Paul McCartney tours a lot, but lately he hasn't been in the United States. When his "Freshen Up" United Sates tour was announced I was so excited! He wasn't coming to Chicago, but he was coming to Illinois and I knew we had to take this chance to see him. The only problem was that the concert was on a Tuesday in Moline, IL (about two hours from where we live). Our babysitter wasn't available on a week night, so my parents said they would come up from Ohio for the week to visit and watch Theo! Thanks mom and dad!
Mom and Dad arrived in the early afternoon on Saturday, June 8th, and suggested that Josh and I go on a date that night (since we don't get to do that often). We got dressed up and headed to Gibson's Bar and Steakhouse in Rosemont.
Before arriving at the restaurant we stopped by Joanne's to pick up a seven foot custom frame (more on that later).
We arrived at Gibson's and were taken to a small table in the back corner. Our waiter arrived and told us we had the best table in the house because it can get really loud in the restaurant. He then took our drink and appetizer order and said he would be back shortly to show us some "beautiful meats".
While we were sipping our Cabernet and eating the fresh seared ahi tuna appetizer, our waiter came back with a huge platter full of raw meat. He showed us a medium-sized 22 ounce lobster tail (yes, MEDIUM-SIZED), a filet mignon, and other cuts of meat. I was immediately sold on the filet mignon Oscar style and Josh chose a 75 day aged Australian bone-in filet with a blue cheese crust.
Dinner was delicious! My steak was perfect and the blue cheese crust on Josh's steak was strong, but very tasty. After we were finished our waited asked us if we wanted dessert. Of course! When we ordered the chocolate mousse pie he told us that it was big enough to feed our whole family, but to not be intimidated. Um... okay...
When the pie came out I understood perfectly what he meant! This slice is HUGE! We took 90 percent of it home with us and it took the rest of the week to finish it off!
Over the next two days we hung out, ate chocolate mousse, and BBQ'd elk steaks and brats. My dad worked outside on our yard (we have a lot of weeds) and my mom helped me take care of Theo.
[Elk Steaks]
On Monday, June 10th, Theo, Mom, and I went to the Dentist. I had my cleaning first and I got an A+! No cavities! Yay! It was then Theo's turn. When the Dentist walked in I was surprised to see Theo smile at her! But not just smile, he actually took out his Paci and smiled at her! He still has pretty bad "stranger danger" so I was shocked! I then told the Dentist all about Theo's medical history. My biggest concern is Theo's oral aversion. He won't let anything in his mouth except his Paci and his fingers. I knew he would have a hard time when the Dentist went to examine him, but we had to do it. After the exam, she said the teeth he has look great, so I need to "keep doing what I'm doing" (brushing them twice a day). She also said that he has EIGHT teeth coming in right now. UGH! Poor kid!
On Tuesday, Theo and I had a check up with Dr. Robertson, the Pediatric General Surgeon. He said Theo's G Tube looks great and he going to order a larger size since Theo's gained so much weight. Yay!
[Theo loves the tissue paper at the doctors office]
That afternoon Josh and I headed to Moline, Illinois. We found free street parking (Yay!) and then walked to LemonGrass Cafe to get some dinner. The cafe was busy and crowded (turns out everyone had the same idea we did), but we were able to get a table without waiting.
We got the Sateh appetizer, Panang Curry, and the General Tso Chicken. Everything was great!
We had a little time to kill before the doors opened at TaxSlayer Center, so we walked down the street to Lagomarcino's to get a treat.
I got a couple truffles and Josh got some chocolate covered cherries. YUM!
We then headed over to TaxSlayer Center and arrived right when the doors opened.
We hurried over to the store so we could buy a shirt for my dad and a pin for me.
We then went and found our seats. Not too shabby, right?!
[A bracelet AND red marker?! They are serious about these floor seats!]
We didn't have to wait long before Sir Paul McCartney and his awesome band (consisting of Rusty Anderson, Brain Ray, Paul Wickens, and Abe Laboriel, Jr.) came on on stage!
The opening song was "A Hard Day's Night" and the crowd went WILD!
[Rusty, Abe, Sir Paul, and Brian]
Throughout the show Paul played so many different instruments. He started with his bass and then played an electric guitar, an acoustic guitar, the piano, a ukulele, and a mandolin.
Throughout the concert Sir Paul would pause and tell stories about his time with The Beatles. He's hilarious and has such a fun personality! You can tell he loves what he does!
They played for three hours with almost no breaks! The concert was incredible!
After they bowed to the crowd, the band came back out on stage with the United States, United Kingdom, Illinois, and Pride flags!
Set List:
A Hard Day's Night
(The Beatles song)
Save Us
All My Loving
(The Beatles song)
Letting Go
(Wings song)
Who Cares
Got to Get You Into My Life
(The Beatles song)
Come On to Me
Let Me Roll It
(Wings song)
I've Got a Feeling
(The Beatles song)
Let 'Em In
(Wings song)
My Valentine
Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five
(Wings song)
Maybe I'm Amazed
I've Just Seen a Face
(The Beatles song)
In Spite of All the Danger
(The Quarrymen song)
From Me to You
(The Beatles song)
Dance Tonight
Love Me Do
(The Beatles song)
Blackbird
(The Beatles song)
Here Today
Queenie Eye
Lady Madonna
(The Beatles song)
Eleanor Rigby
(The Beatles song)
Fuh You
Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!
(The Beatles song)
Something
(The Beatles song)
Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
(The Beatles song)
Band on the Run
(Wings song)
Back in the U.S.S.R.
(The Beatles song)
Let It Be
(The Beatles song)
Live and Let Die
(Wings song)
Hey Jude
(The Beatles song)
Encore:
Birthday
(The Beatles song)
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)
(The Beatles song)
Helter Skelter
(The Beatles song)
Golden Slumbers
(The Beatles song)
Carry That Weight
(The Beatles song)
The End
(The Beatles song)
38 songs! The Beatles (and Sir Paul) have so many hits and I knew he couldn't sing them all, but he got to all my favorites (except Revolution). I especially loved Hey Jude, USSR, Let It Be, Live and Let Die, and Helter Skelter! If you get a chance to see him before he retires I highly recommend it.
Thanks so much Mom and Dad for coming out and watching Theo so I could cross something else off my bucket list!
