DanMargarita.com

Paul McCartney maybe a grandfather (and possibly a great-grandfather, for all I know), but he can still rock & roll.

The hassle of the MBTA’s Green Line didn’t deter me from grabbing a last minute ticket to see the former Beatle at Boston’s Fenway Park this evening. Hell, these days if I get to my destination alive via the Green Line, that qualifies as a success.

I’m guessing that my grousing about the service, or lack thereof, at the MBTA Lechmere stop on the Green Line probably had nothing to do with agency head Dan Grabauskas resigning the next day. However, it may have been my grousing about the two-car trains going only as far as Park Street Station on the way back that did it. Then again, it was more likely the deaths, injuries and millions of dollars in damage caused by incompetent or negligent train drivers that forced him to resign.

I wasn’t planning on going to McCartney’s first show but after hearing that tickets were still available, I went online and grabbed the cheapest ticket possible.

Normally a right field roof box seat might not be the most desirable for a concert at Fenway, but after a 91 degree, humid and sweltering day, the breezes this locale provided made it better than the more expensive seats.

When the Beatles famously played Shea Stadium in 1965, not only could the fans seated in the stands (and not on the field like Fenway) barely see the Beatles but also couldn’t hear them over their own screams. For that matter, the Beatles, playing a stadium before stadium sound system technology was invented, couldn’t even hear themselves. Fortunately for me that problem has been overcome and the booming sound and large screens made my distant vantage point irrelevant.

McCartney had all the veteran rock star points down pat, clearly doing his homework in making the proper references.

“Is that the Green Monster?” and then “Is that Ted’s red seat?” he inquired, along with other frequent mentions of Fenway and the Red Sox.

He came on promptly at 8:00 p.m. and played a solid two-and-a-half hour set, which included two or three encores, peppering the show with songs from his vast Beatles and solo career. The Liverpudlian also threw in some new songs, a couple of which were pretty good. McCartney didn’t make the mistake that even many veteran rockers make, however. Too often performers introduce a new song with a phrase like, “This one’s from our new album” which to many in the crowd serves as a cue that it’s a good time to go and take a leak. People come to hear the songs they know and love.

Sure, the majority of the crowd were recipients of the AARP newsletter, but there were a few younger people there as well, as McCartney noted. Not that time hasn’t taken a bit of a toll on some of the high notes that Macca strained to reach, but the fact that he’s willing to try for them is admirable.

The next night’s show, McCartney followed almost the exact if not the exact same song set, as well as most of the same jokes and stories. He even mentioned Babe Ruth along with Ted Williams. If he had mentioned Jimmy Piersall, I really would’ve been impressed. He certainly was given the proper notes to hit, and I don’t just mean musically.

I’m wondering if I perform on the road if I’ll have to learn the local landmarks and references.

“Hello, Bradford-on-Avon, United Kingdom. It’s great to be here at Kensington Stadium. Is that where Graham Gooch scored 40 wickets against Winsley?”

McCartney appeared a bit tired the second show but being a solid professional, he soldiered on and gave the crowd their money’s worth. Doing two shows in a row at his age is admirable but certainly must be exhausting.

Just try and picture your parents or grandparents at age 67 grabbing an electric guitar and rocking out with songs like “Helter Skelter” or “I’m Down.”

I hope that when I’m his age I get to do something I love and get paid for it. I hope at my age I get to do something I love and get paid for it. Hell, I hope that I get to his age, period.