WINGS OVER ATLANTA: A FAN REMEMBERS
By Mark Gunter
May 18, 2001.
Well, it's 3:25 p.m., and 25 years ago today I was just getting home from school, having a bite to eat -- probably a Hunts Snak-Pak chocolate pudding and a frozen pizza -- and getting ready to head down to The Omni in a couple of hours to see the big "Rockshow".
It seemed to have taken forever for that day to arrive since tickets had gone on sale back in March. But it was finally here!
I can still remember the feeling of the "tingles" going up my spine when the lights went down and I could see the shadow of "the man" climbing the stairs up to the stage with the rest of the band following. I was actually in the presence of a BEATLE!
It's still, by far, the most memorable concert I've ever attended. It was such a rush, and went by so fast, it was just too much for the senses and memory cells to take in. As soon as I got home that night, I immediately pulled out all my Wings and Beatles albums to help in writing down all the songs they had played. I had not planned on attending the second show the following night, but after the first night's experience, I had to go back for more to help cement the memory in my mind.
The next day, my friend and I were lucky enough to buy a couple of the few tickets that still remained at the box office. After the show began, we quickly moved from our perch up high behind the stage to a more favorable viewing area.
Seeing them the second night was even more enjoyable, if possible. You could just sit back and take it all in in a more relaxed manner.
When the encores began, we decided to make a mad dash for the front of the stage -- ushers be damned! We made it to about 20 feet in front of the stage. Man, that was great! We were so close you could see the sweat running down Paul's face. Being down front, looking up at him, as opposed to looking down at the stage for the past two nights, was an almost unreal, "out of body" type of experience. It was a "Is this really happening?" feeling.
I can still remember the "way cool" expanding laser slicing through the smokey arena air just above our heads during "Soiley", the final song. And then it was over, with Paul's final departing words: "See ya next time!" I remember thinking, "Great, maybe that means he'll come back next year!"
Of course, due to various circumstances, it would be almost 14 years before we saw him on stage in the U.S. again. As enjoyable as those '90s tours were, they could never approach the excitement, the aura and the emotion felt during the '76 Wings Over America shows.