When I heard that Paul McCartney was coming to Utah I vowed that I would do anything and everything in my power to get my family there. This once-in-a-lifetime opportunity was not going to pass me by, it just wasn't an option. I immediately text-ed my dad to see if he'd heard. Yes, he had. Then I called my mom and told her we were going. She was down, and she told me to look into it. I called BFF Rachel Jenkins (a.k.a. music connoisseur) to freak out. She informed me that her stepdad was all over this priceless situation & was ready to buy presale tickets only available to Amex card holders. Long story short, we aren't Amex-ers, so Rachel bought presale tix for us to secure our booties seats at the hottest show ever! Thanks, Rach, I owe you sooooo big!
My parents are both big Beatles fans, and my dad especially loves them, so you know I was raised right. One of my fave memories of my dad is singing along to Hey Jude while he played it on the guitar. I also went through a bit of a Beatles super-fan stage my junior/senior years of high school where I wrote a research paper on John, acquired Paul's most recent live album, and checked books on the band out of the library over & over. And just so you know, I feel no remorse for making my friends listen to Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds on the way to school every single day. Not even a little.
You know how you continue to learn things about your spouse, even after you get married? Well, one of the biggest and most shocking things I learned about Richard is that his family had different taste in music than mine, and he didn't know ANY Beatles music. None. Not that there's anything wrong with that (except that there kind of is!). I mean, who doesn't know the Beatles?! That little nugget of information really surprised me because of how much he loves music, and how incredibly talented he is. Anyway, I "surprised" him with the tickets, and considered this to be a music education/appreciation experience for him. My dad made a cd of the set list from Sir Paul's recent shows & I think Richard enjoyed the show much more because of it. Thanks, dad!
I was literally counting down the days to the concert. I kept sending my family text messages trying to psych them up as much as I was - my dad was usually the only one to respond (thanks, again). The day of the show it was all I could do to make it through work. I swear I can't even remember the last time I was this excited for anything. Such is life that things that the night didn't go off without a single hitch (sister nearly broke her wrist, but crisis averted), but even that didn't keep this from being one of the best nights of my life. Seriously.
Here is a little peek at one of my all-time fave memories/experiences:
Sweating in the "cheap" seats. Luckily the clouds came out & the wind came to our rescue.
I should note that we had a great view...thanks to the giant screens to the sides of the stage HA!
Even waiting for the show to start was fun!
Only 4 tickets could be bought at a time in the presale, so the sisters sat on their own behind us (next to The Answer Man).
This is phase #1 of their mood for the evening: kinda ornery, but surviving.
WAAAAHH!! Paul is definitely not dead! He sounded great, and danced around a lot!!!
I was amazed & completely thrilled. I love him, yeah yeah yeah!
His favorite sign in the crowd said, "Paul, you're in Utah...Marry us!" He loved it.
Phase #2: Getting excited & actually having fun.
I can honestly say that this is the first time I can ever remember seeing my dad dance...
let alone with the whole family, and for hours at a time! Classic.
You can't see my mom's whole face, but can't you just feel how much fun she's having
by the look in her eye?!
Pretty sure I'm singing Ob-la-di, Ob-la-da at this exact moment.
Singing along with Paul Mc-freaking-Cartney!!!
Phase #3: Singing and dancing - I love it, now!
*got fancy and put this video from my camera on youtube because blogger was being lame*
FYI: I'm completely aware that my camera sucks.
My personal favorite moment of the night: Hey Jude.
I may have cried just a little. But they were happy tears.
Mom & Dad, holding hands while listening to their song (the one that was playing when they first said
"I love you" while they were dating) Let it be, being sung live, by the very Beatle who wrote it.
Now, that's romantic.
This was when we thought the show was over...before his TWO encores!
Can you believe that people actually left before that? Idiots.
I don't know if I've ever smiled, clapped, screamed, sang, danced, and felt as much pure joy as much as I did at this concert.
It was amazing. AMAZING.
A completely unforgettable night with my parents. It meant so so so much to me!
Thanks, fam! This was seriously like a dream.
Dream. Come. True.
