 4th concerts but for some reason missed the 5th! ;D I can tell you why: I used what little extra money I had to go to the 3rd and 4th shows and I was just one year into my job and my employer wanted me back getting billable hours and wondering whether they had hired a Paul groupie. Jim, you and I were at the same place, same time on Sunday, Dec. 3, 1989. I was the loudmouth shouting, "Hey Paul, play 'Mumbo'!" ;D We were in the first row of the second level directly across from the stage so we had decent viewing seats but awesome listening seats. I was very lucky to see both Indianapolis shows, Feb. 14 & 15, the 14th sitting on the side of the stage right behind a young James and one of the younger two girls(I don't know whether Stella or Mary, I suspect Stella as she was younger). Finally, I saw Paul July 29,1990, at the tour grand finale at Soldier Field Chicago. That was awesome and perhaps my 2nd favorite McCartney concert as by then "Birthday" and "Let 'Em In" were added and Paul did the Lennon Medley which I absolutely love to this very day(he first did it in Liverpool which is the recorded version from the "All My Trials" c.d. single). * www.freetimeweb.nl/home/muziek/beatles/paul_tour_dates.html#1989 John: I saw him in Berkeley in 1989, so there had to be more dates than that.
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Post by mikev on Jul 17, 2009 7:05:59 GMT -5
My first Paul concert, Dec. 03, 1989 in Chicago, IL at the Rosemont Horizon, was one of the greatest nights of my life. Same here, JSD - almost! I also first saw Paul later that month in December 1989, at Madison Square Garden (I believe I went to two of the four shows). Let me ask you if you're as blown away by something as I am ... I was thinking that -- when we saw Paul in Dec. 89 -- the Beatles' "old" rooftop concert was then 20 years old. But NOW in 2009, our memory of the 1989 concert is what's 20 years old!! How could that be the same frame of time when it doesn't seem as old to us?? I saw him for the first time at the Garden in '89. Joe, that 20 year analysis is scary but true. In a similar fashion- think about how different the 1964 Beatles were from the 1969 Beatles (and all of the evolution within), and how today, some major bands have 5 years between albums, that pretty much sound the same.
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Post by John S. Damm on Jul 17, 2009 8:24:51 GMT -5
Steve, the website I cite above lists the following: 1990 1989/90 World Tour Apr 01, 1990 Berkely, CA USA - Berkely Memorial Stadium In fact, it says a bootleg was made from that show! My independent memory only was Paul hit the Big Three U.S. cities in 1989, did two shows in Canada(and got a RS cover out of it) and retreated for the Christmas Holiday resuming the tour in full on Jan. 2, 1990 and, of course, hitting the rest of the U.S. starting Feb. 2, went to Europe and South America and finished in Chicago. The website I link to reminds us that Paul had many, many 1989 shows abroad before coming to the U.S. in Nov./Dec. 1989. It was a long and highly successful tour! Of course, that website can be mistaken and the only 1989 dates I can confirm as I sit here are the Chicago dates at the Rosemont as I attended two out of three. ;D Regardless of date, was this Berkely show your first, Steve? Or were you lucky enough to be in the "Class of '76" for your first Macca show? Our own vectis has a unique McCartney concert-going history he may want to share, to the envy of us all!
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Post by John S. Damm on Jul 17, 2009 8:47:51 GMT -5
John, thanks for the memories. (My cousin was at that Soldier Field Show -- definitely a casual fan who probably doesn't remember something like the Lennon Medley at all) I'm not sure if I saw Sunday or Monday. I must dig to figure that out. So far, I can't find the stub. Either way, we saw the same show. LOL! Ask your cousin if he still has his Pontiac disposable flashlight? These were handed out free at Soldier Field only to be used by the crowd rather than matches or lighters! Paul was afraid we'd burn the place down. Also, the show was being filmed and he wanted a sea of lights coming from the crowd. The Get Back film has much footage from this finale(especially the cool fireworks show on Live And Let Die and at the end). Paul was also teamed for the tour with Friends Of the Earth(F.O.E.) so the tour also had a social cause too, the improvement of the environment! In many ways, that was the idea tour. Another amazing feature that never gets talked about anymore is that Paul handed out for absolutely free on the 89/90 World Tour a great concert booklet of over 50 pages with many great color photos and decent articles packed with info. This free book was superior to any standard crappy concert program that cost $20.00 to $40.00 now and are only 15 pages long! Paul gave us incredible value for our money in 89/90! As I was leaving Soldier Field the night of July 29, 1990, I saw boxes and boxes of undistributed programs left at the entrance ways or put near dumpsters. My buddy and I grabbed dozens of books and to this day we wished that we had taken the boxes of them as they would have made amazing presents for fellow Beatles/Paul fans especially as the years roll away! Had I grabbed a box or two I could mail them out here to interested persons! I pretty much gave most of my extras away as such gifts but I'll check in my stored items(at the office with my records) as I am a pack-rat and if I still have several, well, as John Lennon sang, "you don't take nothing with you but your soul, think!" ;D
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Post by Steve Marinucci on Jul 17, 2009 8:59:24 GMT -5
Steve, the website I cite above lists the following: 1990 1989/90 World Tour Apr 01, 1990 Berkely, CA USA - Berkely Memorial Stadium In fact, it says a bootleg was made from that show! My independent memory only was Paul hit the Big Three U.S. cities in 1989, did two shows in Canada(and got a RS cover out of it) and retreated for the Christmas Holiday resuming the tour in full on Jan. 2, 1990 and, of course, hitting the rest of the U.S. starting Feb. 2, went to Europe and South America and finished in Chicago. The website I link to reminds us that Paul had many, many 1989 shows abroad before coming to the U.S. in Nov./Dec. 1989. It was a long and highly successful tour! Of course, that website can be mistaken and the only 1989 dates I can confirm as I sit here are the Chicago dates at the Rosemont as I attended two out of three. ;D Regardless of date, was this Berkely show your first, Steve? Or were you lucky enough to be in the "Class of '76" for your first Macca show? Our own vectis has a unique McCartney concert-going history he may want to share, to the envy of us all! John: Yeah, the Berkeley show was my first. I saw Paul again in San Jose in 2001 (I think ... I'm too lazy to look it up now ...just got up) and this year in Vegas. A friend got me tickets way back in the stadium for that show, but we were there. And you mentioned the books from the tour. I remember those and still have them somewhere. I also have the bootleg. It's not the full show, but the sound quality is superb. Early in the disc, I think on "Pieces of Eight," Linda yells "Yeah!" I remember her doing that at the show and even remarked about that to my wife.
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Post by John S. Damm on Jul 17, 2009 9:07:32 GMT -5
My first Paul concert, Dec. 03, 1989 in Chicago, IL at the Rosemont Horizon, was one of the greatest nights of my life. Same here, JSD - almost! I also first saw Paul later that month in December 1989, at Madison Square Garden (I believe I went to two of the four shows). Let me ask you if you're as blown away by something as I am ... I was thinking that -- when we saw Paul in Dec. 89 -- the Beatles' "old" rooftop concert was then 20 years old. But NOW in 2009, our memory of the 1989 concert is what's 20 years old!! How could that be the same frame of time when it doesn't seem as old to us?? Like Mike said, that is a scary comparison Joe! Time goes too slow when we are kids and want to get to adult stuff but too fast once we get there and don't have the time to enjoy that stuff! My time comparison I sometimes use is that The Beatles broke up in what, April 1970 with Paul's announcement(I know, it could be considered much sooner if we use John's private announcement or years later if we go by legal resolutions) and I became a fan in September 1975. That was just five years, five months later. Yet those 5 years, 5 months seemed liked a hundred years! Feb. 17, 2004 to July 17, 2009(today) seems like mere minutes yet it is the same amount of time between Beatles break-up and my conversion!! I guess we are all just saying savor your first McCartney concert johnpaulharstar!
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Post by scousette on Jul 17, 2009 11:20:32 GMT -5
johnpaulharstar, have a great time!
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Post by mrjinks on Jul 17, 2009 17:30:28 GMT -5
Amazing to look at this thread and see that I've been at the same shows as some of you. My first-ever Macca gig was also the first Rosemount show (12/3/89), and I have a very nice boot cassette (!) of it. I also saw Paul on the middle leg in Seattle (spring 1990) and the final show at Soldier Field. In '93, I caught the US tour-opener (Vegas) and in '02, I caught five shows (Oakland, San Jose, Denver, Portland, Seattle). 2005: Portland. This year: Vegas. I just wish there were some more shows further West this summer!
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Post by sayne on Jul 17, 2009 23:13:44 GMT -5
This Saturday I will be going to New York to see Paul McCartney play at Citi Field (the Mets new stadium). This will be my first time seeing McCartney in concert. I'm quite excited! I'll give a full report, probably on Monday or Tuesday. I will bet an arm and a leg that you get at least a bit misty when Paul first takes the stage. I've seen Paul at least once during every tour from Wings Over America to Coachella and I STILL get rather emotional ( and not ashamed about it ) when he first steps on stage. And, I am not alone. The "group hug" is always quite joyful. I feel sorry for the jaded. I would say for me that the two best stage entrances were the Wings Over America tour where he opened with Venus and Mars/Rock Show and the Driving USA Tour (I think that was the one) when Paul appeared in silhouette holding up his Hofner bass and then going into "Hello Goodbye". At Coachella, he simply walked on stage and soaked up the adulation, put on his bass, then started playing. Let us know how he begins New York (you don't have to go into the pre-show video or what the DJ was playing).
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Post by John S. Damm on Jul 18, 2009 0:33:11 GMT -5
This Saturday I will be going to New York to see Paul McCartney play at Citi Field (the Mets new stadium). This will be my first time seeing McCartney in concert. I'm quite excited! I'll give a full report, probably on Monday or Tuesday. I will bet an arm and a leg that you get at least a bit misty when Paul first takes the stage. I've seen Paul at least once during every tour from Wings Over America to Coachella and I STILL get rather emotional ( and not ashamed about it ) when he first steps on stage. And, I am not alone. The "group hug" is always quite joyful. I feel sorry for the jaded. I would say for me that the two best stage entrances were the Wings Over America tour where he opened with Venus and Mars/Rock Show and the Driving USA Tour (I think that was the one) when Paul appeared in silhouette holding up his Hofner bass and then going into "Hello Goodbye". At Coachella, he simply walked on stage and soaked up the adulation, put on his bass, then started playing. Let us know how he begins New York (you don't have to go into the pre-show video or what the DJ was playing). Didn't you see The Beatles live too? I don't know how Paul could ever top "Venus And Mars/Rockshow" as an opener. Someone, I can't remember who, has suggested before that Paul should have opened the 1979 tour with "We're Open Tonight"/"So Glad To See You Here" instead of "Got To Get You Into My Life." That would have been an awesome opening too. 1989/1990's "Figure Of Eight" wasn't a bad opener except for Linda yelling those obnoxious "Yeahs" that Steve has referenced above. She did that every show I saw that tour and for the life of me, I cannot fathom why she so marred a spirited performance by Paul.
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Post by Joe Karlosi on Jul 18, 2009 5:13:53 GMT -5
I don't know how Paul could ever top "Venus And Mars/Rockshow" as an opener. Someone, I can't remember who, has suggested before that Paul should have opened the 1979 tour with "We're Open Tonight"/"So Glad To See You Here" instead of "Got To Get You Into My Life." That would have been an awesome opening too. 1989/1990's "Figure Of Eight" wasn't a bad opener On the subject of great openers, I have to say that using a classic Beatles song has probably given me the most goosebumps of all, in spite of the fact that I love much of Paul's obscure solo material (I love "We're Open Tonight" and "So Glad To See You Here", but other than three or four of us, who else would be wowed in that audience?). MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR and HELLO GOODBYE have been the best openers of all, IMO. Classic Beatles, and very festive with a "welcome to the show!" feel!
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Post by sayne on Jul 18, 2009 10:18:57 GMT -5
Didn't you see The Beatles live too? Yup! San Diego in 1965 for $5.50. What a rip-off. For that price they should have played at least 40 minutes! ;D I've been very lucky in my Beatle/solo concert viewing. I won't name/concert drop, but it's been a good life. It's amazing what you can buy and do when you live with your parents until 35 and you don't have kids, a car, nice clothes, or cable. ;D
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Post by sayne on Jul 18, 2009 10:26:09 GMT -5
On the subject of great openers . . . I'm sure we will all have favorite opening numbers or wishes for openers. What I was actually trying to address was not so much the song, but the moment Paul is first seen on stage. I think Paul has usually been very good at building the excitement up to the moment the spotlight on him first shines.
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Post by John S. Damm on Jul 20, 2009 8:42:57 GMT -5
Last night I literally spent the evening with Tripping The Live Fantastic and it was well worth it. I have kind of pooh-poohed the 89/90 band since hearing the latest Paul touring band but those guys in 89/90 were quite skilled.
TTLF was a great listen and it let me blow the dust off that double c.d. I found that I really enjoyed many of the sound check songs placed between the live tracks. I didn't always like those interruptions to the live material but I found last night that some of those were quite good and just fun.
There were some really neat things I heard for the first time like Paul's two count-ins for "This One", the first right before the "This one, this one," intro and the second before Paul starts his lead vocal part proper. Just little stuff like that.
Robbie's extended lead guitar solo before "Eleanor Rigby" never fails to move me although my memory was that it was even longer in concert than as represented on TTLF. I have a strong memory of sitting back in my seat at Soldier Field on July 29, 1990, and enjoying Robbie play this extended solo pre-song with the beautiful multi-colored lights illuminating the stage as if in a dream. It seems that went on for several glorious minutes and then Paul goes into his classic song from Revolver.
It has been many years since I played both discs from Tripping The Live Fantastic back to back. It was great fun last night as I was outdoors in my darkened garden drinking some cold beers.
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Post by Cosmos on Jul 20, 2009 9:55:10 GMT -5
Hey mrjinks, we saw the same Seattle show! This was my one and only sighting of a Beatle in person, and I shall never forget it. At the time, I lived across the state in Spokane. I played "bummed" that I could not go until the day before. At that point, I picked up my wife from work in our black '76 Cordoba. I had purchased some of those sticky letters, which I painted silver and put "McCartney Express" on both doors! It was a total surprise for her. I also recall that I had scored a bootleg of the earlier leg of the tour, which I blasted all the way to Seattle...ahhh those were the days!
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Post by johnpaulharstar on Jul 21, 2009 12:00:31 GMT -5
Well I went to the show and I absolutely loved it. Whoever has said on here in the past that McCartney's voice is "shot" is totally full of crap. He sang the heck out of all those great rockers like "I'm Down", "Back To USSR", "Helter Skelter", "Jet" and so on while still sounding great on the ballads like "Yesterday", "Blackbird" and "Here Today". Maybe it isn't quite as great as it once was, but he still has one of the best voices around. Seeing his energy and enthusiasm at age 67 is incredible and watching him switching instruments is cool. The band is excellent too. They played about 2 1/2 hours. I love the big screens and the stuff in the background. Even though so much of the stuff I've seen before on videos it still all comes off great. For pure spectacle, the "Live And Let Die" fireworks and lasers is so much more amazing in person. The singlalong "Hey Jude", the dedications, and the stories are all great. Some nice surprises too- "Mrs. Vanderbilt", "A Day In The Life", and "Day Tripper". Seeing the graphics to Beatles Rock Band in the background during "Got To Get You Into My Life" was cool too. All in all the greatest concert I've ever been to. I used to rank The Kinks as my favorite, but now when people ask I will say Paul McCartney without a doubt!
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Post by sallyg on Jul 23, 2009 21:00:43 GMT -5
JSD, I was at the Sunday Dec 3, 1989 concert at the Rosemont Horizon too and it was a really great show.
johnpaulharstar, I'm glad you were able to see Paul in concert. His concerts are absolutely the best. Due to a series of circumstances, I have not been able to see him recently. I hope that somehow I can get to a show sometime in the near future.
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Post by winstonoboogie on Jul 26, 2009 14:16:19 GMT -5
I didn't see Paul until 2002 when I saw him at the Ice Palace in Tampa. Excellent show - probably the best I've ever seen! I saw him again in 2005 at the same venue (now renamed the St. Pete Times-Forum). Good show, although not quite as good IMO (maybe because things are rarely as good the second time - who knows!). I had had an opportunity to see him in 1993 ( I saw an ad on a bulletin board - the old-fashioned kind!) but by the time I could scrape enough money together, the guy had sold the ticket! Ah, well....
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