PAUL MCCARTNEY: A remarkable evening

When I heard that Paul McCartney was coming back to Australia AND visiting my home-town of Newcastle I was equal parts excited, and equal parts unsure.

I had seen him twice before. Way back in 1993, which was a great concert but the second time in 2017 was phenomenal.

He was now 6 years older, was it worth going again, when last time was perfection and the best concert I had ever attended?

I had to think fast, and of course, my lovely Andrew had never seen McCartney and he is as big a Beatles fan as me, so the answer was yes. But Newcastle was not going to happen logistically. My sisters also wanted to go and so within a week we had seats for the four of us at the Sydney concert. 

It wasn't long before the day was upon us, my sister Karen drove us there and Andrew met us prior. We had a good trip down, excited and happy.  And after an early dinner we made our way to the entrance of the Sydney Cricket Ground, where we would enter through to get to the new stadium next door as we were seated on the ground. There was a bit of a wait and some superb people watching and we finally made our way inside. We had very good seats close to the stage, towards the back of that section. It had been sprinkling, but there was a lovely lady in attendance with a towel who had been looking after her/our section beautifully. 

We took our seats and a wave of emotion came over me. To be here again, for the single most important person (in my opinion) musically in the entire world and such a favourite was all too much, also to share it with my sisters and my love was an added bonus. We were all excited.

We were worried about the weather, rain on and off all day and dark clouds looming. We were lucky, one downpour about 30 minutes before he came on, enough for us to need to put on our rain ponchos, and a few moments of light drizzle through the concert. It was also a full moon, so lovely to be able to look up into the night sky and see the heavens above. It added to the atmosphere of the evening.



A great film of McCartney and Beatles stills and moving images back to music played prior, including the 'new' Beatles song, Now and Then. Anticipation was high, smiles were wide.

And then he arrived on stage to much fanfare, and got straight into Can't Buy Me Love. He sounded amazing and I knew it was going to be a great night. The crowd went wild, everyone was on their feet. We couldn't really see the stage which had me a little bummed, but as the night went on, and people settled, we could, and it was great with excellent views.

The vibe was intense and glorious and everything. We sang to every song. Singing and dancing with my sisters (as we did as kids) and my love, who usually doesn't dance, was such joy, I have no real words to describe it. This kind of joy needs to be bottled. 

He played 39 songs over 3 hours straight - see setlist below - and sounded amazing! His voice has changed over the years, but still holds up great for his age, which is 81 by the way! 

81!!!!!!

He talked and joked with the crowd and the band, and it just seemed impossible that this man, this hero, the originator of music as we know it, was there, almost in reach. I thought I would be emotional throughout, and I was, but not many tears, which is quite unlike me. I was so very in the moment and so very much enjoying myself, crying just didn't happen...until much later. The next day and those after just thinking about the evening brought me to my knees, and I am writing this with wet eyes. 

I am utterly aware of the privilege of seeing what is easily the greatest concert of my life.

His band, who he has been playing with for decades, were brilliant as always. Great riffs, harmonies and they look liked they were loving every minute of it. Imagine being in Paul McCartney's band...

My highlights were as follows:

Go to Get you into my life - I love this song, and love the brass section. This concert he had a brass section, so a lot of brassy songs were included and this was no exception. They were actually placed up the top of the stadium amongst the punters. Imagine being near to that. The song sounded sharp and great!

Let Me Roll it - one of my favourite Wings songs. It went off, so did I. Such a  great song with that fabulous guitar riff, oh my!

Ditto for Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five - bloody love that song, so underrated, real gem!

Maybe I'm Amazed - one of his finest love songs, sounded beautiful.

Blackbird - just about one of the simplest yet best songs ever written. Absolutely stunning performance. Had me in raptures.

She Came in through the Bathroom Window - always fun, an unexpected song to hear, but that's the point of a big concert!

Something - a stunning tribute to George Harrison, starting with just him on a Uke, one given to him by Georgie. The band slowly comes in and the song builds and lifts. A highly emotional moment, showcasing his and George's genius and beauty.

Ob-la-di, Ob-la-da - had EVERYONE on their feet, dancing and laughing. I love this song so very much, it always brings me joy and you could feel the joy in everyone during this one. Utter brilliance.

From there the concert just kept lifting and lifting, it was completely extraordinary.

Band on the Run - perfection!

Get Back and Let it Be - wonderful

Live and Let die -  BOOM!!!! pyrotechnics and sound, ultimate brilliance.

Hey Jude - my all-time favourite Beatles song, McCartney song, song. Singing along with 1000s of people, my sisters, and my love. Tears indeed.

He disappeared for a few minutes and then back for the encore.

I've got a feeling - a great underrated gem, made popular by the Get Back doco, now with Lennon spliced in, so Paul is doing a duet with his friend, a real goosebumps moment!

Helter Skelter - it bloody rocked! A surprise and well loved song by all, we all went off!!!!!

The finale was the Abbey Road trilogy which I adore. Golden Slumbers, The End, Carry That Weight. Oh boy, so very good.

And in the end, the love you take, is equal to the love you make. One of the best and most meaningful lines of lyrics ever written.

It was over, but we were happy and been given the best lifeline you could ever get. If everyone got to see a concert like this just once in their life, there would be no war, no sorrow. The joy should be bottled.

To be alive at this moment in time, to be able to see such a magnificent performance from someone I love so very deeply. It's something...

Setlist

1. Can't Buy Me Love

2. Junior's Farm

3. Letting Go

4. She's a Woman

5. Got To Get You Into My Life

6. Come On To me

7. Let Me Roll It

8. Getting Better

9. Let 'Em In

10. My Valentine

11. Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five

12. Maybe I'm Amazed

13. I've Just Seen A Face

14. In Spite of All The Danger

15. Love Me Do

16. Dance Tonight

17. Blackbird

18. Here today

19. New

20. Lady Madonna

21. Fuh You

22. You Never Give Me Your Money

23. She Came In Through the Bathroom Window

24. Jet

25. Being For The Benefit of Mr Kite

26. Something

27. Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da

28. Band on The Run

29. Get Back

30. Let It Be   

31. Live and Let Die

32. Hey Jude

encore::::

33. I've Got A Feeling

34. Birthday

35. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (reprise)          

36. Helter Skelter

37. Golden Slumbers

38. Carry That Weight

39. The End                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

                                                                                  

                                                                                                                                                                         

2017: the year that was

2017 was a huge year for me. Mostly good too. It had it's moments, but you know, that is life. But it also held some of the most amazing moments I have had in my life. Seeing Paul McCartney was definitely THE highlight of the year. But I also joined my beloved choir, saw Patti Smith twice, holidayed in Sydney and Hawaii, met Jimmy Barnes, and knocked it out of the park at work.

Work was quite amazing this year, finally a fully formed and functioning team. We really have worked hard and I am so proud of the fabulous people I work with. I was part of a few great projects, still working on the interior design of our many libraries and we are starting to look a little bit sexy! I finished my project with Carol Duncan while she went off to wow us politically. But not before one of our most wonderful interviews, Doug, our 100 year old local. Not a dry eye in the room on that day, from laughing and crying and crying laughing. I started work with a small team on a new library management system, which is quite enormous and will really heat up the first half of this year. And I was selected to work on change management while we undergo on our restructure this year.

And then there were Dinosaurs. Oh my goodness, I have never worked so hard in my entire working life and whilst there were odd times of frustrations (that is project work) is was easily one of the most exciting and fabulous things I have ever worked on during my almost 30 years in Libraries. So we had this spare space next to the library that we used for the odd event etc, but I always wanted it to be a gallery to showcase local art. This never happened until a great new manager with an arts background stepped in. She saw the space, thought it would make a great exhibition space and within a couple of months it was. A huge collaborative effort, and what a pleasure to work with all these fabulous people. My team stepped up to assist or pick up while I was absent doing gallery stuff or at meetings etc. So thrilled with them! I wrangled volunteers, which was a huge learning curve, and worked on events to match the exhibits. Dinosaurs has been successful beyond our wildest expectations with roughly 5000 people visiting the space as I write and we still have a month to go. Library stats have also gone up, and it has been so much fun.

As most of you will know, one of the downsides of my library work is the heat and lack of air-conditioning in the large glass west facing building! However, after years of campaigning, we finally have had some small air-conditioning units installed. Whilst not a proper fix (this is also in the works), they have made a difference which is great.

Maybe it was because I was so busy, but the black dog didn't raise his head too much this year. He was there - he always is, sigh - and I had some moments of lows, but for the most part he was absent and that is freaking fabulous! Anxiety on the other hand, was higher than I can remember. Unsure why, probably, as an introvert, I had a lot of extrovert things going on, which can raise the anxiety. Only 2 major health issues this year, first new meds which brought some other health issues back in control but unfortunately cause weight gain. Come on Doctors, you can do better surely! So I am just doing my best, but it's a bit of a shit fight. And then I was diagnosed with Anemia, which wasn't so bad, it just left me extremely tired. I would fall asleep at the drop of a hat. I went to a specialist to find out why, despite my gut telling me it's probably just me (which is fairly normal for some people). I underwent a huge array of tests, operations, procedures etc and found out I was really healthy internally lol, but no reason for my anemia. So I am back on tablets (which are a little challenging in terms of side effects) and hopefully will be back on track by Easter. It took a few months last year to get back on track but the specialist took me off the tabs to do all the tests...sigh. So I wasted a lot of time and money to find out I am healthy - anemia withstanding - so I am looking at that positively...sort of! 

Now on to the fun stuff, I am a firm believer of living life large, despite being an introvert. So I just try to balance it out with PJs days on the couch with a book, and all the comforts of Club Cathy. Having said that, I did have a far busier social year than usual, possibly where my anxiety hyped up from.

As always, I had fun times out and about with my gal pals, oh these gals, what I would do without them I do not know. You all know who you are and you all make such a difference to my life. We lunch, chat, talk on the phone, text, message, facebook, tweet, and insta each other. We head to the movies, see great art, music, theatre, and just hang out. Without you all I am nothing! And a few of them had horrific years, and for once I was there to hopefully help them rather than the other way around. And how it hurt me to see them hurting.

We had lots of family fun, as always. My niece, 10, and nephew, 15, are the loves of the life. They are so joyous and funny to be around, and real decent humans too, a credit to their parents. Of course, meeting them all in Hawaii was loads of fun, and a lovely way to ring in the new year.

And my love life was as topsy turvy as ever, but I wouldn't have it any other way. I am sure it feels like I share a lot of my life online, but I do try to keep personal stuff personal. I'm still dating and there are some lovely boys out there that just make me smile. Of course, for every lovely boy there are at least 6 fuckwits, but that's the nature of the beast and I am getting far better at spotting them and tossing them to side. I know a lot of people are vested in my romantic happiness, but honestly I am so busy I don't have much time for anything too serious right now. I am a-ok and what's meant to be is meant to be! Being a single gal has loads of benefits! And the dating is fun!

As always there was plenty of fun things to partake of here in The Hunter and elsewhere.

Kate Bush Day was a delight again, despite my red stockings nearly dropping to my feet!

I met a few authors, Caroline Baum and Jimmy Barnes, Heather Rose and Chris Krause. I attended the always wonderful Newcastle AND Sydney Writer's Festival and heard the most amazing authors talk, Richard Roxburgh, Roxane Gay, Paul Beatty, Michael Leunig, to name a few.

Our Twitter group had a few Karaoke nights, where I managed to suitably embarrass myself. And then I joined a choir, something I have been wanting to do for ages, but finding a suitable one was easier said than done. I have a whole lot of lovely new friends, and I am finding my Soprano voice again after years have passed since my Opera singing days. It is the most joyous thing, and so good for my soul. And within the group we join in the One Song Sing at The Edwards, where 100s gather to sing a song they learn in an hour - stupendous!!!

I saw lots of great art, attended loads of concerts, I went to the movies, theatre and markets. I explored suburbs in my home area and honed my photography. I bought a new Uke. You can read all about my highlights or best ofs here.

I had a lovely mini holiday in Sydney earlier in the year, caught up with family there, some great art, and of course saw Patti Smith perform her Horses (and then some) album live.

And was back later in the year to see my musical hero, Paul McCartney. I am still thinking about how perfect that evening was.

Of course, ending and commencing the year in Hawaii, was something else! What a lovely place to visit, how laid back it was, the food and people divine, I have never felt so relaxed in my life and a perfect way to commence 2018!

Life is pretty darn good you know. looking back I cannot really remember the lows, just the highs, and that's a really good place to be.

Stay tuned for my hopes and aspirations for 2018!

DECEMBER ROUND UP

To say December was huge, is a, well, huge understatement!

Well, I guess everyone's December is huge, with Christmas and New Years Eve and prep for both. So my December is a tad huger normally, with both my Dad and myself celebrating birthdays (mine being the fabulous - she says sarcastically - Boxing Day!).

And this year for fun I added in an overseas holiday and a mini trip to Sydney to see Paul McCartney!

And most of my family headed off overseas early December, so that meant two Christmas Days this year!

And work just did not settle down like it normally does in December!

But I have to say....what joy!!!!

Ok it had it's moments, but mostly it was joy!

Work usually settles in Dec/Jan, you get to catch up, do some extra planning, and just chill and catch your breath a bit. Which is extraordinarily important I think when you work as hard as my team does. Plus it is usually hot and we have no air conditioning. There were some plain awful days during December temperature wise, but it helped to know that in early December we will get some air conditioning units along our western side of the building (where we work and take the worst hits). This is going to be marvelous, but is not a 100% fix, having said that the building is being looked at for proper air con, which will be freaking heaven, but in the meantime these units will be a godsend!

With the addition of the gallery space to the library this year, we have worked so much harder, but oh my, it has been a blast. I love it, but with the big Dinosaur exhibit, we just have not settled like we normally do. It is so wonderful to see the community embrace the space and the exhibit as they have. I have been juggling a lot this year, I feel like I have worked the best year I have ever worked. I have worked on our new Library Management (Computer) System, the Furniture Group (organising what each of our libraries need to modernise their space), looked after Carol Duncan's Share the Story program (Before she headed off to be a politician), on top of regular work and of course the gallery.

And then we decided to open a couple of libraries between Christmas and New Year (we usually close), Swansea being one of them. I felt so bad I would be sunning it up in Hawaii, but some wonderful staff took on the hours which I am ever grateful for.

So yeah, work was insane, but hey, we survived!

I started the month catching up with my lovely friend Jayne, who had returned from her own adventures in Boston and New York. I love love love hearing people's travel stories, so we hit the pub, then dined at our fave, Saigon Feast, before indulging in gelato. What a great night, what great stories!

We had an early family Christmas, as my sister and her family and my other sister were flying out to the US and Canada. I would be meeting them in Hawaii. My sister and brother-in-law always put on the most amazing feed, a very traditional Christmas, and it was great.

I enjoyed more Christmas celebrations with my friends, Vince, Nole, and Kathy.

Then a week later, Dad's birthday, at our local pub.

We had a special adults wine and cheese evening at work to listen to the owner of the Dinosaurs talk about his collection.

Cathy and I had an early birthday celebration with lunch, shopping, Star Wars (sooo good) and dinner. We always have great fun out and about, chatting and laughing, always laughing. What joy!

Our lovely work team had a Christmas dinner at Belmont Yacht Club.

Cathy and I had a simple Christmas lunch of Fish and chips before I headed overseas.

And of course actual Christmas was different this year, with just me and Mum and Dad, and we had a lovely day and skyped the family enjoying a white Christmas in Canada.

My birthday was very low key here, as I was flying out that night to Hawaii.
More about that in another blog. But my year ended so beautifully, the best I have ever had!!

Of course, the highlight of my month, year, quite possibly life, was seeing my musical hero, Paul McCartney. I am still thinking and smiling about that night, what brilliance, what genius, what joy. You can read all about it here.

This is what I have been reading, watching, listening to.

And the usual pics.