Ex-Beatle Paul McCartney caused some major disappointment earlier this month with the postponement of two highly anticipated concerts in Horsens, previously scheduled for the end of June. This minor hiccup did not stop McCartney’s fan base in Copenhagen from celebrating his 70th birthday on Monday night with a close-to-packed McCartney tribute concert at Store Vega.
Ex Dizzy Mizzy Lizzy co-founder Tim Christensen and his backing band The Damn Crystals were on hand to provide the evening's entertainment, playing songs predominantly off McCartney's first album Ram, alongside many of Christensen’s own numbers. The evening turned out to be a jovial fest that attracted the young and the old alike: from grey-haired grannies that were taken back to pleasant memories of the peak of their youth to curious teenagers who flocked to the front of the concert to get as close to the stage as they possibly could.
Christensen and pals didn't put a foot wrong from start to finish, playing with passion and cool sophistication in what many will remember as a very accessible and easy-to-follow concert. The band toyed and tinkered with numerous instruments as they rattled out one lively track after another, much to the delight of the partisan crowd, who rallied and raved to timeless classics such as 'Live and Let Die'. Christensen himself was at his charismatic best, beaming with the sort of smile that suggested that he probably enjoyed the concert more than anybody else at the show.
And whilst at times things did sound a bit like a well-timed ensemble of Guitar Hero songs, at others Tim Christensen and the Damn Crystals were both endearing and entertaining to all those present. With Roskilde Festival looming over the near horizon, one would have expected less of a showing, particularly on a Monday night. The amount of people present and their response to the evening's entertainment truly proves that Denmark hasn't forgotten Paul McCartney, decades on from his heyday.
