Win two different lotteries and fly 6,000 miles, or, spend a
lot of money, go to the concert on your birthday, and parley your name and
nationality into a one of a kind tattoo.
Although Paul McCartney has only released one “top to bottom”
jazz album, many Beatles hits have become jazz standards. One of the ensembles
I played in even featured a very “French café” sounding version of Michele. Which
has nothing to do with why I went to see him at the Tokyo Dome two weeks ago.
The view in the dome, thirty minutes to show time, approximately one quarter mile from the stage. |
A happy confluence of events: Mrs. S and I scheduled a trip
to Japan around the time that Paul was going to be in Japan. This was not as
easy as it sounds, because the air tickets were freebies that were won in a
drawing at a Japanese cultural event, and needless to say, airlines don’t mind
giving away free tickets, but they are loathe to actually allow you use them,
never mind pick a particular date. Nonetheless, she managed.
Same view, two minutes to show time. |
Then, her sister entered the lottery to be allowed to
purchase tickets to one of the Paul McCartney concerts at the Tokyo Dome, and
was selected to be a purchaser. She picked up four tickets in the best section
she could, which although we were quite far from the stage, we at least had a
clear and unobstructed view.
Somewhere in there is a former Beatle, Wings leader, and knight of the realm. |
The concert was great. 71-year old guy sang 39 songs for two
hours and forty five minutes non-stop. Not bad at all. I've got another concert
memory, and I saw a genuine legend of rock and pop music perform live. No
complaints there. It’s almost makes me Paul-crazy.
Speaking of which, let me share a story.
One of Mrs. S’s friends is a big Paul McCartney fan. She
paid a couple thousand bucks to be in the front row all three nights Paul
played in Tokyo. Anyway, she knows another girl who became a big fan of Paul’s.
When she was 24, that girl traveled to Montreal and since she had purchased a
VIP package, she attended the sound check. At the sound check, she held up a
big sign saying, “I traveled all the way from Japan and today is my birthday!”
or some such, and sure enough, Paul called her up on stage. As soon as she got
on stage, she bared her left shoulder and asked him to autograph it for her.
Paul was a bit embarrassed, but signed anyway. After he signed, he asked her
what her name was. She told him: “Yoko.” Paul said, “Ah, I've heard that name
before.”
The next day, the girl went to a tattoo shop and had the
signature tattooed in place. So wherever you are, Yoko-san, send me a picture of your
tattoo. My readers and I want to see it!