Paul McCartney in Las Vegas: 35 songs, 2 1/2 hours, one party —- PHOTOS

Paul McCartney promised us from the start, “I’m getting the feeling we’re gonna have a bit of a party tonight! The biggest party in Vegas!”

The party for adoring crowd Saturday at Allegiant Stadium was hardly McCartney’s first, though it was his debut at the stadium. He still knows how to bring it. Somehow McCartney fills the wishes of his generations of fans, plays classics against deep cuts and while suiting himself.

Word around the “Got Back” tour was McCartney wanted this tour to employ the latest live-performance technology. Yet he moved the masses by standing solo, playing an acoustic ukulele, for the intro to “Something.”

McCartney has written the most-recorded and covered song in music history. But he did not play “Yesterday.” He did dust off the first song ever recorded by members of the Beatles, “In Spite of All The Danger.” That home-recorded Quarrymen gem from 1958 (a stadium song that invokes the accordion) shared a show with the jarring explosions of “Live and Let Die.”

McCartney opened his previous Vegas tour stop at T-Mobile Arena in 2019 with, “A Hard Days Night” and its black-and-white montage. But he blew open this show with “Help.”

Enlisting Jimi

Many McCartney forays were anticipated, and have become crowd favorites. We don’t tire of the story of McCartney seeing Jimi Hendrix at Saville Theatre in London in 1967. He brings the vintage story to life by playing a stretch of “Foxy Lady” to tag the Wings’ hit “Let Me Roll It.” He and George Harrison saw Hendrix on a Friday with almost no one else in the crowd. “By Monday, the place was packed,” he smiled, while playing a Gibson painted with dozens of happy kids, their arms held high.

McCartney remains a master at using melody, lyrics and storytelling to touch his fans. “Here Today,” a dedication to John Lennon, was his way of showing love. “It’s hard when you are a guy to tell your friend, ‘I love you.’” So he wrote the song after Lennon’s death. It was one of those moments you had to remind yourself to breathe.

Ahead of “Something,” McCartney spoke George Harrison affection for the ukulele and virtuosity on the instrument. “He gave me this one,” he said. Starting simply, the song accelerated to feature the full band, with video and stills of McCartney and Harrison and the Beatle years.

Several fans arrived with massive signs. McCartney pointed out many, reading, “I was at Shea Stadium!” adding, “So was I!” He shouted at another, “Hey! Happy birthday!” He made the curious call out, “How many people here live in Las Vegas, or nearby?” Maybe half cheered. “How many traveled a long way from Las Vegas to be here?” The other half roared back.

Messages for all time

The singalong to “Hey Jude,” the male-female split choruses, was another anticipated highlight. “Blackbird,” played atop a visual of a bird flying from an open cage, reminded of McCartney speaking out against civil-rights violations in the ’60s.

“Maybe I’m Amazed” is still his generation-spanning, beautifully penned tribute to Linda McCartney. Today it’s played in step with “My Valentine,” dedicated to current wife, Nancy Shevell.

“I’ve Got a Feeling” got back to McCartney’s 1969 video duet with Lennon. “Now And Then” was a tricked-out, yet sentimental closing of all original Beatles music, with present-day McCartney and Ringo singing and playing with AI-enhanced images of Harrison and Lennon.

The McCartney stat sheet would be remarkably for any performer in their performance prime. He’s 83 today. He played 35 songs over 2 1/2 hours. No opener. No break.

He blasted through “Helter Skelter” in the encore, two hours deep and having sung almost a full show already. The backing band of Paul “Wix” Wickens, Rusty Anderson, Brian Ray and Abe Laboriel Jr. has been together for nearly a quarter-century. We even had a three-piece horn section on this swing, bringing back the Wings mid-’70s heyday.

A final bow

But it’s not sufficient to measure McCartney only by the numbers. The experiences and memories flood when you see him live. An example, “Dance Tonight” on mandolin was the song he played while walking through The Mirage the day “Love” opened nearly 20 years ago, leading a parade of devotees through the hotel.

I felt my first McCartney show might be the last. It was at University Stadium at UC Berkeley. That was 35 years ago. McCartney hadn’t toured the U.S. in 15 years and we never imagined he’d tour 15 years later, when he’d be 62 (!) years old. But he continues to defy time, set standards, and summon tears.

Sir Paul once said what he most loves hearing from fans. We remember, and we’ll say it again. Thanks for all the music.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by John Katsilometes (@johnnykats1)

John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.