Hometown tribute to Prince #OneOnOne
www.twincities.com
It's 'classic' Paul McCartney at Target Center. And that's OK.
By ROSS RAIHALA
May 4, 2016
Sir Paul McCartney, one of the most famous and acclaimed people on the planet, returned to Minneapolis on Wednesday for the first of two shows at the Target Center.
The Cute Beatle sold out the joint across the street, Target Field, less than two years ago. That, and the fact that decent seats were $252 a pop, meant there were still tickets available at face value during the day Wednesday. But by the time the 73-year-old took the stage at 8:45 p.m., every seat in the house was full, including some tucked behind the massive stage.
Dubbed “One on One,” his current tour kicked off last month with the promise of “a brand-new production.” While the stage did boast some huge screens, lasers and (for “Live and Let Die”) pyro and flames, the set list was structured much like the one he played at Target Field, including a nearly identical final hour.
Throughout much of his career, McCartney avoided touring. After nearly a decade away, he returned to the road in 2002 and — save for the years 2006 and 2008 — hasn’t left it. Clearly, he has figured out what works for him and he’s sticking to it.
Wednesday night, that meant Beatles classics dominating nearly half the set, with Wings and solo songs filling in the blanks. McCartney wasn’t afraid to do a little bragging, either. He played one of his first songs, “In Spite of All the Danger,” a 1958 song from the pre-Beatles group the Quarrymen (which was McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison and two other guys, as he told the crowd). Later, he worked in his most recent single, his Kanye West and Rihanna collaboration “FourFiveSeconds.” McCartney has been making music for seven decades now, people.
One of the surprises he pulled out was his proto-techno oddity “Temporary Secretary” from 1980s “McCartney II,” complete with Kraftwerk-style graphics on the big screens. He said “My Valentine” was a song he wrote for his third (and current) wife, Nancy Shevell, and that “Maybe I’m Amazed” was about his first wife, the late Linda McCartney. (He had nothing to share about his controversial ’00s partner, Heather Mills.) With his longtime band behind him, McCartney tore through “Band on the Run” songs “Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five” and “Let Me Roll It” with the vigor of a kid.
The crowd ate it all up, although the overall mood felt more subdued than it did under the summer sky at Target Field. He drew some of the loudest applause when he announced “Tonight is a tribute to the late, great Prince.” He then told a brief story about ringing in the new year with the Purple One, whom McCartney caught playing live in St. Barts. “It was beautiful,” he said. “God bless you, Prince.” And then he and his band tore through “I’ve Got a Feeling.”
During the encore, McCartney paid tribute to Prince one more time, slipping in some of “Let’s Go Crazy” at the end of his cheeky 1972 hit “Hi, Hi, Hi” and flashed Prince’s famous love symbol on the screen behind him. “Love that guy. Thank you, Minneapolis. Thank you, Prince.”
McCartney returns for a second show at the Target Center on Thursday night. You should totally go.
GALLERY
Paul McCartney brought his One on One 2016 Tour to Target Center in Minneapolis on Wednesday, May 4, 2016, his first appearance in the Twin Cities since August 2, 2104. (Pioneer Press: John Autey)
Paul McCartney second song was "Save Us" from his 2013 album, "New" at Target Center on Wednesday, May 4, 2016. (Pioneer Press: John Autey)
Paul McCartney sings "Save Us" at Target Center on Wednesday, May 4, 2016. (Pioneer Press: John Autey)
Rusty Anderson, Paul McCartney and Brian Ray perform during McCartney's One on One 2016 Tour at Target Center on Wednesday, May 4, 2016. (Pioneer Press: John Autey)
Paul McCartney performs at Target Center on Wednesday, May 4, 2016. (Pioneer Press: John Autey)
Paul McCartney performs at Target Center on Wednesday, May 4, 2016 performing old songs, new songs and in-between songs. (Pioneer Press: John Autey)
Paul McCartney performs at Target Center on Wednesday, May 4, 2016 where he included old favorites like "Live and Let Die", "Let it Be", "Back in the USSR", "Band on the Run". (Pioneer Press: John Autey)
www.startribune.com
Paul McCartney takes a sad time and makes it better
Review: As music fans grieve, warmth of familiar tunes bring comfort.
By Jon Bream
Star Tribune
MAY 5, 2016
It’s been a tough, tragic year for fans of classic rock. David Bowie, the Eagles’ Glenn Frey and our own Prince left us unexpectedly.
Perhaps the perfect antidote for our grief is Paul McCartney, who opened a two-night stand on Wednesday at Target Center in Minneapolis. We needed someone to take a sad song and make it better, someone to sing silly love songs that we could sing along with, someone to assure us that it’s OK to long for yesterday when things changed suddenly.
Sir Paul could never replace John Lennon in his life. And we’ll never see Bowie, the Eagles or Prince onstage again. But witnessing McCartney, who turns 74 next month, delivering three-dozen songs in nearly three hours reminded us not only that we should press on but the music of our late heroes will live on and on.
All but five of the songs in McCartney’s set list belonged to yesterday, more specifically the last century, from 1958 (the Quarrymen) to 1982 to be exact. But they sounded more fresh than nostalgic because McCartney was in the moment, fully engaged, quite spirited and relishing the joy of making music.
That McCartney didn’t seem as buoyant Wednesday as he had at Target Field in 2014 didn’t really matter. That McCartney sounded like he had a cold — some of his high notes were so raw it seemed as if he’d swallowed Joe Cocker — didn’t matter much. It didn’t diminish his enthusiasm or the enjoyment of the 17,000 fans.
In his seventh appearance in the Twin Cities, Sir Paul certainly had a sense of place. After dedicating an instrumental version of “Foxy Lady” to “the late, great Jimi Hendrix,” McCartney announced that he was dedicating Wednesday’s concert to “the late, great Prince.”
Paul McCartney launched into "A Hard Day's Night" at the start of his set Wednesday night.
JEFF WHEELER – STAR TRIBUNE
He mentioned that he’d seen Prince in concert several times in London and had experienced Prince onstage in a small club on the most recent New Year’s Eve. “Minneapolis, Prince,” Sir Paul declared and paused. “Prince, Minneapolis. It goes together.”
Like last time around, McCartney dedicated tunes to Lennon (“Here Today”) and George Harrison (“Something” on ukulele). This time, he offered a new tribute to Beatles producer George Martin, who died in March — “Love Me Do,” the first song the Beatles recorded with him. McCartney even gave a back story on how the producer asked McCartney to take a Lennon vocal part so Lennon could play harmonica instead.
The cute Beatle still looked cute and Beatlesque, sporting pointie-toed Beatle boots, a Nehru jacket, skinny jeans and a moptop with a mullet. He dusted off some Beatles songs, including the opener “A Hard Day’s Night,” that had never been in his post-Beatles repertoire.
There were a handful of selections from Wings (the best ones were the ballad-turned-rousing rocker “Band on the Run” and the piano pounding rocker “Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five), several tunes from McCartney’s solo recordings and even his 2015 collaboration with Kanye West and Rihanna, “FourFiveSeconds,” which not only featured uncharacteristically gruff vocals but was built around rhythm, not melody, which is un-Paul like. It was an intriguing change of pace, texture and dynamics.
The five-song acoustic set was a treat, especially the undyingly sweet “And I Love Her” and the Quarrymen’s country-leaning, harmony-heavy “In Spite of All the Danger.”
But McCartney let the big Beatles classics carry the weight: the totally rocking “Back in the U.S.S.R.,” the hold-up-your-cellphone ballad “Let It Be,” the majestic “Hey Jude,” a very tender, slightly trembly “Yesterday,” among others.
However, he chose a happy Wings song, “Hi Hi Hi,” to make the night a little better, by adding a wildly raunchy taste of Prince’s “Let’s Go Crazy” — complete with a purple glyph on the video screen.
Yes, we all needed to celebrate by rocking with abandon.
“Here’s to the man,” Sir Paul said afterward. “Loved that guy. Thank you, Prince, for writing so many beautiful songs, so much music. And he’s your guy.”
Indeed.
Gallery:
Paul McCartney performing "Save Us," the second song in in his set Wednesday night.
JEFF WHEELER – STAR TRIBUNE
Paul McCartney after finishing "A Hard Day's Night," the first song of his set Wednesday night.
JEFF WHEELER – STAR TRIBUNE
Paul McCartney played the final notes of "A Hard Day's Night," the first song of his set Wednesday night.
JEFF WHEELER – STAR TRIBUNE
Paul McCartney performing "Save Us," the second song in in his set Wednesday night.
JEFF WHEELER – STAR TRIBUNE
Paul McCartney just before launching into "Hard Day's Night" at the start of his set Wednesday night.
JEFF WHEELER – STAR TRIBUNE
Paul McCartney performing "Save Us," the second song in in his set Wednesday night.
JEFF WHEELER – STAR TRIBUNE
Paul McCartney performing "Hard Day's Night," the opening song of his set Wednesday night.
JEFF WHEELER – STAR TRIBUNE
Paul McCartney performing "Hard Day's Night," the opening song of his set Wednesday night.
EFF WHEELER – STAR TRIBUNE
Paul McCartney finishing up "Save Us," the second song in in his set Wednesday night.
JEFF WHEELER – STAR TRIBUNE
www.youtube.com
Paul McCartney - Hi Hi Hi (with Let's Go Crazy) - Minneapolis, May 4, 2016
By mjanovec
May 4 2016
Paul McCartney - Target Center, Minneapolis - May 4, 2016
"Hi Hi Hi" with "Let's Go Crazy" Prince tribute
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