Paul McCartney put on an electrifying show last night at the Sprint Center

Paul McCartney
The Sprint Center, Kansas City
Wednesday, July 16, 2014 

Full slideshow here. 

The most cheeky, boyish 72-year-old on Earth, Paul McCartney proved last night that one can be one of the biggest celebrities in history while simultaneously being gracious, funny and one of the greatest performers, well, ever. Last night, Sir Paul treated Kansas City to more than two hours and 45 minutes of Beatles, Wings and solo material, spanning a staggering 54-year career. If this praise sounds overly effusive, rest assured that in this case, every ounce is deserved. Paul McCartney is, quite simply, as good as it gets.

McCartney needed no opener – as the crowd filed into the Sprint Center, the video screens onstage were filled with collages, animations and video featuring photos of the Beatles, intimate photos of McCartney’s family, and members of Wings, as Beatles covers and remixes sounded throughout the stadium. Around 8:45, the lights finally dimmed, and Macca took to the stage, waving at everyone in the crowd, front to back, which he would do throughout the show.  

Having never seen him before (frankly, these tickets – both to this show and his 2010 appearance – were prohibitively expensive for many), it is a jarring experience to hear music coming from the stage that I have been hearing my entire life. I don’t know a time when the Beatles or McCartney weren’t in the background somewhere, and to hear “Eight Days a Week,” or any number of these songs, coming at you live for the first time is so satisfying. The nostalgia, even for a kid born at the beginning of the 1980s like me, is powerful.

Several of the guitars that McCartney used onstage are ones that he has been playing since the 1960s. When he would balance them by their necks on the palm of his hand, or mimic like he was going to throw one into the audience, I almost reflexively put my arms out to protect them.

McCartney recently canceled tour dates in Japan due to illness, but if any of that is lingering, it was not obvious last night. The man does not look or act his age; he flirts, dances between songs, and runs around the stage, quite likely in better physical shape than I am (this disturbing thought crossed my mind a few times throughout the night). His voice, too, has lost none of its luster; often with age, musicians can lose notes in higher registers, or their voices crack. Not so with McCartney.

The set list was composed of a pretty even mix of career material: roughly 20 percent solo, 30 percent Wings and the final half Beatles music. A handful of times throughout the evening, the audience was treated to background on what he played. Following “Let Me Roll With It,” the band played about 30 seconds of “Foxy Lady,” after which he smiled slyly and told a quick story: “That is a tribute to the late, great Jimi Hendrix. I hung out with him a bit in the ’60s. Lovely guy. One of the greatest tributes he ever gave us was when we released Sgt. Pepper’s on a Sunday night. At his show on Monday night, he opened with it.” McCartney then threw up his arms and gave a look that said, How does someone do that?

During “My Valentine,” which was dedicated to McCartney’s current wife, Nancy Shevell, the video screen randomly featured images of Natalie Portman and Johnny Depp doing sign language quite dramatically along with the song, and the next song, “Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five” he dedicated to Wings fans, who responded by throwing up the “W” hand symbol. 

The show featured a handful of surprisingly touching moments. “This song is for Linda,” he said, referring to his late first wife, before playing “Maybe I’m Amazed.” I’d never much cared for that song until then, and I was surprised to be a little choked up at the thought of how much he has lost. As the song swelled to feature the full guitars and the heavy drumming of Abe Laboriel – whose expressive face was a pleasure to watch all evening – I was won over (briefly) to the Wings side. 

Another nice moment came before “Blackbird,” before which McCartney explained that he wrote it as a tribute to people struggling for civil rights in the South during the ’60s. As the song went on, the section of stage that he was standing on began to rise, eventually revealing it as an LCD cube, upon which images of the blackbird flying were shown.

The funny McCartney from those silly movies that the Beatles made is still visible. When someone threw a pair of knotted-up (to make them easier to throw?) pink panties onstage, he picked them up gingerly with his thumb and index finger, holding them away from his body. “What? These are weird,” he said. “This is a first. First time ever. That was John’s thing, darling.”

And when he tried to shout out the home sports team, Kansas City confused him. “Is this… the home of the Chiefs?” he asked. The audience responded with Chiiiiiieeeefs, which sounds like booing. McCartney tweaked his face in confusion. “Who you for then? Arsenal?” 

The latter half of the set, after some strong material off McCartney’s New album (yes, that is the title), including “New” and “Queenie Eye,” a playful, driving piano-led song, was heavy on Beatles material. “You can always tell when we play the old, old stuff,” McCartney said. “Everyone pulls their phones out. We can see them out there, twinkling like stars in the sky,” he joked. 

After a slightly slowed down version of “Back in the USSR,” McCartney told a story about playing the song with the Beatles in 1960s Russia, in front of members of the Russian government. “If you’d have told me when I was growing up that I was going to meet anyone from the Russian government, I would not have believed you. After the show, I met the defense minister. The defense minister!”

McCartney continued, adopting a Russian accent: “‘Paul,’ he said, “‘The first record I ever bought was Love Me Do.'”

McCartney closed out his two-plus-hour set with a sing-along to “Hey Jude,” which despite his having performed it likely thousands of times like so much of his music, he managed to make feel fresh and unique for this audience. And this is where McCartney falls into a special category of performer; he so consistently engages the audience – smiling, waving, chatting and dancing – that even though this set list nearly mirrors his show from Chicago a few nights back, it does not matter at all. It felt special, and he so clearly loves performing and so closely connects with his material and his legacy that it’s impossible to imagine this man having done anything else with his life. 

During one of two encores, McCartney also made the extra-classy move of thanking his crew, along with his band. This does not happen enough (and many of his crew members he thanked by name). That, and being one of the best pop songwriters ever, is how you stay in business for more than 50 years. Paul, come back anytime. 

For more photos from last night, go here. 

Set list:
Eight Days a Week
Save Us
All My Lovin’
Listen to What the Man Said
Let Me Roll It – ‘Foxy Lady’ Hendrix Tribute
Paperback Writer
My Valentine (dedicated to his current wife, Nancy Shevell)
Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five
The Long and Winding Road
Maybe I’m Amazed (dedicated to Linda McCartney)
I’ve Just Seen a Face
We Can Work It Out
Another Day
And I Love Her
Blackbird
Here Today (dedicated to John Lennon)
New
Queenie Eye
Lady Madonna
All Together Now
Lovely Rita
Everybody Out There
Eleanor Rigby
Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!
Something (dedicated to George Harrison)
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
___
Day Tripper
Kansas City / Hey Hey Hey Hey
I Saw Her Standing There
___
Yesterday
Helter Skelter
Golden Slumbers
Carry That Weight
The End