Paul McCartney at Bonnaroo
By Ken Paulson
There’s a joy to Paul McCartney’s concerts these days, and that was never more evident than in his headlining show at the Bonnaroo Music Festival tonight.
Early on, he took a break for an extended gaze at the estimated 80,000 people in the audience, as if to say “We’re going to enjoy this.” By show’s end, he was literally skipping offstage.
It’s not realistic to suggest that a 70-year-old man will hit the same notes he did when he was a half-century younger, but it’s not obvious. His current band has played with him for more than a decade and the performances are smooth and exhilarating.
McCartney opened the show with “Eight Days a Week,” an early Beatles hit that he doesn’t play very often. He followed that up with “Junior’s Farm,” a fitting choice given the setting, and a song that was recorded 90 minutes away in Nashville. Then came “All My Loving” and “Listen to What the Man Said,” continuing that pattern throughout the evening, interweaving Beatles classics with his best moments with Wings and as a solo artist.
“All Together Now” was a pleasant surprise, a jaunty obscurity from the Yellow Submarine soundtrack tailor-made for a festival crowd that was eager to bounce along. McCartney also unearthed “For the Benefit of Mr. Kite,” a John Lennon song from Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. It was inspired, particularly when followed by McCartney’s rendition of George Harrison’s “Something.”
McCartney also took a moment to acknowledge legendary producer Phil Ramone, dedicating “Just Another Day,” his first real hit single as a solo artist, to him.
Although the concert packed in more than 30 songs, McCartney also took the time to chat. He told a story about Jimi Hendrix playing the title track from Sgt. Pepper in a club right after the song’s release, but running into tuning problems. His pleas to Eric Clapton to help him were for naught.
The size of the audience (and perhaps its youth) seemed to ignite McCartney. His “Helter Skelter” and “Day Tripper” were hard-charging and raucous, and “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” was silly and buoyant.
Perhaps most surprising was the audience sing-along to “Yesterday” late in the show. Despite its status as one of the most-covered McCartney compositions, it’s not a staple of rock radio. How do 21-year-olds know every word?
I’ve seen McCartney in concert almost a dozen times, but this show may have been the best yet. He doesn’t have a new album, so it was hits and classics all the way. This is a man with nothing to prove, but he does it anyway.
It’s a shame we’ve lost Lennon and Harrison, but it is truly a blessing to have McCartney around to show a new generation what the magic was all about.
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