At 81, the ambassador of an unparalleled catalog of pop music played for almost three hours at Allianz Parque in front of 45 thousand fans
Since 2010, no country except the United States has hosted so many Sir concerts Paul McCartney like Brazil. The rocker has explored our lands like few international artists have been able to do and in recent years he has enchanted the crowds of several Brazilian capitals. For comparison, not even the English have the opportunity to see their most famous son play so often.
A rare privilege due to two factors. The first has a first and last name: Luiz Oscar Niemeyer, historic entrepreneur from Milan world of entertainment national, responsible for producing all the eternal Beatles tours in the country. Besides him, the Brazilian public has always had a lot of influence on Paul, who enjoys playing in front of an enthusiastic audience made up of several generations of fans: grandparents, parents and children who share the love for the music of the Fab Four.
Back to Brazil
Counting the nine shows of the tour Got back across the country – including the surprise performance in the tiny Clube do Choro, in Brasilia – Paul will perform a total of 37 concerts in Brazil since he first set foot here in 1990, in the iconic exhibition that attracted the most of 180 thousand people in Maracanã, the stage to which we return after more than thirty years on 16 December.
The Allianz Parque, in turn, welcomed the composer and multi-instrumentalist for the fourth consecutive tour. The stadium, located in the west of Sao Paulo, also has a special wing dedicated to the England star, who opened the venue in 2014, returning in 2017, 2019 and now 2023.
Rockshow
On the first of three sold-out nights in Sao Paulo, McCartney took to the stage at 8.30pm wearing a black overcoat and showing off the sacred Hofner double bass in front of 45,000 people screaming like it was 1964. In just a few seconds, he sang the lyrics of I can’t buy lovea Beatles classic, which might help explain why one of the richest men in the world still insists on continuing to play live at the age of 81:
“Hello San Paolo! Good evening, brothers!”, greeted Macca, in good Sao Paulo, before showing off the band’s talent with 70s rock. Junior’s farm – Rusty Anderson and Brian Ray, on guitars; Paul Wickens, on keyboards, and Abe Laboriel Jr., on drums, have been playing with the British legend for over twenty years.
Detail: just as happened in Belo Horizonte, the drummer played much of the show one-handed due to a sprained wrist. A monumental effort that did not prevent the musicians from playing every note with the respect that such songs require. That is, there is no room for improvisation, except in the terrain of the blues Let me roll, where a jam takes place at Mrs. Foxyby Jimi Hendrix.
Besides them there are the Hot City Horns, a trio of guys who incorporate saxophone, trumpet and trombone in unforgettable performances, such as the riff of To let goa Wings track with a groove soul musicin dance I have to let you into my life AND Lady Madonnaor in the epic parts of Live and let die, with traditional pyrotechnic displays reminiscent of the James Bond film.
The voice of an eighty-year-old gentleman, of course, is no longer what it used to be, but he still holds up almost three hours of show with admirable competence. He is capable of reaching the highest levels Helter Skelterheavy metal precursor, or she is a womana rarity from the “iê-iê-iê” phase of the Beatles, who had not played since 2004. His vocal projection, however, acquires greater prominence when he relies on the simple melodies of Black bird, I just saw a face OR Dance tonight, which constitute the acoustic section of the concert.
Nearly all of the Beatles’ 13 studio albums are represented. The diversity in the musical scope of the Liverpool quartet is evident, from the group’s beginnings with the innocence of Love me, do itpassing through the psychedelia of the 60s in the circus chaos of Be for the benefit of Mr. Kitefrom Sgt. Pepper’s (1967), to more sophisticated compositions such as the final medley of the album Abbey Road (1969).
As usual, tributes to the deceased former bandmates could not be missing. George Harrison appears on the big screen in Something; John Lennon’s presence is felt in two moments: in Here todayin which Paul makes a declaration of love to his best friend, and then in I got a feelingwhere the audience gets emotional seeing and listening to an excerpt of the Beatles’ last show, on the roof of Apple in 1969, with Lennon singing at the end of the song – a cathartic moment only made possible thanks to the artificial intelligence technology used by director Peter Jackson in the series Take up again and the new music of the Beatles, Occasionally.
However, there was no mention of guitarist Denny Laine, of Wings, who died last Tuesday, the 5th. Another mistake Paul made was to cut three songs from the setlist, one of which was You never give me your moneyawaited by the Beatlemaniacs.
The audience in Sao Paulo was not the liveliest, but showed participation in Hey Jude, with a unison choir in “Na Na Na”, in the choruses of Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da and to illuminate the arena while Paolo invoked his mother Mary in that song that brings tears to everyone’s eyes, Let it be.
Yesterdaythe most re-recorded song in history, is perhaps the most felt absence in the repertoire, even though the ballad has not appeared in the singer’s sets for some years – a fact that only demonstrates the strength of his triumphant and unparalleled catalogue, which excludes dozens more similar successes Penny Lane, Mull of Kyntyre, my love and many others.
The 36-song marathon concludes poetically: “And in the end, the love you give is equal to the love you receive,” concludes Paul in endbefore closing the curtain on the greatest show on Earth.
Source: Terra
Earl Johnson is a music writer at Gossipify, known for his in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the industry. A graduate of USC with a degree in Music, he brings years of experience and passion to his writing. He covers the latest releases and trends, always on the lookout for the next big thing in music.
