by Ashly Rico
It’s been a lifelong dream of mine to see the Beatles live. I was first introduced to them when I was around seven years old by my older sister, and from that moment on, I was hooked. My favorite Beatle has always been George Harrison (and no, it definitely has nothing to do with him being the cutest one). Growing up, I remember countless times when Paul McCartney or Ringo Starr would come to Chicago for a show, and I’d beg my parents to take me. It never worked out, but this year, I finally made my dream come true. Actually, I made it happen twice within a month’s time.
My boyfriend, Andre, surprised me with tickets to see Ringo Starr and His All-Starr Band at the Chicago Theatre in September as a birthday gift. I just about passed out when I saw the tickets! We were center stage, just a handful of seats behind the first row. I would never have thought that I’d ever be this close to a Beatle. I like to think he saw me flash a peace sign at him and he waved back; at least that’s what I’m telling myself.
The show was pure joy from start to finish. I sang my heart out to “Hold the Line” by Toto, danced to the funky grooves of The Average White Band, and jammed along to Men at Work classics. The whole band had such a great sense of humor; it felt like we got a free comedy show along with the concert.
And of course, when “Yellow Submarine” started, the entire theater transformed. It wasn’t even my favorite song on the setlist, but that moment was unforgettable. The energy completely shifted in the crowd. Everyone sang every line, and the diehard Beatles fans like me even threw in the sound effects and ad-libs.
After seeing Ringo, I started hoping and praying that Paul McCartney would go on tour again. It’s been years since his last world tour. One night, I saw something on his Instagram story that looked suspiciously like a teaser. I joked to Andre, “Looks like we’ve got another concert to attend.” Little did I know how right I’d be. Just a few weeks later, Paul officially announced his tour dates, and I was more than prepared to do whatever it’d take to attend.
I skipped class the morning of the pre-sale and assembled an entire “ticket army” to help me get seats for Chicago. I gave everyone my credit card info and strict instructions: “Get me as close as possible. If front-row seats are $600, just pull the trigger.” When Ticketmaster finally refreshed, I was the 65,000th person in line. By the time I got through, all that was left were resale tickets. Floor seats were at least $7k and nosebleeds behind the stage were $400. It felt hopeless for a moment, but I refused to give up.
A couple of months later, Andre and I discovered that floor seats in Minneapolis were only $100. Without much thought for logistics, we bought them immediately. A few days later, we were on the road, driving nearly 13 hours just to see my favorite old man sing his tunes. And it was so worth it.
Both concerts paid beautiful tributes to John Lennon, which really stood out to me. I expected that from Paul since John was, in many ways, his musical soulmate. Paul shared heartfelt anecdotes about him, sang several of his songs, and even gave a short speech about how great he was and how much he misses him. What surprised me most was how much Ringo also honored John. He mentioned him multiple times, at least four by my count, and as the band was packing up at the end of the night, “Give Peace a Chance” played through the theater.
Interestingly, neither Paul nor Ringo mentioned each other, and George was only brought up once when Paul sang “Something.” I’ll admit, as a George-biased fan, I was a little offended on his behalf! Still, it almost felt like John’s presence continues to loom largest over them all. Even the crowd seemed to agree, since the cheers for John’s shout-outs were noticeably louder than for George’s.
Seeing the Beatles live was, without question, among the best days of my life. I got to experience nearly 60 songs that shaped my childhood, surrounded by thousands of people who loved them just as much as I did. For a lifelong Beatles fan, it was nothing short of magical. Two dreams, decades in the making, came true within one unforgettable month.
