Paul McCartney concert June 15, 2008
Posted by Olexandr Melnyk in : Travelling , trackbackJust about nine hours ago I have arrived home from Sir Paul McCartney’s performace on the Independence Square in Kyiv. The concert was astonishing, even though Paul has brought the English weather with himself. :)
In the afternoon, when I have arrived to Kyiv, the weather in Kyiv was rather sunny and promising to be good at the show time.
One of the screens to show the concert
But, to my disappointment, a huge area around the stage was blocked by the policemen.
Blocked area
After that I went ot the largest book bazar in Ukraine and met with my friend Ihor Nikiforov. We got back to the city center around 17:30, thinking about going through Kyiv’s places of interest before the concert.
Ihor (left) and me (right)
However, around 18:00, when we were staying in a few hundred meters in front of the stage, the sky got darker and a serious rainstorm started. We were lucky enough that I had an umbrella.
Cloudy sky
But, as time proved it wasn’t sufficient to not get totally wet.
Some guy under rain
In a short while, after the rain had calmed down, the crowd broke through the fence and we used our chance to get closer to the stage. But the rainstorm got harder again.
Raining
Around 21:20, a 20-minute countdown started, after which Paul with his crew fininally entered the stage, saying “Pryvit, druzi” (stands for “Hello, friends”).
He was also saying several other Ukrainian phrases during the concert, such as “Dyakuyu” (and its Russian equivalent “Spasibo”) and “Vidryvayemos!”, which stand for “Thank you” and “Let’s have fun!”, respectively.
Show started with The Beatles hit Drive My Car, and was followed by a bunch of other songs from Paul’s solo albums. as well, as those from Wings and The Beatles repertoires. Two of The Beatles songs were dedicated to George Harrison and John Lennon.
After 20 minutes of the concert
After 40 minutes of the concert
The rainstorm was going on, periodically decreasing and increasing throughout the concert. In the middle of the concert, when the rain was almost over, Paul invited the public to get back to history for a bit, and played Back in the U.S.S.R. It was an impressive play and had warmed up the public even more, as Ukraine is mentioned in that song:
Well the Ukraine girls really knock me out
They leave the west behind
…
:)
Another song was accompanied by the fireworks.
The fireworks
Among all songs “Hey, Jude” and “Let It Be” were among my favorites.
Hey, Jude
Around 23:50, the crew left the stage and the crowd started crying “Yesterday!”. In less than a minute, the whole crew came back and played one of the best songs of all time.
It was followed by Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, which was the last song played on the concert. Paul thanked the crowd, said “See you again” and the crew left the stage. After that both me and Ihor left the square, but people on the way back still reminded about the concert.
Guy in the metro
Important to note is that, although the concert was free to visit, money raised from the concert sponsors will be spent on diagnostic equipment for Ukraine’s National Cancer Institute’s children’s department.
Comments»
no comments yet - be the first?