“And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.” That love was evident throughout Paul McCartney’s One on One Tour. Many in the sold-out audience announced their affection through their Beatle T-shirts and handmade signs (“116 concerts”.
Playing a set list that included crowd-favorite Beatle songs, along with music from Wings and his solo stuff, McCartney commented that, “when we play songs you like, the place lights up like a galaxy, but when we play a new song, it’s like a black hole. But we don’t care, we gonna play it anyway.” Nobody minded.
More so on this tour than in previous concerts, Paul told stories. Stories about how songs came to be: A little acoustic guitar riff morphed into “You Won’t See Me.” Blackbird evolved from Paul and John’s reaction to the volatile events in the American South of the ‘60’s.
Earlier in the concert, the older Beatle songs were more true to the originals in both instrumentation and harmonies. Songs including “Can’t Buy Me Love, “All My Loving” and “We Can Work It Out” sounded reminiscent of the Beatles arrangements with guitars, tight harmonies, with the addition of a keyboard.
Paul gets somber too. His song for his wife Nancy, “My Valentine,” was beautiful. He also offered a song to Linda – “Maybe I’m Amazed”. Perhaps the most unique and beautiful arrangement was the current version of “Eleanor Rigby,” here sung with an acoustic guitar and keyboard subbing for the strings of the original.
And don’t think for a minute that Paul is all soft rock and ballads. Versions of “Birthday”, “Back in the USSR”, and “Helter Skelter” were hard-edged and featured great lead guitar solos with a nod to Jimi Hendrix.
Probably the most spectacular song was the current rendition of “Live and Let Die.” Paul’s contribution to the James Bond film of the same name has always been a concert favorite. This time, however, it was a pyrotechnic masterpiece. The middle break of song was punctuated by eruptions of fire and heat followed by on-stage fireworks. Even though the audience expected some kind of drama, everyone around us jumped when the sparks flew.
And while the loud, but well-behaved crowds cheered wildly for final songs, the biggest screams were probably heard when Sir Paul introduced his friends and concert buddies, Bill Joel in Nassau Coliseum and Bruce Springsteen in MSG .
Paul and Billy did a rousing version of “Get Back” followed by a great, loud rocking version of “Birthday.” Springsteen performed “I Saw Her Standing There.”
At almost three hours, these concerts certainly gave people their money’s worth. Paul never left the stage and was on his feet constantly. He played his first-ever song back when he was part of the Quarrymen in the late 50’s and then played a song he wrote 2 years ago. His is a career that has given the world a catalogue of music spanning more than 60 years. His energy, his joy and his still boyish looks help redefine what 75 years old means.
Standing Room Only 