Editor's Note: We asked CultureMap staffers and contributors to recall their favorite moments of 2012. Clifford Pugh recalls his concert-of-a-lifetime.
The evening of the Paul McCartney concert didn't start off well. Getting to Minute Maid Park was a nightmare in snarled traffic, a rushed dinner at a nearby Mexican restaurant was nearly inedible and as the concert was supposed to begin, we waited in long lines that snaked around the baseball stadium because of a delayed sound check.
Nearly an hour later, when McCartney finally appeared on stage, I longed to be home in bed. But once he opened with "Magical Mystery Tour," the evening, indeed, turned magical.
For the next three hours, McCartney sang his heart out, with 37 songs that spanned his long career and my life.
For the next three hours, McCartney sang his heart out, with 37 songs that spanned his long career and my life.
He never left the stage as he mixed old favorites — "All My Lovin'," "Paperback Writer," "Eleanor Rigby," "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da," "I Got a Feeling," with soulful songs ("BlackBird"), flat-out rock numbers ("Back in the U.S.S.R.") and flashy pyrotechnics ("Live and Let Die").
It certainly helped that my friend had scored front-row seats and we were so close to the stage that we could feel the heat from the fireworks. But even if I had been in the rafters of the open-roofed stadium, I believe I would have experienced something special.
Arguably the 20th century's premier entertainer, the 70-year-old McCartney proved he hadn't lost a beat.
I left the stadium toward midnight with confetti on my jacket, a hoarse voice from singing along to every song and a memory of one of 2012's best moments that continues to linger in my mind.
