Paul McCartney - Back In The World 2003

Birmingham NIA - 13th April 2003

Some of you may know, I'm a member of the Beatles section of a RockOnline Forum. I've really enjoyed reading my fellow members reviews of Paul's Driving USA Tour from last year. After waiting patiently, it was now my turn! It was also my turn to 'borrow' the forum banner!! It was made by a fan in New York (Hi Deb/LM!) and has been sent around to members to take to Paul's shows. It was then sent to me (Thanks Annabelle & Steve), so it can follow Paul to Europe on his tour!

Anyway, I set off to see Paulie in Birmingham on April 13th 2003 ( I saw a big billboard advertising the 'Back In The World' album on the way!). Outside the National Indoor Arena (NIA), I could see all of the crew's trucks and coaches. We had to queue up for a short while until the staff opened the doors. I took this opportunity for a 'photo of the banner' session! I got some other fans to help me hold it up (see pics!). They didn't mind at all. Eventually, we made it inside. In the foyer, they were collecting money for the 'No More Landmines' charity. The merchandise stand queue was heaving and was blending in with the queue for the refreshments stand (That's something I don't like about this venue - People take food and drink in - I mean, Who wants to eat burger and chips at a time like this!!).
I decided to give the queues a miss and headed straight for my seat. Although, I got a beautiful souvenir programme with lots of photos and interviews. We were seated in the central block of seats near the back. At this point it was still possible to see the stage, which was great! Before the show, you could send text messages (cell phone messages) to a number and they would display them on the screen on the stage. I had to do it!!

There were a mixture of "Hello Mums", "Rock on Paul", "Play, Hey Jude for me" and humorous messages. I sent up 4 or 5 and 3 were shown - more than once as they were on rotation and the hall wasn't completely full yet - The machine wasn't getting buffered up with texts!! Anyway, mine were:

"Hi 2 all at the Hanmade Website & Rockonline forum! Hi to Paul too! Luv Hannah with the banner!X"
"Good luck to Ricky Gervais at the Baftas!"
"Any Kevin Montgomery, Jeff Finlin, Pat Buchanan fans out there?"

 - They appeared in bright blue and red text on the stage at a Macca show in front of everyone in the arena. Cool idea Paul!!

About an hour later, the lights dimmed and the pre-show event began. It was a mixture of 'circus' type performers walking around the floor isles with huge balloons and on stage, people dressed in fancy costumes, as statues and for acrobatics. It was very theatrical! They were backed by Paul's alter-ego, 'The Fireman'. This lasted for about 20 minutes - I didn't really understand it I must admit, but as it said in the programme, "What in the world is this? This is the pre-show. Comprehension is not compulsory". Then, the music and the performers gained speed and they suddenly disappeared off stage and we were left with a silhouette of a man holding a Hofner Bass behind a white screen!! The crowd cheered like mad as Paul and the band went straight into 'Hello Goodbye' - The show was underway! Above the stage were screens to show the band, fab videos and lighting effects - Which me and many others desperately needed. The whole of the central block (no-one else in the venue) decided to stay standing for the whole show! - Which meant I had to stand on tip-toe to see the stage - And when I did, the gap in the crowd I'd found was soon taken. There was no gain in standing all night. If anything, everyone would have had a better view if they'd stayed seated - Even though Paul would only look 2cm tall!:-) - At least we would have 'seen' him. I could have been watching my Driving USA DVD on the big screen for all I knew! Some people had bought binoculars with them, but I could have done with a periscope!! (ha ha). Anyway, moan over and back to the show.

It was just amazing! - When I said I could have been watching the DVD, in a way its a compliment as the songs and performances were so accurate! He's only got 3 other people in his band, but you'd believe there were more! On Guitar/Vocals was Rusty Anderson, Brian Ray on Bass/Guitar/Vocals, Abe Laboriel Jr. on Drums/Vocals and Paul "Wix" Wickens on Keyboards/Vocals. There were many highlights - I loved the 'personal' mentions, such as Paul talking about Birmingham and "Hello to people from Birmingham and surrounding areas"! I especially liked it when he commented on seeing the sign for 'Historic Warwickshire' every time he drives up the motorway from London to Liverpool. He said it was his favourite as its the only one that rhymes! - 'Historic Warwick'!:-) Throughout the night, Paul introduced the band to the audience. When it was Rusty's turn, he took a photo of the audience for his collection! He's a fantastic guitarist and reproduced the songs and guitar licks spot on! - As did the other guys in the band. I loved Wix's accordion - I wish I could play 'Here There and Everywhere' on mine, but I haven't got enough buttons!! They played for almost 3 hours - non-stop Macca classics, Beatles, Wings and solo hits! Some nice surprises included, 'Things We Said Today', 'Two Of Us','I've Just Seen A Face', 'Every Night', 'Calico Skies', 'Birthday' and 'She's Leaving Home' - Although, every song was special. Being able to hear the songs live performed by Paul McCartney himself is something I shall never forget!

Before he played, 'Loving Flame', he dedicated it to Heather (Mrs. McCartney), who was in the audience. During this song, they showed the promo video for it on the screen - Which I had never seen before. The videos and visual effects were spectacular and very psychedelic! - Most memorable being during, 'Live and Let Die'! At various times, Paul was left alone on stage for solo acoustic numbers - Two of which were tributes to his "mates", John and George. Here he performed, 'Here Today' for John and 'Something' for George on the ukulele (Which I'm currently practicing!). I had seen Paul do the George tribute last year at the 'Concert For George', but I could tell from some of the audience's reactions that it was new for them. 'Something' you'll never forget!:-) Paul spoke about George being a big George Formby fan and that he used to go to the fanclub conventions in the Tower Ballroom, Blackpool. Definitely a highpoint of the night - As was 'Getting Better', ' Band on the Run', 'Back in the USSR' and 'Michelle'.

On the second encore, the band closed the show with 'I Saw Her Standing There' (Wooooooo!) and 'Sgt. Pepper (Reprise)/The End'. All too soon, it was over. As the band took their bows, tickertape fell onto the audience, who were cheering and shouting for more! As we left our seats, we could hear Paul's version of 'Band on the Run', which had recorded for a Radio 2 advert. I decided to brave the merchandise stand again and this time bought a T-Shirt and some McCartney incense!! There was so much I could have bought.

On the way home I was listening to Radio 2 and Janice Long announced that she had just been to see him too with Stuart Maconie! I had to e-mail her when I got home!! She loved it too!! I don't think anyone could fault this or any of his shows (apart from the seating, but hey, I was there!!!!!) I can now say I've been to a Paul McCartney concert! Cheers Paul, Rusty, Abe, Brian and Wix - Rockin'!!!!!:-)

P.S: I was just about to upload this to the website when....I had a text message back from Paulie!!!!! It reads, "Hope you had a wonderful time at the show! It was great to play Birmingham! Checkout the DVD & CD of the show - BACK IN THE WORLD. Thanks Paul McCartney.". Okay, so it's an automatic message, but its still brilliant getting a text from Paul McCartney!!:-)

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE BANNER PHOTOS!