PAUL ON THE RUN: ONE ON ONE : July 12 2016 - Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia

www.philly.com
Paul McCartney is a crowd-pleaser at sold-out Citizens Bank Park
by Dan DeLuca
Published: July 13, 2016

Paul McCartney performs at Citizens Bank Park on Tuesday, July 12th, 2016.
AARON RICKETTS / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

In times of trouble, you could find yourself in far more unpleasant places than South Philadelphia on a breezy summer evening listening to Paul McCartney sing Beatles songs.

Which is what a privileged-to-be-there sold-out Citizens Bank Park crowd got to do Tuesday evening, finding refuge from the 24-hour bad-news cycle with the master of the cheerily melodic pop song just three nights after Billy Joel had filled the Phillies-stadium-turned-senior-citizen-rocker showplace, which will also host Bruce Springsteen later this summer.

All told, out of the 38 songs the 74-year-old Macca and his able four-piece band played in a generous and genial nearly three-hour show, an even two dozen were originated by the greatest pop group of all time. That is, if you count "In Spite of All the Danger," the 1958 McCartney-Harrison composition that was the first original song recorded by the pre-Beatles Liverpudlians then known as the Quarrymen. That shoo-bopping product of its early rock-and-roll era was part of a stripped-down skifflelike mini-set in which McCartney strummed an acoustic guitar on the likes of "And I Love Her" and "You Won't See Me."

Of course, there was more to the show than the crowd-pleasing Beatles barrage - which began with the crashing opening chord of "A Hard Day's Day Night" and ran straight through to Abbey Road's ultimate "The End," and included songs originally sung by John Lennon ("Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!") and George Harrison (a charming "Something," on ukulele).

There were love songs written for his late wife, Linda - "Maybe I'm Amazed," McCartney's most glorious post-Beatles track, from his '70s years with Wings - and the not-bad piano ballad "My Valentine," for his current spouse, Nancy Shevell. Hard-core Wings fans were rewarded with the electronic ephemera of "Temporary Secretary." And in case you thought the lefthanded bass player was just a septuagenarian relic of the classic rock era, he sang a spirited version of "Four Five Seconds," his 2015 collaboration with Kanye West and Rihanna, complete with sing-along lyrics projected on a video screen, which made the unlikely promise that the cute, shaggy-haired Beatle was just "four five seconds from wildin'."

McCartney played the Wells Fargo Center in South Philly (as well as the Firefly festival in Delaware) just last summer, and his new One on One tour, which is scheduled to be at Hersheypark Stadium this coming Tuesday, has undergone only minor tweaking since then. He was a bit hoarse at various points throughout the evening, as he struggled to ring out as he sang of the balalaikas on "Back in the U.S.S.R." His stage patter is getting a bit stale too: That story about a Russian defense minister telling him that he learned English by listening to "Love Me Do" is a charmer, but it's been getting old over the years.

But really, those are quibbles. McCartney may not be your favorite member of the Fab Four, but with all respect to the lovable Ringo Starr, he's the best one we've got left. It's especially clear in this year in which so many musical greats have been lost, that we're lucky to still have him around, chasing our troubles away.

ddeluca@phillynews.com

SLIDESHOW : Paul McCartney is a crowd-pleaser at sold-out Citizens Bank Park

Paul McCartney and his four-piece band treated a sold-out Citizens Bank Park crowd Tuesday night to a generous, nearly three-hour concert that was sure to please Beatles fans. See music critic Dan DeLuca's review at Philly.com and in Thursday's Inquirer.
AARON RICKETTS / Staff Photographer

Paul McCartney performs at Citizens Bank Park on Tuesday, July 12th, 2016.
AARON RICKETTS / Staff Photographer

www.philly.com
Philly police snap photo with Paul McCartney after Citizens Bank Park show
by Nick Vadala
Published: July 13, 2016

Philadelphia police officers meet with Paul McCartney following the musician's performance at Citizens Bank Park on July 12, 2016.
PHILADELPHIA POLICE DEPARTMENT

Seven Philadelphia police officers found themselves in the midst of rock royalty following Paul McCartney’s sold-out Citizens Bank Park performance Tuesday, with the former Beatle stopping to pose for photos with the group post-show.

As NBC10 reports, the officers who met with McCartney had worked security and traffic control for the musician’s concert. With Sir Paul on his way out at the end of the night, the group managed to snap a photo with him that later made its way to social media:

Sir Paul McCartney hanging out with the Phila Highway Patrol after his show @d307p @PhillyPolice @PPDFrankBanford pic.twitter.com/jRy2BNNDA8
— James Morace (@sgt458) 13 de julio de 2016

The Philadelphia Police Department also posted the photo to its Facebook page, along with a line from the Beatles’ “I Am The Walrus”:

McCartney played a three-hour, 38-song set in South Philadelphia on Tuesday, including crowd favorites like “A Hard Day’s Night" and “Back in the U.S.S.R.” As Inquirer music critic Dan DeLuca writes in his review of the show, McCartney’s performance showed why “we're lucky to still have him around.”

For his next area show, McCartney will bring his One on One tour to Hersheypark Stadium on Tuesday, July 19. Tickets are available online.

philadelphia.cbslocal.com
Review: Paul McCartney Mixes It Up At Citizens Bank Park
By Michael Cerio
July 13, 2016

(Credit: Michael Cerio)

(Credit: Michael Cerio)

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Welcome to summer camp with Sir Paul.

Rock royalty set up shop in the outfield of Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia on Tuesday night for some singing and storytelling. The always adorable and still swaggering Paul McCartney delivered “some old songs, some new songs” and some “in-between songs” as he said, along with some well-worn anecdotes and a few victory laps.

Shielding his eyes from the setting sun and waiving to the not-so-cheap-seats atop the stadium, McCartney sauntered on stage after 8:30 p.m. With the iconic first strum of “A Hard Day’s Night” the most boyish of all The Beatles began his impressive thirty-eight song set. It was as advertised – bouncing from solo material, to Wings classics, and of course a healthy dose Beatles favorites.

“Good evening Philadelphia. It’s great to be back” said Paul with a smile early on. “We’re going to have a party here in this place tonight.”

McCartney has gotten quite good at pacing a party in his fifty-plus years on stage – always engaging and always sensing the lull that he quickly fills with a beloved Beatles song.

Flanked by two tall video screens and in front of backdrop of LED lights, the singer shared stories or thank yous between performing most of his musical touchstones. He introduced 2012’s “My Valentine” as a song he wrote for his wife Nancy, who was in the house this evening. A few songs later he would note a song he wrote for first wife Linda, before playing “Maybe I’m Amazed”. Later he shared tales of songwriting methods before Beatles tunes “You Won’t See Me” and “Blackbird”. The sold-out, nearly forty-four thousand seat stadium had all the intimacy of a campfire during sections of his seasoned show.

With the exception maybe of his “FourFiveSeconds” performance – his Rihanna and Kanye collaboration that felt forced – the evening was easy. It was the perfect portion of good vibes and charm dished out in a practiced and polished fashion.

At the center of it all was Paul McCartney. So many of these songs are so important personally to so many people, and the fact they are delivered by such a constantly captivating and delightful human make them just sound and feel better.

Whether it’s his extended wave and strut after a job well done behind the piano, or it’s him comically holding his ears as the fireworks finished over “Live And Let Die” – McCartney managed to hit all the right notes beyond the music that he played.