Third time lucky
When the news about McCartney's Tel Aviv concert broke on Saturday evening, about a month ago, it was received with some skepticism. After all, previous attempts to bring him to Israel failed: 1964 saw the famous incident in which Israel missed its opportunity to host a Beatles concert. Fifteen years later, in the Summer of 1979, Wings were supposed to arrive for several shows in Tel Aviv, but a disagreement between the promoter and the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra, who expected to use the same venue for rehearsals, caused the cancellation of the shows. However, the term "third time lucky" proved itself right for Israel. On the night of his late wife Linda's birthday, Paul was going to do an historic show in Tel Aviv.

Proportions
No matter how much space it gets in global news reports, Israel is actually a small country. We all know that McCartney has lately become used to playing for hundreds of thousands people, but that couldn't happen here. There is no venue big enough for that. Also, the prices of the tickets were so high that many people couldn't afford them. Therefore it was expected that about 35,000-40,000 would attend the concert. That is considered a huge crowed here.

The Beatle has landed
On Wednesday Sept 23 Paul's private jet was landed in Israel at around 2:00am. In what looked like a scene from "A hard Day's Night" he was rushed to his hotel in a 2 car convoy – one that misled the paparazzi and fans who waited for him at the hotel, while he actually used the other one.
At 11:00am he was supposed to meet the Israeli press. "Just photographers and TV" he asked. "No journalists. No questions." Therefore a massive selection was made. However, armed with our family video camera and a digital stills one by my side I managed to sneak in thanks to the help of a fellow journalist who made it in earlier.
Excited to see Paul in person we waited… and waited… and waited… After 4 hours the great man arrived, scattering around tones of charm and charisma. Everything was forgotten, even the fact that he actually gave us less then 2 minutes of his time, before rushing to visit Bethlehem. Much later that day he found the time for a full dress rehearsal in the concert's venue at Park Hayarkon, which, sadly, we missed.

Soundcheck
Standing firm on our decision not to miss the soundcheck as well, we arrived at the park at 2:30pm. The place was packed with fans who braved the strong sun and the heat, and arrived much earlier to be the first in the line and get the best spot.
At  4pm, which was the time we expected McCartney to go onstage for the soundcheck, there was actually no sign of him. "It's ok, he's late. He's always late" we assured ourselves, and we were right. At About 4:40pm the band came out from their luxury backstage tent, and after some chatting and posing for photographs, they ran through 12 numbers, including "Celebration" and "Midnight Special," about 45 minutes in all.

Showtime
The concert was supposed to start at 8:00 pm, but we knew it wouldn’t: "Paul is always late" we insisted, and again we were right. Thirty minutes later Paul came on stage, kicking in with "Hello Goodbye" and "Jet". Ever the crowd pleaser, Paul went really far with chatting in Hebrew, greeted the crowed with "Shana Tova" for the new Jewish year, not forgetting the Muslims in the park, greeting them with "Ramadan Kareem".
In general, the show was shorter then the ones he gave in Kiev and Quebec, but the crowd, 47,000 strong, didn't seem to mind. Paul was surprised to find they knew all the words to the songs and seemed to enjoy every minute. Even the thousands who parked outside the venue – those who couldn't afford even the cheaper seats – caught his attention, and he found the time to ask if they enjoy the show.
After 2 encores - and one Sgt. Pepper – it was time to call it quits, and Paul sent the crowd to go home and sleep.

On our way back home one thing came in mind: if the Bible will ever be updated to cover these days as well, this fantastic show will surely be mentioned.
 
 

Playlist

Soundcheck
1. Let Me Roll It   2. Coming Up   3. All My Loving   4. Only Mama Knows   5. jam     6. Celebration   7. jam   8. C Moon   9. I'll Follow The Sun
10. Midnight Special   11. Calico Skies   12. Dance Tonight

Concert
1. Hello Goodbye   2. Jet   3. Drive My Car   4. Only Mama Knows   5. All My Loving   6. Flaming Pie   7. Let Me Roll It   8. My Love   9. Let 'Em In
10. The Long And Winding Road   11. Dance Tonight   12. Blackbird   13. Calico Skies   14. I'll Follow The Sun   15. Mrs. Vandebilt   16. Here, There and Everywhere
17. Eleanor Rigby   18. Something   19. A Day In A Life / Give Peace a Chance   20. Band On The Run   21. Back in the U.S.S.R.   22. I've Got A Feeling
23. Live And Let Die   24. Let It Be   25. Hey Jude
1st Encore - 26. Lady Madonna   27. Get Back   28. I Saw Her Standing There
2nd Encore - 29. Yesterday   30. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band / The End