On June 13th the American satirical late night television program 'The Colbert Report' (with Stephen Colbert) broadcast an hour long show featuring Paul McCartney describing his music career with the Beatles and Wings, finishing up with his band playing live.
For those that saw the Rockshow post a week ago, on the 1972 show of Wings in concert it might have come as a surprise to see just how hard that band did rock back then. Now some 40 years later, many have their doubts as to how the now 71 year old (2 days ago) can keep the music rocking?
Hear this band playing 'Birthday' on the 'Colbert Report' and you'll wonder what all the fuss is about with old rockers visiting their old songs. With it's classic 12 bar sequence it's also a reminder McCartney was as cute as it gets in working a song form from anything that took his attention, whether it be from rock and roll, 1920's music hall, classic ballad or as with 'Birthday', a blues.
So how's that raw rock and roll vocal able to stand up on this belter?
With some recent open air performances, like the Olympic Games opening ceremony, it was showing signs of age but in context it's going to take most singers a song or two to find their voice when pitched cold in an outdoor venue, so judgement based on open air performance is somewhat unfair.
But here in the confines of a TV studio and no doubt plenty of warm up time McCartney shows just how strong the voice still is and defies his age once again (there has to a portrait somewhere in his attic aging drastically).
There's also that familiar Hohner violin bass with it's fat beat era sound, and a style of playing that has become admired by other musicians more and more as the years have gone by. You have to ask why haven't more bass players used a Hohner? Maybe the image of the violin bass in McCartney's mits is so fused in the mind know one can quite face owning one.
Then when it comes to driving a song like 'Birthday' you need a big back-beat, and it doesn't come much bigger than the mighty Abe Laboriel, Jr.
Laboriel has been holding that drum stool firmly in place with McCartney since The Concert for New York City in 2001 and has played on every tour the band has played since, and also provided a substantial backing vocal while beating the daylights out of a song.
You want rock steady power? Abe Laboriel Jnr is as good as it gets.
All together this is as tight and punchy live band as you'll hear.
