paul mccartney concert

September 28, 2005 by  

I saw Paul McCartney in Boston last night and was surprised at how amazing was this concert comprised of mostly 45 yr old Beatles’ songs.  The band, the awesome holographic stage and light show, the pacing, and the sheer number of songs they did (36?) made it a memorable show.

Also, Paul McCartney provided a great opportunity for me to witness the kind of connection with an audience that I think is critical to the success of any communication or presentation.  He gave a number of short, simple talks between songs and sets which added a lot to the program.  They were very effective because they were diverse little vignettes and stories, each having an element of surprise, and told by Paul very naturally and graciously.  However, the impact  was so significant because these stories related to, and even expanded upon, the the timeless and universal qualities of the Beatles’ repetoire.  My favorite story was was how "Good Day Sunshine" was played for the NASA Discovery astronauts last July as they ended a difficult and dangerous mission and began a second re-entry attempt. 

These are some other things I remembered about his stories:

  • he used "we" and "you" …not "I" 
  • he used first names (John, Ringo, George, Linda) 
  • he frequently expressed gratitude and did so quietly
  • he seemed completely comfortable with himself including any awkwardness

The result was a true alignment between him and the audience.  I felt engaged, interested, connected and never ‘turned-off".  Well…except for one thing.  Before the band came out, there was a retrospective film that was a montage of photos and video footage overlaid with Paul’s narrative (the sound quality was poor and the Cockney accent was impossible to decipher).  I found it to be far too long and not a good lead-in for the show.  My mind kept yelling "c’mon…we’ve been waiting for hours…let’s get on with the show!!". 

I reminded myself:  do not bore your audience with too much upfront "about you"; and don’t deceive yourself that slick multimedia packaging will save you.  In this case the show, was so fantastic that this misstep was quickly forgotten.  But in the business world, a mistake like that could result in a crash and burn scenario. 

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