Photo: AFP
Paul McCartney set the internet on fire twice this week when he posted last-minute announcements Tuesday and Wednesday that he would be playing at the Bowery Ballroom, with tickets for the shows being sold that day and only at the historic venue’s box office. During the shows, the 82-year-old musical legend played several of the songs from his days with The Beatles and Wings, as well as some of his solo material, and had about 500 fans in a lather the entire time. Ken Dashow, afternoon drive DJ at Q104.3 and host of “Breakfast with the Beatles” on Sunday mornings at 8am, knows a thing or two about concerts in general and McCartney in particular. He scored a seat for Wednesday’s performance; with no exaggeration in his delivery, Dashow appeared on 710 WOR’s Mendte in the Morning program and declared the show to be “the greatest concert experience of my entire life.”
Dashow set the scene for an envious host Larry Mendte: "Paul is so casual. He makes it feel intimate. He tells stories about his life, about writing this song or that song, and he’s very casual. He started playing “Getting Better,” and as he started to play it, he said, ‘No, hold it, stop. I’m in the wrong place on the guitar. Wait- I’m playing down here, but it should be up here, so I’m going to start again.’ And the audience is looking at him, smiling, and he says, ‘It’s okay, I’ve got it- I should have it; I wrote it!’”
When pressed on the possibility that Sir Paul might do it again, Dashow gave an enthusiastic best guess: “If I knew, I would actually break the omerta and tell you I know, but I don’t. There are rumors of a third show tonight, maybe tomorrow night. There’s a rumor; all I can say is, if you could, and you got to the Bowery Ballroom at 7:30, 8 in the morning- is it worth it, because there’s a chance there’s a show tonight or tomorrow? Yeah- it’s that worth it, because this is never going to happen again. Gershwin is playing his piano for you in his living room. Mozart is playing for you in his living room- go!”
Photo Credit: Getty Images