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
