Paul McCartney
Globe Life Park Arlington, Tx

by Brooks Burris

Days before Sir Paul McCartney’s 77th Birthday, Globe Life Park in Arlington, Texas experienced a brilliant performance from the Liverpool native and his talented band. Texas was lucky to have the legend at such a fun time to celebrate his birthday while on a limited city “Freshen Up” tour.

Paul kicked things off with Beatles’ Classic, “Hard Days Night” as the packed stadium belted out the lyrics along with the living legend-these are songs that fans have been singing along to for decades and they are timeless. The night was jam packed with Beatles hits, songs by Wings, as well as fresh tunes from his most recent solo release titled ‘Egypt Station’. The show was almost three hours- a 37-song set, spanning from the 60’s to today. The immense catalog of Beatles songs alone makes for a daunting task putting a set list together.

Halfway through the set McCartney spotted a fan in the crowd with a “Happy Birthday” sign and humbly thanked the gentleman which inspired the crowd to collectively sing Happy Birthday to the now 77 year-old British rocker. Throughout the show McCartney seemed to toy with the audience, at one point pretending to throw a guitar into the crowd as well as point and tease fans near the stage. The legend continues to defy aging and looks as handsome, youthful, and energetic as ever.

Sir Paul included both upbeat songs with electric guitar and ukulele as well as slower acoustic classics. During songs “Let It Be” and “Hey Jude”, fans created a galaxy of cell phone lights that illuminated the baseball stadium (Texas Rangers) as they swayed back and forth from foul pole to foul pole. Towards the end of the set massive pyrotechnics erupted throughout the electrifying rendition of “Live and Let Die”, captivating fans with glimmering fireworks and intense lighting effects.

More than just songs, McCartney tells stories of The Beatles, his family and meeting legends like Jimmy Hendrix, Clapton,  and others. Making the night even more special for Texas fans,  Sir Paul dedicated “My Valentine,” to his wife Nancy who was in the audience. Fans always get a little history when he talks about how songs came about and what is what like in the first years of The Beatles. Listening to such a huge part of the world’s music history in person is an incredibly special thing for true music lovers. It’s indescribable. It takes people back to a special and meaningful time in their life and in the world and the deep holes left by George Harrison and John Lennon are powerful and honored by Sir Paul. In some sense, the world climate and politics of today feel very much the same as in the 60’s which makes these shows and the timeless lyrics so relatable.

See our full photo gallery on Austin 101.

McCartney polished off the perfect night with a six-song encore which included McCartney‘s version of the hit “Birthday” followed by “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,“Helter Skelter,” “Golden Slumbers,” “Carry That Weight,” and “The End”.

Check out the entire setlist from the night’s incredible show:

1. Hard Day’s Night
2. Junior’s Farm
3. Can’t Buy Me Love
4. Letting Go
5. Who Cares
6. Got To Get You Into My Life
7. Come On To Me
8. Let Me Roll It
9. I’ve got a feeling
10. Let ‘Em In
11. My Valentine
12. Nineteen Hundred Eighty Five
13. Maybe I’m Amazed
14. I’ve Just Seen A Face.
15. From Me To You
16. Dance Tonight
17. Love Me Do
18. Blackbird
19. Here Today
20. Queenie Eye
21. Lady Madonna
22. Elanor Rigby
23. Fuh You
24. Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite
25. Something
26. Ob-La-Di-Ob-La-Da
27. Band On The Run
28. Back in the USSR
29. Let It Be
30. Live And Let Die
31. Hey Jude
    Encore
32. Birthday
33. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
34. Helter Skelter
35. Golden Slumbers
36. Carry That Weight
37. The End