Paul McCartney has an unending energy.
On Sunday he was in New Orleans at the Super Bowl.
Tonight, he played a surprise show at the tiny Bowery Ballroom way downtown. The 575 capacity room sold all its tickets in 15 minutes after an announcement at noon
McCartney plays another show Wednesday night and possibly one more on Friday night. On Sunday, he’s featured on the “SNL50” show on NBC.
Whew!
The 22 song set tonight lasted 90 minutes. McCartney opened with “A Hard Days Night” and closed with the “Abbey Road” medley.
In between there were 11 Beatles songs like “Hey Jude” and “Lady Madonna.” The others were from his solo career, There was even “Now and Then,” the ‘final’ Beatles song released last year, reconstructed from a John Lennon demo. But McCartney omitted “Band on the Run,” which itself was a surprise.
As a nod to the approaching Valentine’s Day, he sang “My Valentine.” I told you last week he recently collaborated with Barbra Streisand on a duet for her coming album.
But there’s so much you can do in half as long a show as usual. And don’t forget, this isn’t a seated event. Everyone stood. When I was there two summers ago to see The Pretenders, it was a sweaty but exciting event.
The whole shebang continues Wednesday night, more than likely at the slightly larger Irving Plaza. McCartney loves these impromptu club dates. He used to do them with Wings in the early 70s, just setting down at various small venues. It reminds him of he Beatles early days, and we are the better for it.
PAUL’S NEW YORK CITY SETLIST REVEALED!!! (ursamajr on reddit)
— peter lane (@peterlanee) February 12, 2025
Mrs Vandebilt and From Me To You seemed to have escaped the soundcheck prison! Would love to see those come back
Surprised to see no Band On The Run or Helter Skelter pic.twitter.com/sGusaamKzq
