At this point in his career, Sir Paul McCartney wouldn’t be faulted for phoning in a live performance at the age of 74. Fortunately, one look at setlists from his current ‘One on One’ tour will show that he does nothing of the sort. The former Beatle didn’t play it safe, nor did he pander to the Philadelphia audience with some easy hits. In fact, McCartney invited them to celebrate (“Good evening Philadelphia… we’re going to have a party here in this place tonight”) as he packed 38 songs from all eras of his life into his revamped tour.
To be fair, many folks, like me, want to hear The Beatles tracks and, if you had to choose between the two surviving Beatles, McCartney does far more Fab Four songs than his former bandmate Ringo Starr does on tour (the latter does tour with his All-Starr band doing all sorts of hits, the members participated on though, including, to my surprise, Toto’s “Africa”). Fortunately, McCartney has incorporated a variety of classics into his set including “Love Me Do” and “Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!” in addition to staples like “Live and Let Die” (complete with fireworks) and “Blackbird”.
The only oddball song was “FourFiveSeconds”, a recent collaboration with Rihanna and Kanye West, as it didn’t have the same charm as the rest of his set. Prior to the tour, McCartney spoke with Rolling Stone to discuss his setlist, and they noted “McCartney was concerned how older fans would react to this [song]”. But from that, he went right into “Eleanor Rigby”, so the minor detour to something unfamiliar didn’t prevent everyone from continuing to have fun.
Perhaps the best surprise of the night, it seems like it’s happened before on this tour, was when McCartney invited a couple identified as Melissa Gray and Dylan Berwick onto the stage so that Berwick could propose. It was a most generous gesture from the entertainer. In spite of the size of the venues, McCartney and his music forge a personal connection with each and every one in the audience. His ‘One on One’ tour continues — dates follow below the photos.
Paul McCartney 7/12/16 Setlist
A Hard Day’s Night
Save Us
Can’t Buy Me Love
Letting Go
Temporary Secretary
Let Me Roll It
I’ve Got a Feeling
My Valentine
Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five
Here, There and Everywhere
Maybe I’m Amazed
We Can Work It Out
In Spite of All the Danger
You Won’t See Me
Love Me Do
And I Love Her
Blackbird
Here Today
Queenie Eye
New
The Fool on the Hill
Lady Madonna
FourFiveSeconds
Eleanor Rigby
Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!
Something
Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
Band on the Run
Back in the U.S.S.R.
Let It Be
Live and Let Die
Hey Jude
[encore break]
Yesterday
Hi, Hi, Hi
Birthday
Golden Slumbers
Carry That Weight
The End
Tour Dates
07/19/16 – Hershey, PA – Hersheypark Stadium
07/21/16 – Hamilton, ONT – FirstOntario Centre
08/07/16 – East Rutherford, NJ – MetLife Stadium
08/09/16 – Washington D.C. – Verizon Center
08/10/16 – Washington D.C. – Verizon Center
08/13/16 – St. Louis, MO – Busch Stadium
08/15/16 – Grand Rapids, MI — Van Andel Arena
08/17/16 – Cleveland, OH – Quicken Loans Arena
08/18/16 – Cleveland, OH – Quicken Loans Arena
10/04/16 – Sacramento, CA – Golden 1 Center
10/05/16 – Sacramento, CA – Golden 1 Center
10/08/16 – Indio, CA – Desert Trip
10/15/16 – Indio, CA – Desert Trip