Paul McCartney

Land's End Stage, San Francisco CA, August 9

Photo: Kim Jay

BY Craig ShutkoPublished Aug 10, 2013

8
Former Beatle and living legend Sir Paul McCartney rolled into Outside Lands on Friday and brought with him a set of stories and songs that only a legend could perform.

McCartney's show was a three-hour, 39-song marathon performance that spanned all decades of his career that had him running between playing guitar and piano. The song selection at this show balanced McCartney's years solo, as well as his time with Wings and, of course, the Beatles. Fans were treated to not only the hits you'd expect like "Band on the Run" and "Hey Jude," but also a smorgasbord of Beatles songs: "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite," "Eleanor Rigby," "Blackbird" and a rocking version of "Helter Skelter" were delivered to the delight of the audience.

Despite his age, McCartney barely broke a sweat. The Beatles and Wings tunes from the past sounded almost as good as they did on the records.

McCartney delved into his story banks and was spinning tales from the '60s about all kinds of great stuff, including a tribute to Jimi Hendrix during the Wings song "Let Me Roll It" by working in "Foxy Lady" as the song's outro. McCartney followed up with a story about a time Jimi Hendrix performed "Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band" and asking Eric Clapton to tune his guitar when it went out of tune.

McCartney delivered the goods and proved that even at age 71, he's got no problem ripping guitar licks and singing songs with the best of them.

Latest Coverage