Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Paul McCartney Adds San Diego gig for Out There Tour

Sir Paul in the early days(photo:Harry Benson)



Paul McCartney just added the San Diego gig for his 2014 Out There tour set for September 28.It will  be his first concert in the city since the 1976 Wings Over America tour.Featuring his backing band for 10 plus years,Brian Ray and Rusty Anderson on guitars,Abe Laboriel Jr on drums and Paul Wickens on keyboards the Out There tour now has 20 stops in the US that highlights McCartney's new album NEW and featuring the greatest music from the last 50 years.

PAUL McCARTNEY
OUT THERE U.S. TOUR 2014

July 5: Albany, NY – Times Union Center
July 7: Pittsburgh, PA – Consol Energy Center
July 9: Chicago, IL – United Center
July 12: Fargo, ND – Fargodome
July 14: Lincoln, NE – Pinnacle Bank Arena
July 16: Kansas City, MO – Sprint Center
August 2: Minneapolis, MN – Target Field
August 5: Missoula, MT – Washington-Grizzly Stadium
August 7: Salt Lake City, UT – EnergySolutions Arena
August 10: Los Angeles, CA – Dodger Stadium
August 12: Phoenix, AZ – US Airways Center
August 14: San Francisco, CA – Candlestick Park
September 28: San Diego, CA — Petco Park
October 2: Lubbock, TX – United Spirit Arena
October 11: New Orleans, LA – Smoothie King Center
October 13: Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center
October 15: Atlanta, GA – Philips Arena
October 16: Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena
October 25: Jacksonville, FL – Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena
October 28: Louisville, KY – Yum! Center
October 30: Greensboro, NC - Greensboro Coliseum

Tour dates courtesy of Paul McCartney's website.

(c) Keith Vernon Adagio

Ron Howard To Direct New Beatles Documentary



Ron Howard(photo credit:unknown)
Award winning director Ron Howard is set to make an authorized Beatles documentary highlighting the band's touring years from 1960 to their very last in 1966.The highly acclaimed director who is famous for such memorable films like Apollo 13, Coccoon,How The Grinch Stole Christmas and A Beautiful Mind which all earned him an Academy Award is also looking for people that might share their memories or even connections with the fab four during that period when rock music took a quick turn and changed the way we know it today.

Howard's message was:

"If you or someone you know has visual or audio materials that document the Beatles' live tours, we want to hear from you! We are looking for rare or unusual footage, photographs, and audio recordings, particularly those that highlight the fan experience -– what it was like to be a part of the frenzy.If you have materials you believe belong in this film, please contact us using the form below"

Beatles-Ron Howard Project


Apple Corps Ltd,White Horse Pictures and Imagine Entertainment will produce the yet untitled film.




(c) Keith Vernon Adagio

Sunday, July 6, 2014

Sir Paul McCartney Rocks Albany,Resumes Touring



McCartney rocks Albany,NY(photo by Associated Press)
After two months of touring hiatus due to an unexpected illness, Sir Paul McCartney went back to the stage July 5 at Times Union Center in Albany,NY.

Paul has 19 stops in the US most of which were rescheduled after the former Beatle postponed the June dates of his US tour to October.

The former Beatle was hospitalized in Tokyo last May prompting him to cancel the entire Asian leg of his tour that includes what would've been his first concert ever in South Korea.

Opening his set with "Eight Days A Week",Paul rocked Albany with 40 songs in his setlist under a three hour time frame.Some of the hits were Beatles classics that became regulars on his concert tours like "Hey Jude" and "Let It Be".His wife Nancy,is also in attendance where Paul dedicated the song "My Valentine" to her.With one new song on the set "On My Way To Work" wherein Paul took reference to his absence and even stating that the song was performed live for the very first time.

McCartney also paid tributes to his late bandmates John Lennon and George Harrison by singing "Here Today" and "Something" with the latter where he did his trademark ukelele intro and getting a full band rendition build up like what he first did 12 years ago at Concert For George.

And like some of his shows,he brought a couple onstage during the second encore where a man proposed to his girlfriend making the former Beatle the best matchmaker,yet.

McCartney also paid tribute to his friend and late rock musician Jimi Hendrix by doing an instrumental interlude of "Purple Haze".McCartney closed the show with three songs from the Abbey Road medley:Golden Slumbers,Carry That Weight and The End.

Last winter,Sir Paul marked the 50th anniversary of the Beatles coming to the United States along with former bandmate Ringo Starr who is also on the road this summer.His 2014 tour also include the historic farewell concert to Candlestick Park in San Francisco where the Beatles held their final concert back in 1966.

Paul McCartney's Albany Concert Set List:

1.Eight Days A Week
2.Save Us
3.All My Loving
4.Listen To What The Man Said
5.Let Me Roll It
6.Paperbackwriter
7.My Valentine
8.Nineteen Hundred And Eighty Five
9.The Long And Winding Road
10.Maybe Im Amazed
11.I've Just Seen A Face
12.On My Way To Work
13.We Can Work It Out
14.Another Day
15.And I Love Her
16.Blackbird
17.Here Today
18.New
19.Queenie Eye
20.Lady Madonna
21.All Together Now
22.Lovely Rita
23.Everybody Out There
24.Eleanor Rigby
25.Being For The Benefit Of Mr Kite
26.Something
27.Obladi Oblada
28.Band On The Run
29.Back In The USSR
30.Let It Be
31.Live And Let Die
32.Hey Jude

Encore:

33.Day Tripper
34.Hi Hi Hi
35.Get Back

Encore 2:

36.Yesterday
37.When I'm Sixty Four
38.Golden Slumbers
39.Carry That Weight
40.The End



Paul McCartney Albany,NY (photo by AP)


(c) Keith Vernon Adagio
 

Saturday, July 5, 2014

Sir Paul resumes Out There 2014 tour

Out There Tour poster(courtesy of  McCartney site)



Sir Paul McCartney made an announcement via youtube regarding him going back on the road once again as his Out There tour is set to resume July 5 in Albany,NY. Paul stated about looking good and feeling great,referring to his condition after falling into illness and making an awesome recovery.With an added stop in Greensboro,NC set on October 30,McCartney is now set to rock the US with an air guitar gesture at the end of the video.

Sir Paul has cancelled the Asian leg of his tour last May after getting ill while on tour of Japan.McCartney has also postponed the June US dates and moved it instead on October.

PAUL McCARTNEY
'OUT THERE' U.S. TOUR 2014

July 5: Albany, NY – Times Union Center
July 7: Pittsburgh, PA – Consol Energy Center
July 9: Chicago, IL – United Center
July 12: Fargo, ND – Fargodome
July 14: Lincoln, NE – Pinnacle Bank Arena
July 16: Kansas City, MO – Sprint Center
August 2: Minneapolis, MN – Target Field
August 5: Missoula, MT – Washington-Grizzly Stadium
August 7: Salt Lake City, UT – EnergySolutions Arena
August 10: Los Angeles, CA – Dodger Stadium
August 12: Phoenix, AZ – US Airways Center
August 14: San Francisco, CA – Candlestick Park
October 2: Lubbock, TX – United Spirit Arena
October 11: New Orleans, LA – Smoothie King Center
October 13: Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center
October 15: Atlanta, GA – Philips Arena
October 16: Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena
October 25: Jacksonville, FL – Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena
October 28: Louisville, KY – Yum! Center
October 30: Greensboro, NC - Greensboro Coliseum

(tour dates courtesy of the McCartney site)



(c) Keith Vernon Adagio

Friday, July 4, 2014

Beatles First Movie and Soundtrack Marks 50


July 6,2014 marks the 50th anniversary of the Beatles' first movie A HARD DAY'S NIGHT in which the date of the filming marked its golden anniversary four months earlier.

Being the first of the fab four's five films,the movie highlights the day in the life of a rock n' roll band in which no film has ever done before.

The film starts with George,John and Ringo being chased by female fans with George even tripping and slumping straight into the sidewalk.The Beatles' acting debut marks the band into another level,thus,the film became one of the most influential in the history of rock music.

The movie captures the humor of being in a rock group ran by paranoid producers and mischievous family members.It also shows the life of handling fame while seeking personal joy amidst touring and management pressures.It shadows the Beatles as "prisoners" as it was pointed out by Paul's grandfather(played by Irish actor Wilfrid Brambell) during a train scene featuring a cameo appearance by Pattie Boyd who later became the wife of George Harrison.Such word was probably used to symbolize the price of fame wherein they no longer have privacy and were already considered to be public property.

1964 was when Beatlemania was at its peak,the lads has just conquered the United States and Elvis was practically overwhelmed with the sudden change in rock music with  bands on both sides of the Atlantic having a 'friendly competition' with one another.Nevertheless,the bands that came from across the pond were much stronger and they just couldn't stop coming--rock music has changed indeed and it became the standard the way we hear it today.

The title of both the song and film was inspired by Ringo's whining about being tired from working all day and night.With the beginning scene featuring the band being chased off by female fans,director Richard Lester captured the band as near as how they deal with their own personal lives though he stated on one interview that such exposure of one's own personal life is considered x-rated during that time-at least thats what an x-rating means back then.

Wilfrid Brambell played Paul's fictional "grandfather"


The film was not only known for its famous songs but also it introduced the world into British humor.Homegrown manufactured bands like the Monkees got the idea of a television show because of this movie.John Lennon and Paul McCartney were said to have written the title track and got it delivered in less than 24 hours.And the fact that the movie's soundtrack is the sole Beatles album that has songs that were written alone by the Lennon-McCartney songwriting partnership.Other albums by the band if not with covers included in it such as the early stuff,were filled with songs written by the latter half of George Harrison and Ringo Starr.A DVD/Blu Ray re-issue was released last June 24 containing loads of extras and a documentary made by director Richard Lester.


(photo right:Pattie Boyd who made a cameo appearance in the movie and later became Mrs George Harrison)
 
 
 
THE SOUNDTRACK:




The soundtrack album came out four days later after the film was released.The release pattern during that time was different with the UK/ worldwide release and the US release.The latter's release,however was with a different song lineup with only nine songs including "I'll Cry Instead" with the other five songs on the original side two removed to the band's surprise.In its replacement instead were the film scores that can be heard on the movie.The action taken by Capitol and United Artists wasn't taken kindly by the fab four especially Paul McCartney,considering that their US distributor has been altering their albums since the very beginning.Both albums in their respective formats went to number one on both sides of the Atlantic.


The original UK and worldwide release contains 13 songs,some of which were never sung on the film.

TRACK LISTING:
All tracks were written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney

1.A HARD DAY'S NIGHT
2.I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN BETTER

3.IF I FELL
4.I'M HAPPY JUST TO DANCE WITH YOU
5.AND I LOVE HER
6.TELL ME WHY
7.CAN'T BUY ME LOVE
8.ANY TIME AT ALL
9.I'LL CRY INSTEAD
10.THINGS WE SAID TODAY
11.WHEN I GET HOME
12.YOU CAN'T DO THAT
13.I'LL BE BACK


The original 13 track lineup was released in the US on February 26,1987 through the unification effort made by EMI and the US version was hereby deleted to avoid confusions among Beatles fans.The latter version however,was reissued on both box sets,first on the Capitol albums Volume 1 and later on the re-issued US box sets celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Beatles arriving in America.


For my article about the story of the Beatles albums click here

US cover version




(c) Keith Vernon Adagio