Review: Paul McCartney thrills 40,000 fans in Sydney with ‘perfect’ set list
Paul McCartney pulled out the megahits for 40,000 adoring fans in Sydney and they lapped up every minute of the nearly three-hour show.
Entertainment
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It was the surprise song not even diehard Beatles fans expected to warm-up the crowd at Paul McCartney’s concert at Sydney’s Allianz Stadium on Friday.
Before McCartney got into one of the most perfect concert set lists of 2023, more than 40,000 fans were treated to the premiere of the “final” Beatles song Now and Then.
Using the same AI technology which was used to isolate the vocals for the Get Back documentary, the John Lennon-penned song will be released on November 2.
It was a spectacular introduction – and a full circle moment six decades in the making – to a concert which has delighted and profoundly moved hundreds of thousands of Australians already.
On what is likely to be McCartney’s final tour here, the legendary songwriter, musician and the original pop culture influencer, proved a generous host.
There was something for everyone early in the setlist from the Beatles opener Can’t Buy Me Love and Got To Get You Into My Life to the Wings’ faves Junior’s Farm and Let Em In.
The first selection from his considerable solo catalogue underscored McCartney has always been a hopeful romantic; the love waltz My Valentine, written for his wife Nancy, who was in the Sydney audience, during a rain-soaked holiday.
Its level of lovedupness in his pantheon of great love songs was only rivalled by the gorgeous Maybe I’m Amazed later in the set.
His crack band came into their own on psychedelic rock romps like Nineteen hundred and Eighty-Five and Let Me Roll It.
And while his vocals may be raggedy around the edges, McCartney has lost none of the idiosyncratic power of his unmistakeable voice and did not shirk a note.
His ease as a natural-born entertainer makes him a delightful host … even if you may have heard the joke at a previous show on tour.
It’s a skit he does at most shows but it’s still thoroughly delightful when he reads out the infamous signs written by fans inviting him for post-show margaritas or to sign their “butt.”
He knows you want to hear more of the old stuff than the new stuff yet no one begrudges him playing a track like New which is only a decade old.
The beauty and magic of his musical artistry forged the strongest memories of this three hour treat of a concert which will ring in our ears for years to come.
Most smiled, some hugged, others brushed something from their eyes as McCartney soared above the stage with just his faithful acoustic guitar and we all sang along to Blackbird.
The joy of his performance wrapped itself around the audience on the unseasonably cold night as we bopped along to Love Me Do, Lady Madonna or Jet.
The rest of the concert was a ridiculous string of much-loved classics from Something and Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da to Let It Be and Hey Jude.
The Wings chapter with Live and Let Die gave the show its pyro, flames and lasers crescendo, throwing down sizeable firepower to rival any stadium rock act.
“No, no it’s too loud,” McCartney joked.
Even after all of these decades, McCartney likes to stop and take it all in from his centrestage vantage point.
“This is so cool you guys, I’m going to take a second to drink it in,” he said.
In that emotional moment, and at others throughout the show, McCartney gave thanks to his late Beatles bandmates John Lennon, George Harrison and fellow survivor and thriver Ringo Starr.
McCartney performs at Sydney’s Allianz Stadium again on Saturday.
PAUL MCCARTNEY’S SYDNEY CONCERT SET LIST REVEALED
Macca-mania is sweeping the nation with Sir Paul McCartney on the Australian leg of his Got Back Tour.
And while it would be nigh-on impossible for the legendary 81-year-old singer-songwriter to create a setlist deemed perfect by every single one of his millions of fans, spanning generations, around the world, this one would have to come pretty close.
There’s 32 songs in the 160-minute spectacle, plus another seven as part of an encore.
And the setlist – mixing in a string of hits from Beatles, Wings and solo songs from McCartney’s lengthy back catalogue – has been set in stone since the North American leg of the tour which wrapped some 16 months ago.
The Beatles 1964 classic Can’t Buy Me Love has opened every show, and the Fab Four’s The End – the last song recorded collectively by all four Beatles – fittingly closes the show.
There’s new songs such as Come On to Me from 2018’s Egypt Station – but he’s joked he knows which ones the massive crowds prefer: “When we play an old Beatles song the place lights up with all your phones, it’s like a galaxy of stars. When we play a new song … it’s like a black hole. But we play ’em anyway!”
Joining him on his massive stage – which is surrounded by four huge screens – are his longtime touring band, including guitarist Rusty Anderson, bassist/guitarist Brian Ray, pianist Paul ‘Wix’ Wickens, and drummer Abe Laboriel Jr.
The 23-date tour kicked off in Spokane Arena in April 2022, at Spokane Arena in Washington and also included a 160-minute set, with special guests Dave Grohl and Bruce Springsteen at Glastonbury in June last year which was hailed as one of the greatest headline performances of this generation.
Below is the setlist which McCartney has followed to a tee for every show, meaning Sydney fans can be reasonably confident this is what is in store for them at Allianz Stadium on Saturday.
1. Can’t Buy Me Love (The Beatles)
2. Junior’s Farm (Wings)
3. Letting Go (Wings)
4. She’s a Woman (The Beatles)
5. Got to Get You Into My Life (The Beatles)
6. Come On to Me
7. Let Me Roll It (Wings)
8. Getting Better (The Beatles)
9. Let ‘Em In (Wings)
10. My Valentine
11. Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five (Wings)
12. Maybe I’m Amazed
13. I’ve Just Seen a Face (The Beatles)
14. In Spite of All the Danger (The Quarrymen song)
15. Love Me Do (The Beatles)
16. Dance Tonight
17. Blackbird (The Beatles)
18. Here Today
19. New
20. Lady Madonna (The Beatles)
21. Fuh You
22. Jet (Wings)
23. Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite! (The Beatles)
24. Something (The Beatles)
25. Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da (The Beatles)
26. You Never Give Me Your Money (The Beatles)
27. She Came in Through the Bathroom Window (The Beatles)
28. Band on the Run (Wings)
29. Get Back (The Beatles)
30. Let It Be (The Beatles)
31. Live and Let Die (Wings)
32. Hey Jude (The Beatles)
Encore:
33. I’ve Got a Feeling (The Beatles) – virtual duet with John Lennon
34. Birthday (The Beatles)
35. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise) (The Beatles)
36. Helter Skelter (The Beatles)
37. Golden Slumbers (The Beatles)
38. Carry That Weight (The Beatles)
39. The End (The Beatles)
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