By Michael Wright
Of the 25,000 people in attendance at The Beatles’ 1966 concert at San Francisco’s Candlestick Park, only six knew that this would be the band’s final show: John, Paul, George, Ringo, the band’s road manager, Neil Aspinall, and their assistant road manager, Mal Evans. As far as everyone else was concerned, this was just another stop for the rollercoaster that was Beatlemania.
But the mania had proved too manic for the Fab Four in the months leading up to the gig. Deafening (and non-listening) audiences, pushy promoters and local bigwigs, angry record-burners (following Lennon’s infamous “Bigger than Jesus” comment) and a near riot in the Philippines had convinced the boys — even the ever-enthusiastic showman McCartney — that enough was enough. The circus had to stop.
There were also the band’s musical ambitions to take into account. Emboldened by their ever-growing songwriting talents and energized by advances in studio recording technology, they would no longer accept the three-songs-in-a-day-squeezed-somewhere-between-tour-legs approach to recording. They wanted time to build layers upon layers of musical constructs that, themselves, would be too complex to ever reproduce on stage. Case in point is the band’s set list from the 1966 tour, which included not a single track from their most recent album,Revolver.
So, when the band took the stage in the early evening of August 29, they knew this was truly the end of a significant stage of their career. To mark the occasion, they even brought cameras onto the stage to snap pictures of the event — which must have seemed odd to the Beatle worshippers in attendance.
The group opened with a slightly sluggish version of Chuck Berry’s “Rock and Roll Music,” perhaps an indicator of the exhaustion they felt at the end of this particularly grueling tour. But things quickly picked up, as the Fabs launched straightaway into a rousing “She’s a Woman.” After a quick “thank you” and “hello” by Macca, Lennon and McCartney ceded the mic to George Harrison for a gorgeous version of “If I Needed Someone” (if The Beatles truly couldn’t hear themselves on stage, then it’s a miracle they were still able to harmonize like this).
Lennon then introduced a song “about a naughty lady called ‘Day Tripper.’” The middle rave up and solo nearly raised the metaphorical roof. The band followed with the curiously non-rousing “Baby’s in Black,” perhaps as a musical plea to get the screaming 12 year olds to quiet down for a moment. Midway through, even McCartney seemed to get tired of the plodding tune and commenced to whoop up the kids between verses.
George Harrison then introduced the feedback-enhanced “I Feel Fine” as “something recorded back in 1959.” This song, as well as the previous “Day Tripper,” showcased the band’s hot new Epiphone Casinos, a rocking upgrade to the group’s sound in ’66.
George then introduced Paul, “singing a very nice song called ‘Yesterday.’” Even the screamers dialed back their whoops and hollers to hear his plaintive solo performance…most of them, anyway. Macca then introduced Ringo, who received some of the loudest cheers of the night for the absolutely rocking “I Wanna Be Your Man.” Perhaps as an in-joke reminder of the finality of the occasion, John thanked Ringo and told him it was lovely working with him.
Next up was the vocally ambitious “Nowhere Man,” which the group came fairly close to nailing, despite the poor sound on stage. Just as ambitious was the next track, introduced by Paul — “Paperback Writer.” If the harmonies veered just a little bit off, the blazing riff and rollicking drums still kicked the song into overdrive.
The band closed by getting back to where they once belonged, with a little taste of the Cavern Club. The choice was Little Richard’s “Long Tall Sally,” introduced and absolutely blasted by Paul McCartney, singing as if it was the last song he would ever perform. And maybe it seemed that way to Paul in August of ’66. Like a veteran athlete playing his final game, Macca left it all on the field.
After a mere 33 minutes, the band hit the final chord and waved farewell to their fans forever (save for those precious minutes on the Apple rooftop three years later). Lennon mischievously strummed the opening of “In My Life”…perhaps a fitting last look at the past before embarking on the next groundbreaking phase of their career.
Special thanks to ThisDayinMusic.com.
Music-News.com reports some interesting comments from KISS bass player and vocalist Gene Simmons. The always-quotable rock and reality TV star explained the feeling he gets when on stage: “It’s electric church, there’s no experience like it. Popes, Presidents, Prime Ministers, even Kings, none of them get to feel like I do. Only maybe Olympian Gods would.’
Surbiton. I do my best to try and feel it. You know, when I watch Ray Charles sing, I think, ‘That’s it, that’s how it’s done.’ He remembers thousands of songs and he sings them all as if they’re the most important song he knows. He does it from the bottom of his heart, every time, every song. And that’s, that’s the inspiration. That’s my influence. But I’m imbued with so much self-doubt about my singing, that it’s very difficult for me to get to that freedom that those kinds of singers have.”
A Bob Dylan song soon might be its own movie, according to 
“Well, yes, I was, actually. Joe Perry came up to me at another awards celebration. And he said that Steve was not really interested in touring anymore at the moment, and they were all ready to tour and that they were looking for somebody to take that slot. And I said to him, ‘You know, maybe you guys ought to rethink that.’ And I’m happy to see that they’re up and running now because they’re a fabulous band.”