Paul McCartney’s been at it for over half a century. He’s long since lost the element of surprise – yet tonight, during what’s billed as his 50th London show, that’s exactly what he delivers.
Sure, the familiar touchstones – well-worn stories, setlist stuffed with the biggest songs of the past 100 years, granddad-style audience banter, mass Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da singalong, trademark thumbs-up – are all there. But so are the effusive live debut of Temporary Secretary, a glitchy electro-pop obscurity from 1980’s McCartney II; the first UK performance of effervescent Help! album track Another Girl; and the appearance of giddy, grinning “up-and-coming rhythm guitarist” Dave Grohl on a jubilant I Saw Her Standing There.
Almost as unexpected is McCartney’s obvious – and sustained – enthusiasm for these songs. Although the veteran superstar really has nothing left to prove, he puts as much into the 538th performance of Let It Be as the obligatory new songs – the nostalgic Queenie Eye, glistening New, and soaring Hope For The Future. Granted, there’s none of Mick Jagger’s strutting and preening on display, but even towards the end of an almost three-hour set, the 72-year-old is still capable of thundering through the apocalyptic Helter Skelter like a man possessed.
The lifelong performer and curator of his own legacy certainly doesn’t shy away from such classics, building his 40-song set on exactly what the fans want: the hits performed the way they’re remembered. No reggae reimaginings. No jazzy workouts. Just a crack four-piece band slickly recreating Beatles landmarks (Yesterday, Lady Madonna, Something) and Wings highlights like a fire-and-brimstone take on Live and Let Die – backed by pyrotechnics of 1970s-size proportions. McCartney certainly hasn’t cut any corners on the production budget – there’s enough wattage here to light up Heathrow’s proposed third runway – but tonight’s highlight is his unadorned solo performance of Blackbird. Standing alone on a raised platform, his now husky voice paired with just an acoustic guitar, the UK’s richest musician for once looks and sounds genuinely fragile.
Now that’s a real surprise.
Paul McCartney
The O2 Arena
23 May 2015
Photo: Nils van der Linden
- This article originally appeared on GraffitiPunctuated.
