James At The 4th Annual David Lynch Weekend for World Peace and Meditation

James made his U.S. debut, performing November 14, 2009 at the Fairfield Arts & Convention Center, during the Fourth Annual David Lynch Weekend for World Peace and Meditation in Fairfield, Iowa. and guess what the rviews are good, very good indeed, here are two articles

http://gazetteonline.com/blogs/2009/11/15/review-mccartney-wins-over-fairfield-audience-in-u-s-debut-concert

REVIEW: McCartney wins over Fairfield audience in U.S. debut concert


Posted on Nov 15, 2009 by Diana Nollen.

By Diana Nollen


It can’t be easy to be a Beatles baby. How are you supposed to carve your musical niche when you look and sound so much like your dad?
Shave your head, for starters.

Even without hair, James McCartney is still the spitting image of his famous father. It’s those eyes. And those glorious tenor pipes.
The younger McCartney, 32, made his U.S. concert debut Saturday night, playing back-to-back sold-out concerts at the Stephen Sondheim Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Fairfield.
The evening was a triple treat for audience members, who showered the artists multiple standing ovations throughout. McCartney and his bandmates opened the show with 40 minutes of blistering rock ’n’ roll, followed by Pleasantville native turned New York blues belter Laura Dawn and The Little Death.

Sixties folk icon Donovan wrapped up the show with his timeless hits, including “Hurdy Gurdy Man,” “Season of the Witch,” “Colours,” “Lalena” and “Riki Tiki Tavi,” calling all the performers back onstage for “Mellow Yellow.”
The eclectic event was part of the fourth annual David Lynch “Change Begins Within” Weekend at Maharishi University. Lynch, filmmaker and director of “The Elephant Man,” “Blue Velvet,” “Mulholland Drive” and “Twin Peaks,” stepped into the spotlight to welcome the audience and introduce the musicians.
While all the bands were terrific, I was most interested in hearing McCartney and company. OK, and secretly hoping his dad would be in the audience or watching from the wings. (If he was, I didn’t see him.)
Besides genetic blessings, the young McCartney has the material to make a name for himself. He just needs to find a little more confidence to allow himself to relax and connect with his listeners. He introduced each song by title, and thanked the audience sincerely, but he often began his songs by turning his back to the audience and looking at his bass player. And most of his songs just ended abruptly or with a sigh.
His material, written over 10 years is in the final stages of being turned into CD, deals with themes of social consciousness, friendship and spirituality. Some are ballads, some have a punk edge, others have a Middle Eastern flair and most just showcase a good, solid rock edge.
He has a knack for thoughtful, careful lyrics, sung in a crystal-clear tone, and he’s equally adept at guitar and keyboards.
With a little more experience and exposure, he could easily have a more lustrous career than Sean or Julian Lennon.

http://www.thehawkeye.com/story/McCartney-review-111509
 
Worth a trip to Iowa, Sondheim theater


Audience goes wild for James McCartney.



By BOB SAAR
for The Hawk Eye

Rocker James McCartney played his U.S. debut last night at Fairfield's new Sondheim Center. The two shows were part of the David Lynch Foundation's fourth annual "Change Begins Within" weekend at Maharishi University.
McCartney, son of Beatle Paul, opened a three-ring musical circus that included Iowan Laura Dawn and folk legend Donovan.
"It's very different having a famous father," film director Lynch quipped when introducing McCartney. "My father was Elvis Presley."
The audience, heavily weighted with aging '60s boomers, went wild when the 32-year-old singer/guitarist walked on stage with Light, his band.
The four-piece slammed right into their first number as a video crew taped the show for the DLF Web site.
McCartney's' music was racy and frenetic, and the 400-plus seat Sondheim has well-designed acoustics that allowed the amps-on-stage rock band to deliver without overwhelming.
James looks a bit like Paul with a shaved head. Ah, those eyes. He is not left-handed, and he played a Fender Stratocaster given to him by Carl Perkins.
His voice was high and clear like his father's, but at times, he sounded more like John Lennon when roughing things up.
"James has a way with melody and a set of pipes which are more than a match for his dad's," Lynch said.
His songwriting style has eerie nuances of the Beatles. "Spirit Guides," featuring McCartney on piano, bore a haunting resemblance to "Lady Madonna."
Every song charged ahead with strange melodies flavored with grunge, perhaps like Nirvana covering side two of Abbey Road, backed by the Ramones.
McCartney was stoic, mumbling only song titles between songs.
Laura Dawn and her New York blues-rock band Little Death came out blazing away and had the audience on its feet and dancing before their first song was 12 bars deep.
Dawn, a native of Pleasantville, is a stunning vocalist at the wheel of a powerhouse. She's somewhat like Janice Joplin before the booze and cigarettes, or perhaps Martina McBride after a night of heavy pubcrawling.
Little Death and their sweetly trashed-out backup duo -- the Death Threats -- blasted the audience into happy submission, a road-and-bar band with a refined stage presence.
1960s legend Donovan closed the show with a set of hits, from "Catch the Wind" to "Sunshine Superman," delivered in his trademark quavering voice. Donovan, along with the Beatles and the Beach Boys, brought Transcendental Meditation out of India into Western thought, which ultimately brought Fairfield to the forefront of the practice.
Little Death and the redressed and fully sequined Death Threats backed the folksinger for most of his set. The finale featured the entire cast, including McCartney, singing "Mellow Yellow" with Donovan and the crowd.
After the show, someone asked McCartney if he enjoyed playing in Iowa.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," the taciturn singer said. "Definitely."