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Paul McCartney will celebrate his 73 birthday on June 18, just a day before his performance at the Firefly Music Festival in Dover, Del., and just three days before he brings his Out There tour to the Wells Fargo Center on June 21. His schedule wears you out just looking at it. Concerts last close to three hours, and he performs, on average, 40 songs. That’s 50 years worth of Beatles lyrics, Wings songs and solo material to remember. The man is indefatigable.
When you look around at a McCartney show, you’ll see a stunning span of generations—kids, teens, adults young and old, entire families. That said, it’s no mere nostalgia trip. His shows will rock you to the core and leave you cheering for more.
Night after night, McCartney manages to wow crowds with a steady supply of sing-along favorites, yet he still inserts a new song here and there with no complaints. Even if you know to expect the pyrotechnics of “Live and Let Die,” you’ll still jump out of your seat. And even if you already know that he pulls out the ukulele to pay tribute to George, tears will come. And he still manages to throw in a curveball on occasion. (How else to explain “Temporary Secretary”?)
At a McCartney show, you get Paul on bass, piano, and the aforementioned ukulele. You get the Paul who can still fit into his pegged pants, and the Paul who still has that boyish grin. You get the Paul with one foot in the past and the other planted firmly in the present, with state-of-the-art technology and production, massive screens, lasers, and video.
And, best of all, he’s still having fun.
The Band:
Paul “Wix” Wickens (keyboards)
Brian Ray (bass/guitar)
Rusty Anderson (guitar)
Abe Laboriel Jr. (drums)
Paul McCartney’s Out There tour
Friday, June 19, Firefly Music Festival
Sunday, June 21, Wells Fargo Center
Tickets: www.comcastTIX.com.
