Ageless Paul McCartney Conquers MetLife Stadium – August 7, 2016
Paul McCartney puts on a phenomenal show by any standard. The fact that the brilliant artist is doing what he doing at age 74 only adds another level of awe. It was the setlist of doom; 38 songs in all. Let Me Roll It into I’ve Got A Feeling – Fuhgeddaboudit!
He put on a clinic. Atop the impeccable choice of songs, the pacing, banter and showmanship, production values, and of course musicianship were all of the highest caliber. Paul showed off his chops not only on bass but electric and acoustic guitar, piano, and even ukulele. The uke was used in a version of Something that served as a tribute to George Harrison and was one of the set’s highest highs. Macca recalled what a great ukulele player George was and shared a story of hanging out with him in a garden and telling him that he had learned one of his songs before showing us which one it was. He also spoke about how Jimi Hendrix taught himself how to play the title track to Sgt Pepper in the two days between the album’s release and a gig in London that was attended by Paul and Eric Clapton among other rock royalty. It might have been three days according to this account but no matter. McCartney played a little Foxy Lady at the end of Let Me Roll It to tip his hat to Jimi as he has been doing this tour before sharing the anecdote.
John Lennon also received a loving nod with Here Today that, as he explained, is a conversation with his old friend and bandmate that he never got to have. Paul played that one solo and on acoustic as he did Blackbird which is as gorgeous and certainly as poignant as ever in the Summer of ’16. He spoke about how he wrote it to try to give a little bit of hope to people in the states involved in the Civil Rights struggle of the 60s. He didn’t have to mention how relevant it still is as he did more overtly at the Fenway show a few weeks ago. Confession: I was at that one too. Yes, he recycled some of his shtick but it was still charming the second time around.
One great line that was fresh was a response to a sign that read, ‘Sign My Butt’. After reading that aloud and considering that for comic timing moment, Paul dryly answered, ‘Well, let’s have a look at it!”
