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| Courtesy of The Chicago Tribune |
Sir Paul was here Wednesday night. But I wasn't there.
I have entirely too much credit card debt. Charlotte's final illness just added to it. I do not regret first trying to get her well and then my decision to ease her comfortably out of life. I loved her, she trusted me, she was my responsibility. But I did charge more than $1,300 at the vet.
Paul played only one night at the United Center, which seats about 16,500. When he was here in 2011, those glorious nights at Wrigley Field, he played two nights to crowds of 32,000+. So there were nearly 75% fewer tickets available this time and what happened next is predictable: The show sold out instantly and the scalper prices were exorbitant. It would have cost me $300 to just get into the United Center and be stuck up in nosebleed. And that doesn't include my souvenir(s) and the cab fare home.* It's easy to see how a decent seat where I could actually see and hear Sir Paul could have cost me $700.
I just couldn't afford it. And that blows.
So Wednesday night represented the first engagement Sir Paul has played here since 1976 where I wasn't there with him. I'm happy to report that he's fine, no lingering effects from his health scare earlier this year. (" …he performed for about two-and-a-quarter hours before the first encore without appearing to take a sip of water. He’s one of the wonders of the artistic world, a thoroughly joyous presence, and these moments must be savored.")
He's 72 now. I'm not sure he'll be back. But if he is, I'll want to be there ... if I can afford it.
*This is one of the neighborhoods that's plagued by crime. I love my city but I'm not an idiot and I don't have a death wish. I won't get on the Green Line at 11:00 at night.
