Paul McCartney adds poignancy to rock and roll history party in Fort Worth
Early in his 36-song set Tuesday night at Dickies Arena, Paul McCartney asked for a quick pause in the rock and roll merriment already in full flight.
McCartney told the sold-out crowd of 12,902 that he wanted a second to bask in their presence.
“Good evening, Fort Worth. I have a feeling we’re going to have a great time in this room tonight,” he said. After opening with The Beatles’ 1964 hit “Can’t Buy Me Love,” and Wings’ propulsive 1974 hit “Junior’s Farm,” he lamented that it had been three years since his band played in front of audiences.
“It feels so great to be back,” he said. “In fact, it’s so cool I’m going to take a moment now just to drink it all in for myself.”
Right back at you, Sir Paul.
McCartney, who looked thin and fit in a black, three-piece suit, removed his jacket early and joked that it would be the only wardrobe change of the evening.
There wasn’t time for it, anyway, with the long history of songs in his canon from which to choose a set, going back to 1958.
McCartney, who turns 80 on June 18, may not move around the stage like Mick Jagger (who does?), but he nimbly moved from bass, to guitar, to piano, to mandolin, to ukulele over a two hour, 35 minute show.
Fort Worth was the seventh show on his 16-date, 13-city “Got Back” tour that ends June 16 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.
Tuesday’s show in Fort Worth was McCartney’s first in town since he kicked off his historic “Wings Over America” tour at the Tarrant County Convention Center on May 3, 1976.
His seven-piece band, which included a three-piece horn section, helped bring to life songs from throughout McCartney’s career. Guitarists Rusty Anderson and Brian Ray, drummer Abe Laboriel Jr., keyboardist/guitarist Paul Wickens each at times helped with backing vocals.
The singing from the audience was at times like a de facto backing choir of which McCartney relished and gleefully encouraged. The sing-along nature of the evening was strong and powerful and provided more proof of how deeply the man’s songs have resonated with the world.
He performed 21 Beatles songs, eight songs from his solo records, and six Wings classics.
McCartney’s voice is still remarkably smooth, even if he struggled at times to elegantly hit some high notes and showed less vocal stamina than in his younger days.
But any minor vocal quibbles are beside the point and certainly didn’t detract from the night. The packed arena was filled with a range of ages, from young children to McCartney’s contemporaries and older.
He told some well-known stories (at least to long-time Beatles fans) about hanging out with Jimi Hendrix, the importance of producer George Martin to The Beatles success, and the inspirations behind some of his most beloved songs.
That included a concert highlight “Blackbird,” which McCartney played acoustically on a massive front section of the stage that lifted him about 20 feet above the audience.
It was a bit of theatrics — during a show full of historic video images and animation, lasers, and pyrotechnics (more on that later!) — that likely feels more meaningful in a stadium setting, such as McCartney’s previous show Friday at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., where some fans may struggle to see him clearly. In the smaller confines of Dickies Arena where there is not a bad seat, it seemed the massive riser was unnecessary. But it was cool. Just like everything else during the show.
He dedicated one of his more recent songs, 2012’s “My Valentine,” to wife Nancy Shevell, who was in attendance.
One of the highlights of McCartney’s reflections was the story about the first song he recorded with future Beatles band mates John Lennon and George Harrison. Then known as the Quarrymen, and also including John Lowe and Colin Hanton, the Elvis Presley-inspired “In Spite of All the Danger” took fans back to the 1958 genesis of the greatest rock and roll band the world has ever known.
The special moments kept coming, song after song. There are few rock and roll artists from McCartney’s early days still doing it at his level. Bob Dylan and the Rolling Stones are just about it.
But even those two iconic artists would struggle to match the musical beauty and poignancy so persistent in McCartney’s show.
Whether it was his moving tribute to Harrison during a sweeping version of Harrison’s classic “Something,” or his heartfelt plea to the audience to tell loved ones what they mean to you after singing “Here Today” for Lennon, tears were shed and tingles were felt.
But it was a joyous evening and the tempo hit overdrive as the main set came to a close. “Live and Let Die,” sandwiched between “Let It Be” and “Hey Jude” at the end of the main set, dropped like a punch to the face in the best way. Shooting fireballs, lasers in every direction, indoor fireworks and explosions all blended together in a frantic collage of rock and roll mayhem that felt like five different concerts in one song. You could feel the heat of the pyro at least 10 rows back of the stage. I think my eyebrows were singed.
The six-song encore was all Beatles, including “I’ve Got a Feeling,” which included a virtual duet with Lennon. Peter Jackson, who directed the The Beatles Get Back documentary released last fall, provided Lennon’s isolated vocals on the song and footage of Lennon singing from the Beatles’ famous rooftop performance was played on the video screen behind the stage. It was a special moment.
The encore continued with two of McCartney’s edgier compositions from The White Album, the underrated “Birthday,” and “Helter Skelter.”
Finally, the show came to a climatic finish with the trilogy that closes The Beatles best album “Abbey Road.”
“Golden Slumbers,” Carry That Weight,” and “The End,” mostly the brainchild of McCartney, put the perfect bow on an unforgettable night.
“And in the end, the love you take, is equal to the love you make,” McCartney sang.
Paul McCartney setlist, Fort Worth, May 17, 2022
1. Can’t Buy Me Love
2. Junior’s Farm
3. Letting Go
4. Got to Get You Into My Life
5. Come On to Me
6. Let Me Roll It (with Foxy Lady jam)
7. Getting Better
8. Women and Wives
9. My Valentine
10. Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five
11. Maybe I’m Amazed
12. We Can Work It Out
13. In Spite of All the Danger
14. Love Me Do
15. Dance Tonight
16. Blackbird
17. Here Today
18. New
19. Lady Madonna
20. Fuh You
21. Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!
22. Something
23. Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
24. You Never Give Me Your Money
25. She Came in Through the Bathroom Window
26. Get Back
27. Band on the Run
28. Let It Be
29. Live and Let Die
30. Hey Jude
Encore
31. I’ve Got a Feeling (virtual duet)
32. Birthday
33. Helter Skelter
34. Golden Slumbers
35. Carry That Weight
36. The End
This story was originally published May 18, 2022 at 12:00 AM.
