Paul McCartney, Madison Square Garden, September 30, 2005
October 2 2005
The fact is when you are Paul McCartney and your criteria for a set-list is to just play the songs the fans want to hear, then you can't go wrong. Add a few songs that fans would not expect, and the result is a spectacular performance.
When people ask me "how was the McCartney concert" the answer is simple "he started with 'Magical Mystery Tour' and ended with 'Sgt Pepper' and it was classics sandwiched in between". It just could not go wrong.
All the obvious songs were there but the fans wouldn't have it any other way. To really gauge the impact of this brilliance of this gig, look at the songs in the middle. When tracks like 'The Long and Winding Road', 'Eleanor Rigby' and 'Penny Lane' are relegated to the center of the set-list you realize the caliber of the show.
But McCartney also threw some curve balls for the die-hard fans. The inclusion of "I'll Get You' was a surprise because it was mainly a John Lennon song. 'I've Got A Feeling' was certainly more Lennon than McCartney when it first appeared in 'Let It Be' but also made the set.
Macca went right back to 1958 and his pre-Beatles band The Quarrymen for 'In Spite of all the Danger'. He told the audience that it was the first song they ever recorded. The Quarrymen was John Lennon, George Harrison, McCartney with Colin Hanton and John 'Duff' Lowe. "We all shared the recording. I had it for a week, John then had it for a week, then George had it for a week, then Colin had it for a week then Duff had it for 25 years" he said.
'Yesterday' was played with the same guitar he used on the Ed Sullivan show 40 years ago this year and 'Good Day Sunshine' was dedicated to the crew of the last space shuttle who were woken up one day with that song.
Macca's only failing moment was when he announced 'Too Man People' as a Wings song. It was actually from your Ram album, Paul. That was Paul and Linda McCartney.
That one thing aside, check out this set-list:
Magical Mystery Tour (from The Beatles Magical Mystery Tour, 1967)
Flaming Pie (from Flaming Pie, 1997)
Jet (from Wings Band on the Run, 1973)
I'll Get You (b-side, 1963)
Drive My Car (from Rubber Soul, 1967)
Till There Was You (from With The Beatles, 1963)
Let Me Roll It (from Wings Band on the Run, 1973)
Got To Get You Into My Life (from Revolver, 1966)
Fine Line (from Chaos and Creation in the Backyard, 2005)
Maybe I'm Amazed (from McCartney, 1970)
The Long and Winding Road (from The Beatles, Let It Be, 1970)
In Spite of all the Danger (The Quarrymen, 1958)
I Will (from The Beatles, 1968)
Jenny Wray (from Chaos and Creation in the Backyard, 2005)
For No One (from Revolver, 1966)
Fixing A Hole (from The Beatles, Sgt Pepper, 1967)
English Tea (from Chaos and Creation in the Backyard, 2005)
I'll Follow The Sun (from Beatles for Sale, 1964)
Blackbird (from The Beatles, 1968)
Eleanor Rigby (from Revolver, 1966)
Too Many People (from Ram, 1971)
She Came In Through the Bathroom Window (from Abbey Road, 1969)
Good Day Sunshine (from Revolver, 1966)
Band On The Run (from Wings Band on the Run, 1973)
Penny Lane (single, 1967)
I've Got A Feeling (from The Beatles, Let It Be, 1970)
Back In The USSR (from The Beatles, 1968)
Hey Jude (single, 1968)
Live and Let Die (single, 1973)
Yesterday (from Help, 1965) (guitar he played on the Ed Sullivan show)
Get Back (from The Beatles, Let It Be, 1970)
Helter Skelter (from The Beatles, 1968)
Let It Be (from The Beatles, Let It Be, 1970)
Please Please Me (from The Beatles Please Please Me, 1963)
Sgt Pepper/The End (from The Beatles Sgt Pepper, 1967/Abbey Road, 1969)
http://www.undercover.com.au/news/2005/oct05/20051001_paulmccartney.html
