Paul McCartney’s last Vancouver show was in 1964 with the Beatles.MARIO ANZUONI/Reuters
His last Vancouver show whipped up so much hysteria that police ordered it shut down after just 29 minutes. And while there likely won't be riots or throngs of screaming teens as there was for the Beatles at Empire Stadium back in 1964, Paul McCartney's long-awaited return is being just as feverishly, if more mutedly, anticipated.
"It's a huge deal. I'd like to say we're Paul fans, but we're even more than that. His music has been the soundtrack to our lives," says Jody Tennant, who plays "Paul" in the B.C. Beatles tribute band Fab Fourever. "So it's a dream that he's finally coming to our city."
Now 70 years old, the rock icon and outspoken animal-rights advocate is still packing stadiums – the upcoming Vancouver and Edmonton shows sold out in minutes – and treating lifelong fans to hits such as Let It Be, Yesterday, Hey Jude, Back in the U.S.S.R., Band on the Run, Live and Let Die and dozens more.
For Mr. Tennant – who got married to McCartney's music and says the songs helped him through his son's brush with a life-and-death illness – seeing Mr. McCartney in his hometown is such a dream that he and his wife, his three kids and his mother are all dressing up in Sergeant Pepper costumes for the show, praying they'll meet their hero as they did in passing several years ago.
"He can pick and choose wherever he wants to play, whenever he wants to play – and for him to choose Vancouver I think is a tremendous boon. We are attracting one of the biggest artists of any generation," Mr. Tennant says. "It's going to be a concert for the ages."