Paul McCartney in Concert!

I splurged for a field seat ticket (section 3, row 27, seat 16) for a birthday gift to myself (which is on Friday) to see Paul McCartney in concert (July 12, 2013). I’ve always wanted to see him in concert but never had the opportunity. I missed out a few years ago.

When I heard about the pre-sale tickets for AMEX members, I bought one on the first day they were being sold. It was nerve-racking because once you enter the ticket site to select an area of the stadium, you have just a few minutes to finish the transaction. I was having credit card problems so it took quite a while.

I took the metro from Shady Grove to the Nationals Park in Washington DC, changing at the Gallery place metro station. Outside the stadium was just a block away. Easy! Lots of people were already gathering around the area and gates.

I arrived around 4:40pm to enjoy some VIP perks. I received an email invitation for those in the field for food, drink, live entertainment, early check in, etc. In one spot were comfortable chairs so I sat next to a couple (Rob and Angie) from Fredericksburg VA sipping a glass of wine. They were a nice couple and we had a good time talking. I also ran into a co-worker and her husband. He surprised her with tickets for her birthday.

Later I met up with a friend and her daughter and we had some dinner - I had a combo of jerk chicken, ribs, delicious potato salad and rice/beans. We stood near one wall (seats were taken) and ate our food while listening to Paul do his sound check inside the stadium. I was getting excited!

What an incredible show! This concert lasted three hours and we were lucky that it didn’t rain during the entire show (it had sprinkled every once in a while before the show).

The show was absolutely fabulous! Paul and his band performed three hours, to include two encores. They took no breaks except for the two-three minutes between the encores. I was amazed at Paul’s energetic performance for his age (71). His voice sounded great, he was upbeat, and you could tell he loves to play music and perform in front of a live audience.

Paul played a wonderful variety of music that spanned 50 years of his musical career: Eight Days a Week (opening song), Lady Madonna, Let it Be, Lovely Rita, Hey Jude, No More Lonely Nights, Silly Love Songs, Maybe I'm Amazed, Back in the USSR, Band on the Run, Something, and an incredible Live and Let Die with fireworks; and other songs. At the end, there were more fireworks, along with red, white, and blue confetti floating down from the sky.

This was one of the best night's of my life!

You can see all of my photos from the concert on this link (I used a Canon PowerShot HS SX280 camera):
http://www.pileggiphotography.com/Other/Paul-McCartney/30535517_qFvR6S#!i=2634252752&k=hdNPMvv