Paul McCartney Sets Fenway Park Concert Attendance Record

Before the Boston Red Sox were embarrassed by the New York Yankees with a four-game sweep this weekend in the Bronx, there was some good news at the Sox' home stadium: Paul McCartney came to town for a pair of concerts on August 5th and 6th at Fenway Park, and according to Live Nation, McCartney's pair of gigs set a new record for the highest-ever two-night attendance in the stadium's 97-year history.

Read Rock Daily's report from McCartney's first Citi Field performance in New York, featuring Billy Joel.

Remarking on McCartney's set list those two nights — a blend of newer tracks alongside solo and Beatles favorites — Live Nation East's Dave Marsden joked, "No one in history has ever had 33 hits in one night at Fenway Park." According to the Baseball Almanac, Marsden is right: The most hits by the Red Sox at Fenway Park in one night is 28 on June 27th, 2003, a game which saw Boston beat the Florida Marlins 25-8. The Red Sox scored 14 runs in the first inning of that game, 11 before an out was recorded, which is also probably a record.

It goes without saying that McCartney also set the three-night attendance record for a concert at New York's Citi Field, considering that Macca was the first artist to perform at the new home of the New York Mets. (The show marked 44 years since the Beatles' historic show at the Mets then-home Shea Stadium.) Three more dates remain on McCartney's North American tour: An August 15th concert at Atlanta's Piedmont Park, August 17th in Tulsa, Oklahoma and a visit to Dallas' new Cowboys Stadium to close out his summer trek on August 19th.

Related Stories:
• McCartney Makes History at Citi Field With Billy Joel, Beatles Hits
• Paul McCartney Stuns Manhattan With Set on Letterman's Marquee
• Paul McCartney Adds Atlanta, Boston and Washington, DC Shows

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Song Stories

“Smells Like Teen Spirit”

Nirvana | 1991

"Smells Like Teen Spirit," named after a brand of deodorant marketed to girls, was Kurt Cobain's attempt to "write the ultimate pop song," he said, using the soft-loud dynamic of his favorite band, the Pixies. Cobain "had that dichotomy of punk rage and alienation," the song’s producer, Butch Vig, told Rolling Stone, "but also this vulnerable pop sensibility. In 'Teen Spirit,' a lot of that vulnerability is in the tone of his voice." Sadly, by the time of Nirvana's last U.S. tour, in late '93, Cobain was tortured by the obligation to play "Teen Spirit" every night. "There are many other songs that I have written that are as good, if not better," he claimed.

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