(October 21, 2015; JOE LOUIS ARENA, Detroit MI)
Well, this is something like my umpteenth time seeing Sir Paul in concert and he never disappoints. I wasn’t planning on making this trip but, after speaking with my cousin, who lives in the area and has never seen McCartney, I decided, “Why not?” Not only do I get to see a favorite perform again, I also get to hang out with someone I don’t get to see very often. The experience of a McCartney show just never gets old: Sir Paul, aged 73, still has the fire and enthusiasm of someone half his age (or, maybe, a third his age) plus, his great band – Paul “Wix” Wickens on keyboards, Brian Ray on guitar and bass, Rusty Anderson on guitar and the brilliant Abe Laboriel, Junior on drums – provide all the back up he needs. Paulie, himself, plays bass, electric and acoustic guitar, piano and ukelele.
Oh… and, did I mention he also plays a ton of Beatles, some Wings, some classic solo stuff, as well as some more recent material. In fact, this time around, the set list actually included several songs I’ve never heard him play live before: “FourFiveSeconds” (the song he and Kanye West wrote, produced and appeared on for Rihanna’s ANTI album); “Hope For the Future,” which he wrote and recorded for use in a video game called DESTINY; a raw version of the Beatles’ “One After 909”; one of the first songs he wrote with John (Lennon, just in case you needed reminding), “Another Girl,” from the HELP soundtrack. He also dusted off the solo rarity, “Temporary Secretary,” an odd electronic track from MCCARTNEY II. The use of a nice, big video screen behind him and his band was great to accompany a lot of songs… “Back In the USSR” and Lady Madonna” were definitely enhanced by the visual accompaniment.
It’s not just the greatest catalog of popular songs that make a Paul McCartney concert special; it’s also his interaction with the audience, his abundant energy and, at times, it actually seems that he is having a better time than the crowd. Of course, he has been doing this for over fifty years now and he is a magical stage performer. Singing along with an arena full of people to “Let It Be,” “Hey Jude,” “I Saw Her Standing There,” “Band On the Run” and… well, the list just goes on and on… is still great fun. The poignant moments of “Blackbird” and “Here Today,” his tribute to John, are still heartfelt. Actually, I loved his version of Harrison’s beautiful “Something,” which started slowly with Paul on ukelele before rocking away; it is a truly great tribute to George. The big crowd was great – rowdy when it needed to rock and quiet for the more solemn songs. At his age, its hard to tell how long he can keep up this pace but, until that time comes, an evening spent with Sir Paul McCartney is always memorable.