Paul McCartney in Philadelphia, 6/21/2015

There’s not much one can say about last Sunday’s Paul McCartney concert at the Wells Fargo barn in South Philly, but this: It was a blast. He played 39 songs over the course of about three hours – twice as long as most shows by artists a quarter of his age (73).

It began with the sheer Beatle adrenalin that is “Eight Days a Week.” “Save Us,” from his New album, followed – like most latter-day McCartney songs, it’s solid and, in the context of the show, worked well in the second spot. Now, some may find this sacrilegious, but the Beatles’ “Another Girl,” which was up next, is just another song – not one of Fabs’ best, in my opinion. It possesses nowhere near the sway of, say, “Listen to What the Man Said,” the bell-bottomed ’70s Wings confection that came next. The night’s only truly bum note, however, was “Temporary Secretary” – it’s just plain daft. McCartney II, the album it hails from, is home to better tunes, including “On the Way,” “Waterfalls,” “One of These Days” and, of course, “Coming Up.” You could almost hear a collective sigh of relief when he followed it with an arena-worthy rendition of Band on the Run‘s “Let Me Roll It,” which ended with a brief tribute to Jimi Hendrix. The band itself was tight throughout.

Like I said at the top, overall the show was a blast. The set list is below… and, if you’re adventurous, here’s a YouTube playlist that collects almost all the songs from the night (shot by various folks, including me).

1. Eight Days a Week
2. Save Us
3. Another Girl
4. Listen to What the Man Said
5. Temporary Secretary
6. Let Me Roll It/Foxy Lady
7. Paperback Writer
8. My Valentine
9. Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five
10. The Long and Winding Road
11. Maybe I’m Amazed
12. I’ve Just Seen a Face
13. We Can Work It Out
14. Another Day
15. Hope for the Future
16. And I Love Her
17. Blackbird
18. Here Today
19. New
20. Queenie Eye
21. Lady Madonna
22. All Together Now
23. Lovely Rita
24. Eleanor Rigby
25. Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!
26. Something
27. Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
28. Band on the Run
29. Back in the U.S.S.R.
30. Let It Be
31. Live and Let Die
32. Hey Jude
33. Yesterday***
34. Hi, Hi, Hi***
35. Can’t Buy Me Love***
36. Helter Skelter***
37. Golden Slumbers***
38. Carry That Weight***
39. The End***

*** = Encore