Paul McCartney "Got Back" and So Did We

Friday the 13th is superstitiously an unlucky day. Not for me. I was at Sofi Stadium seeing the one and only Sir Paul McCartney live in concert. This was my third time seeing the legend live and I can say he is still “topping the bill”... I mean topping himself.

"I'm just going to take a moment to take it all in,” said McCartney. And he did. It wasn’t some cheeky comment to make himself sound humble. He really paused and looked around at the crowd of about 50,000 people cheering for him. He’s a month away from being eighty years old, playing a stadium tour, and McCartney is still hungry for more!

From the first song, ‘Can’t Buy Me Love’, McCartney had the crowd on its feet, then when he launched into his Wings’ tune ‘Junior’s Farm’, I couldn’t believe it. Not only was he playing Beatles songs that he usually doesn’t perform live, but it was his solo and Wings material that really made a splash. Songs like ‘Let Em In’, ‘Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five’ and ‘Letting Go’ engaged the crowd and he nailed every one of them. He announced that he knows which songs his fans like, saying “If it’s a Beatles song for example you all have your phones up, and it looks like a galaxy of stars! But if it’s a new song, it’s like a black hole” and the crowd laughed. He went on to say “but we’re going to play them anyway!” As he should, and it’s clear that McCartney still loves what he does and is proud of his material, old and new.

Thereafter, the crowd made sure to put their phones up for the newer songs as McCartney played material off of his 2018 album ‘Egypt Station’. He also performed the fan favorite ‘Dance Tonight’ where his drummer Abe Laborial Jr. performed a scene stealing dance routine in the background that had the audience kicking and screaming with joy. Speaking of McCartney’s band, it’s nice to see how loyal he is, with Laborial Jr. being in the touring group since 2001, along with guitarists Rusty Anderson (since 2001) and Brian Ray (since 2002). If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it and these guys are above and beyond.

As for unusual Beatles material, McCartney gave ‘Abbey Road’ more of a showcase this evening. He did the ‘Golden Slumbers’, ‘Carry That Weight’ and ‘The End’ medley that he usually closes the show with, but towards the middle of the concert McCartney said “We’re going to do one that we’ve never done live until this tour”. And then, he launched into ‘You Never Give Me My Money’ then straight into ‘She Came in Through the Bathroom Window’, which rocked the joint! In my personal opinion, it was the Beatles song ‘Birthday’ that reminded me of how much Sir Paul loves to rock and then of course right after he does ‘Helter Skelter’ and the crowd went mad.

Speaking of rocking, McCartney is really showing off his musical range for this tour, not just in song genre, but in his instrumental skills. He switched from bass, to acoustic guitar, to lead guitar, to piano multiple times throughout the evening. We are so accustomed to McCartney being on bass, that it’s easy to forget how incredible of a lead guitarist he is, soloing and riffing like crazy throughout the night!

McCartney also knows what it’s like to be at the bottom and proved that he worked his way up. He even told the crowd stories about the early Beatle days, what it was like recording his first demo and how nervous he was singing for George Martin the first time. He added that he can still recognize how he felt whenever he listens to ‘Love, Love Me Do’: “I can hear how nervous I was that day…But not tonight!” He said as he launched into the Beatles' hit.

Other stories he shared were about Jimi Hendrix covering ‘Sgt. Pepper’ and why he wrote the song ‘Blackbird’. But it was when McCartney discussed John Lennon that my tears started to stream. “This is the song I wrote after John died, from a letter I never sent” he said before he performed ‘Here Today’, another rare song choice! After the loving tribute, McCartney added to the tear jerking moment by saying, “If you have something to say to someone, tell them, don’t wait.” He also paid homage to George Harrison by performing ‘Something’ on the ukulele and sang with Lennon once again through the magic of Peter Jackson’s video edit of ‘I’ve Got a Feeling’.

Overall, what else can I say? Not much other than I saw Paul McCartney and it was magical! Paul McCartney ‘Got Back’ and so did I. I got back to all the fun car rides where my parents played their Wings CDs. I got back to when I was a little girl and my mother would sing me ‘Good Night’ as a lullaby before bed. I got back to my dad getting me ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’ on vinyl for my fourteenth Christmas. Music brings people together, it heals us and Paul McCartney's ‘Got Back Tour’ proves that.

In addition, I also want to credit Sofi Stadium itself for being a great venue. I was in a balcony section and the sound was impeccable. In addition, I was there with my friend, and for two young women to feel incredibly safe walking in and around the venue as well as outside it, I applaud the staff, security and Sofi as a whole.