Liverpool Sound And Vision Rating * * * * *
Kiss in Birmingham, May 2017. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.
The art of the showman may entail many effects, a stage full of experience, the sprinkle of dust wherever possible, the unrelenting passion to pull off the impossible and the big sonic boom in which to thrill the audience with, that moment in which a crowd goes nuts, in which the night was well and truly owned by the fantastic and the sheer delightful.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
The love you take is equal to the love you make” sang McCartney’s sampled voice, mixed with some beats by the support DJ. It brought to an end the pre-show photo montage, which was accompanied by some fairly entertaining remixes of classic tracks.
Eschewing standard practice of the star following the rest of the band, Paul McCartney shuffled onto the empty stage alone, holding his signature Hofner bass…to a massive roar of the crowd, naturally. This humble manner was evident throughout the show. His in-between song banter is stilted and almost bashful; the polar opposite to his arguably over-rehearsed, P.R. style interview technique. McCartney realises that in the live situation, he doesn’t have to indulge in long introductions or throw rock star shapes. Rather, his astounding back catalogue does the talking and is actually the real star of the show.