Paul McCartney rocks huge crowd for Quebec City's birthday party(Canadian Press)
QUEBEC — Music icon Paul McCartney exploded onto an old battleground Sunday, churning out a song list laden with Beatles tunes to a pumped up crowd on the historic Plains of Abraham.
The knighted ex-Beatle was in town to help Quebec City celebrate its 400th birthday - and he was an enthusiastic invitee.
"Bonsoir les Quebecois, bonsoir toute le gang," McCartney shouted to his faithful after he opened the show by belting out the Wings song "Jet."
The crowd erupted and the band turned it up a notch by ripping into Beatles' 1965 classic "Drive My Car," "Only Mama Knows," and "All My Loving."
"I only speak a little bit of French," he said in French before switching languages. "So, I will be speaking in English."
But McCartney, whose appearance raised the ire of some Quebec nationalists who said a Brit shouldn't be part of the city's festivities, alternated between the languages when addressing the crowd throughout the concert.
At one point, a huge image of Quebec's flag covered the stage backdrop during "Mrs. Vanderbilt." Later, he strutted around the stage waving the fleur-de-lis banner.
During "Yesterday," he came out wearing a souvenir-shop sweatshirt with "QUEBEC" written across the chest.
Organizers expected some 200,000 people at the free outdoor concert on the Plains of Abraham.
A massive tangle of swaying arms and bodies covered the rolling fields in front of the stage. It was McCartney's first appearance in Canada since 2005.
"C'est ma premiere visite a Quebec, and it's a great place," McCartney said, earning a roar from fans.
On several occasions, McCartney's English comments were translated into French and the words scrolled across the giant screens.
An energetic McCartney played 36 tunes through the two-and-a-half-hour show.
During the first half of the concert, he performed a mixed bag of Beatles, Wings and solo tunes.
The rest of the way was heavy on Fab Four hits, including "Hey Jude," "Get Back" and "Let It Be."
He started off "Something" on a ukulele that he said was a gift from George Harrison.
"That one was for George," he said.
He also paid homage to another deceased ex-bandmate, John Lennon.
"This song is dedicated to my friend John," he said in French, before starting into "A Day In The Life" and then "Give Peace A Chance."
McCartney later launched into an anniversary tribute with "Birthday."
"This song is for a woman who is 400 years old," he said in French. "Happy Birthday, Quebec."
Montreal band The Stills and up-and-coming Quebec City singer Pascale Picard opened the concert to set the stage for the legendary rock star.
Tens of thousands of music fans streamed onto the Plains of Abraham and spilled into the surrounding streets of Quebec City on Sunday in hopes of securing a good vantage point to watch the music icon.
Dozens of people started lining up as early as Saturday afternoon for a shot at nabbing coveted ground at the front of the stage.
When the gates finally opened a couple of hours before the show, a mass of fans flooded down a slope, as hundreds sprinted for the front row.
Seven jumbo screens were set up on the historic battlefield and along downtown streets, several of which were closed to traffic.
Hoping to guarantee themselves a spot in front of a screen, thousands of people camped early Sunday in the middle of the Grande-Allee, one of the provincial capital's main boulevards, while others were stretched out on the lawn of the provincial legislature.
The party in honour of Sir Paul also got underway early.
Beer vendors on the Plains made swift business throughout the day, which contributed to long lineups of swaying patrons waiting impatiently for portable toilets.
Meanwhile, whiffs of marijuana wafted through the crowd.
Restaurants and bars along the main drag blasted Beatles tunes and souvenir tents offered up the latest Paul McCartney gear.
Carol Cleeland travelled from New Jersey to see the show.
"We've been fans of the Beatles and Paul McCartney since the beginning," said Cleeland, who headed to the Plains of Abraham with her sister, Elizabeth, more than 12 hours before McCartney's concert.
"We love Paul McCartney's music and everything about him. He's just a really great guy."
Fan Leo Rodrigue sported a red Montreal Canadiens sweater with the name "McCartney" emblazoned across the back above the number one.
"I saw him the first time at the Montreal Forum, Dec. 9, 1989," Rodrigue said.
"It's the greatest. (He's) the greatest artist. All songs of McCartney is beautiful."
McCartney arrived in Quebec City on Saturday evening and was greeted by hundreds of adoring fans, many of whom had waited several hours outside the Chateau-Frontenac Hotel to catch a glimpse of the British knight.
Fans approached his car as it drove through the hotel parking lot and McCartney, who had his window partly down, waved to the crowd.
Journalists yelled questions at him from a distance as he got out of the car in the hotel's underground garage and he waved and replied, "Bonjour."
When one yelled: "Are you happy to be in Quebec City?", he gave a thumbs-up and shouted, "Oui."
The much-anticipated show, McCartney's only scheduled performance in North America this year, was part of Quebec City's 400th birthday bash.
But there are some in the province who would have preferred McCartney stayed home.
Several Quebec sovereigntists have been questioning McCartney's participation in Quebec City's 400th anniversary celebrations because of his British roots.
They claim his presence evokes painful memories of Britain's conquest of New France in 1760.
The Plains of Abraham was the site of the pivotal 1759 battle between British Gen. James Wolfe and France's Marquis Louis-Joseph de Montcalm.
In an interview with Radio-Canada on Thursday, the 66-year-old bassist brushed off the nationalists' claims.
"I think it's time to smoke the pipes of peace and to just, you know, put away your hatchet because I think it's a show of friendship," McCartney said.
http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5glulNN8jOyjabUGHTL6EoNrYNL3A 
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Geoff
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Oh well, I'm gonna go see him when he tours no matter what.
