So when Pittsburgh was looking for someone to inaugurate their new arena, there was no bigger name than Sir Paul McCartney to do the honors. Tickets to his back-to-back shows were snapped up in a matter of minutes by fans who’ve been waiting their whole life to see the legendary ex-Beatle perform — or at least the two whole decades since the last time he played here. And the fact that McCartney is pushing 70 had many feeling it could very well be the last chance they get to see a Beatle performing Beatles’ music.
The August 18th and 19th shows at the much ballyhooed Consol Energy Center marked the end of the North American leg of McCartney’s Up and Coming tour and the third time he has played Pittsburgh. (The Beatles touched down here back in 1964 and played their standard 30-minute set to 12,000 screaming fans, many of whom were in attendance at the Consol show, and McCartney returned to Pittsburgh with his band Wings in February 1990.) McCartney indulged fans with a Springsteen-esque three hours of music that included songs from the Beatles catalog, some from his decade with Wings, and some more recent work. With two encores tacked on, McCartney possessed the stamina and endurance that so many of today’s band’s lack.
And oh, what a joyous night it was! The most affable of the Beatles, McCartney had an easy camaraderie with his audience. He was full of jokes and trivia and was very accommodating to fans, one of whom asked to have her thigh autographed and another whose proposal during Sir Paul’s performance of “My Love” was broadcast on the double Jumbotrons.
McCartney also indulged us in the backstories behind some of his iconic music including one about Jimi Hendrix learning "Sgt. Pepper" and then opening his set with it three days after it was released, which Sir Paul called one of the greatest musical honors of his life. McCartney spoke some of his difficult relationship with the late John Lennon before launching into the gentle acoustic “Here Today,” a love song written for Lennon about the conversation the two men never had. And he honored George Harrison with a ukulele-led sing-along on “Something” while visuals of Harrison played on the stage’s many screens. The show had the intimacy of an episode of VH1’s Storytellers despite a capacity crowd.
McCartney opened the night with the song "Venus and Mars/Rock Show" after which the band launched right into "Jet," all from the most beloved of his Wings' albums, Band on the Run. Looking much the same as he did in his heyday with the Beatles in his black Nehru-style jacket and black pants, McCartney ripped through a 39-song set the early part of which jumped through his career — from 2008s "Highway" from what he called his “alter ego” the Fireman, to the Wings' classic "Let 'Em In," to the lovely, lilting "Blackbird” — before zeroing in on the Beatles' catalog at a little past the halfway mark.
A string of Beatles oldies followed including "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da," “Paperback Writer,” “A Day in the Life/Give Peace a Chance,” and “Let It Be,” with McCartney switching between bass, guitar and piano. His 1973 James Bond theme “Live and Let Die” briefly interrupted the Beatles love fest with pyrotechnics that threatened to blow up the joint before McCartney took to his piano to play a moving “Hey Jude,” which had the crowd on their feet, arms waving.
When the band took the stage for their final encore, McCartney left the crowd pretty much sated with the bittersweet acoustic number "Yesterday," which was followed up by a chill-inducing "Helter Skelter,” "Sgt. Pepper," and most fittingly, “The End.”
Although his backing band will never be the Beatles, they vocal harmonies, riffs and stage energy were quite impressive throughout the night. And McCartney, well, he’s managed to keep up, rock out, and hit the high note at the end of “Hey Jude” — even at 68.
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There are plans for an upcoming Paul McCartney tribute album which is to be released sometime in 2010 with artists like Kiss, Garth Brooks, Billy Joel, B. B. King and others said to be recording covers of McCartney songs.
