Good Evening New York City

Paul McCartney

Since 2002, Paul McCartney has been a touring madman. He and his band — Rusty Anderson and Brian Ray on guitars, Abe Laboriel, Jr. on drums, and keyboardist Paul “Wix” Wickens — have trail-blazed the world over, playing the Super Bowl, Live 8, the Grammys, the Red Square in Moscow, even the Coachella Festival. For the Summer Live 09 tour, McCartney returned to the hallowed grounds of Shea Stadium, 44 years after the Beatles played there. This time it was an inaugural event for the new Citi Field Stadium. For three nights, it was Beatlemania all over again, and the maestro did not disappoint. Good Evening New York City, a double CD/single DVD package, captures all the highlights.

The CDs are great for the car or the patio, but the real ticket is the DVD. We’re talking 33 songs, two hours and 40 minutes of high definition shot with 15 cameras and additional footage taken from 75 Flipcams handed out to fans. While the audience shots become overbearing as the show rolls on, the performances are top-notch and heavy-set. “Drive My Car” makes for a snappy opening, clearing the runway for “Jet” to land and make its own sweeping entrance. “Only Mama Knows” and “Flaming Pie,” a couple of recent rockers, shows the man can still pack a punch when he wants to.

When McCartney alludes to playing Shea Stadium, he manages to get the “girls” to scream before polishing off “Got To Get You Back Into My Life.” With the Rock Band clips flashing on the screen behind the band, the crass commercial cliff almost gives way until McCartney straps on his colorful Les Paul for “Let Me Roll It.” Then the group swings into the blues-driven “Highway” from the cryptic Electric Arguments album, and it’s anyone’s guess as to where they'll go next.

Apparently, it’s “The Long and Winding Road” for McCartney. In keeping with the mood, he then announces: “I wrote this one for Linda. She was a New York girl and she loved New York.” And with that, the romantic strains of “My Love” get the house swaying. The band takes a break, leaving the singer to himself and an acoustic guitar. A few strums of “Greensleeves” sets up “Blackbird.” But it’s “Here Today,” the tearjerker McCartney says he wrote for John Lennon “after he passed away” that’ll leave a lump in your throat.

Switching over to mandolin for “Dance Tonight,” McCartney seems no worse for the wear despite the pace and breadth of the show. The band soon joins him for “Calico Skies” and “Mrs. Vanderbilt,” a funny little number from the Band On The Run album. “Eleanor Rigby” is sweetened up by the capable background vocals of Anderson and Laboriel while Wix plays the strings without kicking up much dust. “Sing The Changes,” another chestnut from Electric Arguments, may well be the best song Paul McCartney has written and performed in 20 years or more. The Barrack Obama silhouette in the background certainly solidifies the song’s message.

Watching the band — a combination that has been together almost as long as the Beatles — pop through “Band On The Run” and “Back In The U.S.S.R.” precipitates another lengthy trip through Fab land. “I’m Down” cuts back and fourth between shots of the Beatles playing Shea Stadium in 1965 and the McCartney band playing Citi Field Stadium in 2009. Wix even solos on the keyboard with his elbow — just like Lennon.

McCartney breaks out the ukulele and pays tribute to George Harrison with a heartbreaking rendition of “Something.” Anderson and Laboriel come to the fore, faithfully singing the rollicking vocal parts on “I’ve Got A Feeling” behind McCartney, who goes on to solo on his Les Paul .From there, it’s a regular Beatlefest — “Paperback Writer,” “A Day In The Life (with a little bit of Lennon’s “Give Peace A Chance” tacked on the back end), and “Let It Be.” Clearly, McCartney knows how important these songs are, and feels a pressing obligation to squeeze in as many as possible. Thankfully, he doesn’t turn his back on one of his greatest songs from the 70s, “Live And Let Die,” a pyrotechnic wet dream, full of brimstone and fire.

“Hey Jude” is a well-spent relic that should be retired, but probably never will. It’s a given, especially when McCartney invites the audience to join in, at one point splitting the na na na na na na’s up evenly between the boys and girls. The encore? All Beatles, of course. “Day Tripper” packs some serious muscle. Billy Joel comes out for “I Saw Her Standing There” and pipes in on the verses. A second encore prompts a quiet take of “Yesterday” before the band rejoins McCartney for two of the evening’s hardest rockers: “Helter Skelter” and “Get Back.” The finale of “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” segueing into “The End” underscores the still-burning fire in the man’s heart.

In addition to the three-disc (2 CDs and one DVD) version of Good Evening New York City, collectors may be inspired to pick up the four-disc (two CDs and two DVDs) deluxe version with expanded packaging and a bonus DVD comprising McCartney's July 15 performance on the Ed Sullivan Theater marquee that aired on the Late Show with David Letterman. Whichever version you pick up, this may well be the best live collection from Paul McCartney since Wings Over America.

~ Shawn Perry

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