syzygy_dw | Official Reaction Post: Paul McCartney at Quebec's 400th (Reply)

^^^ See that guy there in the left corner? That's Sir Paul!

Paul McCartney only does a handful of shows a year, so the fact that he did Quebec City was an amazing coup. It's Quebec City's 400th anniversary this year, and the city has been celebrating since New Year's Eve. There have been tons of free concerts and events all over the city, and the Paul McCartney concert was the big headliner. They planned for about 300,000 people to turn up for the event. I think the final estimate was about 270,000, but I think they may have been lowballing it. One of my friends is guessing 400,000.

People, as far as the eye could see

My friends Andre and Tanya are hardcore McCartney fans, so they got up at 6am yesterday, and drove six hours from Fredericton, New Brunswick to Quebec City just for this show. They'd been to a wedding the night before, too. Like I said, hardcore.

They got here at about noon, and it wasn't until they arrived that I decided to go to the concert. I'd had a vague idea of watching the show from a venue with a screen, but I was won over by Tan and Dre's enthusiasm. I'm very glad they convinced me, too, because it was the experience of a lifetime. I know that sounds a little cliché, but it's true. I mean, it's Paul McCartney!

The actual concert site wasn't that far from where I live, so we just walked down. They didn't let people onto the actual site until 6:00, but people started camping out on the Plains of Abraham on Saturday. The three of us wandered around one area, thinking it was where the lines were forming, but the people there were gathering to watch the show on the big screens. As Andre said, "I didn't drive six hours to watch this concert on a screen." (We decided to keep the screening area as our backup location in case we didn't get on-site.)

We finally managed to find the area where people were lining up, and claimed a bit of lawn to sit on. There were thousands of people in our little area, and you would think that a huge crowd waiting around for hours in the sun and the heat and the humidity would have eventually turned sour, but everyone was in great spirits. A local radio station was broadcasting live from the event site, and they played nothing but Beatles, Wings and McCartney songs. The entire crowd was singing along, and everyone seemed to be genuinely enjoying themselves.

The crowd before we were let in

They finally started letting people onto the actual site at around 6:00. We managed to score a really great spot to the right of the stage on a hill. We had a perfect view of the stage, and although we were just a bit too far to see any detail, there were two huge screens flanking the stage, so we didn't miss a thing.

The show opened with The Stills and the Pascale Picard Band, who were both amazing. They had people dancing and singing and just having a fantastic time.

The Stills

Pascale Picard

But it was Sir Paul we all came to see, and I have never seen a crowd react to someone the way they did to him. From the second he stepped on-stage to his bow after the second encore, everyone was on their feet, clapping and cheering and singing along. He made an amazing effort to address the crowd in French, which drew all kinds of applause. "Bonjour, tout le gang!"

OMFG! Paul Freaking McCartney!!!1!one!!!

McCartney sang 36 songs, and the crowd rocked along with him every second. The only exception was during "Blackbird". Everyone held their breath reverently, and anyone who dared sing along was told to hush. It was amazing. Later, McCartney kicked it up with "Live and Let Die"-- complete with unexpected fireworks! The crowd lost it collective mind at that! The audience also went nuts when he dedicated "Birthday" to "une dame qui a 400 ans", and when he sang a medly of "A Day in the Life" and "Give Peace a Chance" for John Lennon. And being in a crowd of 300,000 people singing "Hey, Jude" is something I will never, ever forget.

Tanya, Andre and I were blown away by the fact that we were there witnessing this. More than once, we just hugged each other and yelled "Can you believe we're here?"