Paul McCartney Takes Nothing for Granted on ‘One on One’ Tour

At this point in his career, Sir Paul McCartney wouldn’t be faulted for phoning in a live performance at the age of 74. Fortunately, one look at setlists from his current ‘One on One’ tour will show that he does nothing of the sort. The former Beatle didn’t play it safe, nor did he pander to the Philadelphia audience with some easy hits. In fact, McCartney invited them to celebrate (“Good evening Philadelphia… we’re going to have a party here in this place tonight”) as he packed 38 songs from all eras of his life into his revamped tour.

To be fair, many folks, like me, want to hear The Beatles tracks and, if you had to choose between the two surviving Beatles, McCartney does far more Fab Four songs than his former bandmate Ringo Starr does on tour (the latter does tour with his All-Starr band doing all sorts of hits, the members participated on though, including, to my surprise, Toto’s “Africa”). Fortunately, McCartney has incorporated a variety of classics into his set including “Love Me Do” and “Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!” in addition to staples like “Live and Let Die” (complete with fireworks) and “Blackbird”.

The only oddball song was “FourFiveSeconds”, a recent collaboration with Rihanna and Kanye West, as it didn’t have the same charm as the rest of his set. Prior to the tour, McCartney spoke with Rolling Stone to discuss his setlist, and they noted “McCartney was concerned how older fans would react to this [song]”. But from that, he went right into “Eleanor Rigby”, so the minor detour to something unfamiliar didn’t prevent everyone from continuing to have fun.

Perhaps the best surprise of the night, it seems like it’s happened before on this tour, was when McCartney invited a couple identified as Melissa Gray and Dylan Berwick onto the stage so that Berwick could propose. It was a most generous gesture from the entertainer. In spite of the size of the venues, McCartney and his music forge a personal connection with each and every one in the audience. His ‘One on One’ tour continues — dates follow below the photos.

Paul McCartney 7/12/16 Setlist

A Hard Day’s Night

Save Us

Can’t Buy Me Love

Letting Go

Temporary Secretary

Let Me Roll It

I’ve Got a Feeling

My Valentine

Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five

Here, There and Everywhere

Maybe I’m Amazed

We Can Work It Out

In Spite of All the Danger

You Won’t See Me

Love Me Do

And I Love Her

Blackbird

Here Today

Queenie Eye

New

The Fool on the Hill

Lady Madonna

FourFiveSeconds

Eleanor Rigby

Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!

Something

Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da

Band on the Run

Back in the U.S.S.R.

Let It Be

Live and Let Die

Hey Jude

[encore break]

Yesterday

Hi, Hi, Hi

Birthday

Golden Slumbers

Carry That Weight

The End

Tour Dates

07/19/16 – Hershey, PA – Hersheypark Stadium

07/21/16 – Hamilton, ONT – FirstOntario Centre

08/07/16 – East Rutherford, NJ – MetLife Stadium

08/09/16 – Washington D.C. – Verizon Center

08/10/16 – Washington D.C. – Verizon Center

08/13/16 – St. Louis, MO – Busch Stadium

08/15/16 – Grand Rapids, MI — Van Andel Arena

08/17/16 – Cleveland, OH – Quicken Loans Arena

08/18/16 – Cleveland, OH – Quicken Loans Arena

10/04/16 – Sacramento, CA – Golden 1 Center

10/05/16 – Sacramento, CA – Golden 1 Center

10/08/16 – Indio, CA – Desert Trip

10/15/16 – Indio, CA – Desert Trip