Let’s be clear: Nothing short of channeling the spirits of John Lennon and George Harrison via psychic medium for a surprise guest appearance could top the experience of witnessing the epic, 80,000-party-ready-festival-goer-strong outpouring of joyous, emotional release at Paul McCartney’s 2013 Bonnaroo set. We caught that one, and loved it. And only that Bonnaroo show could top the excitement of seeing Sir Paul for the first time at the Beatle’s Music City debut at Bridgestone Arena in 2010. We caught that one, too, and loved it.
So with that in mind, we entered the 'Stone giddy with excitement over knowing we were about drink in one of the best shows we’ll ever see, yet knowing that all-important element of surprise was gone for good. Personally, subjectively, the returns would inevitably be diminishing in The Emotional Transcendence Department, but looking around the boomer-brimming arena, it was clear there were still many first-timers in the house, and the collective vibe was ecstatic.
That said, like last time and the time before, our hearts still grew a size or two and our eyes still welled during moments like “And I Love Her,” “Here Today” (as a touching tribute to John Lennon), “I’ve Just Seen a Face,” “Yesterday” and many others.
Seeing Macca pluck “Blackbird” standing atop a giant screen rising toward the rafters like a chariot to heaven, while the crowd, transfixed, sings along in a warm, quiet chorus is just a true privilege. It’s almost an out-of-body reminder that we get to exist at the same time as this man who changed the world with pop music, and we can go see him perform that music in person, in fine voice, with a band who not only does the music justice, but adds their own personality and nuances to keep it exciting and in-the-moment. Even with ticket prices as high as $450 (for something priceless), that opportunity itself is a gift. At 72 years old, McCartney doesn’t have to give us that, yet he does with a dedication, grace, gratitude and congeniality that really makes it feel like getting to spend quality time with a goddamn Beatle. And he does it for the course of more than two-and-a-half hours and 39 songs.
That said, diminishing returns. McCartney’s voice wasn’t as close to flawless as it was at the 2010 Bridgestone show. He still sings two-dozen-plus Beatles songs and a handful of Wings hits (“Band on the Run” was soul-clenching) and fan favorites (“Let Me Roll It” was the fuckin’ shit!) in the original keys, but for the first hour of Thursday night’s show we could tell Sir Paul struggled to hit some notes. It wasn’t as effortless as before. But holy hell, he's 72 years old! That excuses any apparent seams we could nitpick. He can also still scream like a motherfucker on rockers like “Helter Skelter,” “Live and Let Die” (complete with pyro cues, of course) and “Day Tripper.”
Macca’s age also excuses how he tells the same affable anecdotes, almost verbatim, at every show. The “Foxy Lady” tag at the end of “Let Me Roll It” rolls into a story about hanging with Jimi Hendrix; he took off his coat a few songs in and quipped about it being the show’s only wardrobe change; he regaled us with tales of living-room ukulele jams with George Harrison before paying tribute (to both George and ukuleles) on a stirring “Something” (still one of the best moments in the show) and so on. But when he does it, it’s like grandpa going into a story the family’s heard countless times at the dinner table. You just let him go with it and take it in while you still can. In this case, you’re not just humoring The World’s Greatest Grandpa — last night, after “Maybe I’m Amazed,” Macca mentioned that the baby bjorned in his lumberjack coat on the cover of McCartney now has four kids of her own — you’re humoring Paul Motherfucking McCartney! Again, priceless. There was, however, one bit of off-the-cuff, unique-to-Nashville banter Thursday night, and it was significant: “You gotta save these old studios, man," he said at one point, lending his support to the Save Music Row movement. "The history!”
Other differences from the last two Middle Tennessee Macca appearances were four songs from his latest long player, New. Both the could-have-been-a-Queen-song royal British jauntiness of the title track and the crowd-participation-enhanced, jangly, Celtic stomp of “Everybody Out There” were standouts at this show. And that’s no small feat, seeing as how they appeared in the set list along such life-changers as “Let It Be” and “Eleanor Rigby.”
“We’ll see you next time,” McCartney said when bidding the crowd farewell. In spite of age, a next time seems totally plausible. And we’ll be there with bells on to sing “na-na na nas” at the end of “Hey Jude” and sit through old stories that will never lose their charm.
Long live, Sir Paul McCartney!
Set list:
1. Magical Mystery Tour
2. Save Us
3. All My Loving
4. Listen to What the Man Said
5. Let Me Roll It
6. Paperback Writer
7. My Valentine
8. Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five
9. The Long and Winding Road
10. Maybe I'm Amazed
11. I've Just Seen a Face
12. We Can Work It Out
13. Another Day
14. And I Love Her
15. Blackbird
16. Here Today
17. New
18. Queenie Eye
19. Lady Madonna
20. All Together Now
21. Lovely Rita
22. Everybody Out There
23. Eleanor Rigby
24. Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!
25. Something
26. Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
27. Band on the Run
28. Back in the U.S.S.R.
29. Let It Be
30. Live and Let Die
31. Hey Jude
Encore one:
32. Day Tripper
33. Birthday
34. I Saw Her Standing There
Encore two:
35. Yesterday
36. Helter Skelter
37. Golden Slumbers
38. Carry That Weight
39. The End
