This weekend saw Paul McCartney resume his One On One tour of North America after a 3 week break. Read what the local media thought of his show at the MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, below.
Billboard
The 7 Best Moments From Paul McCartney's One On One Tour in New Jersey
Paul McCartney brought his One On One tour to MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on Sunday night (Aug. 7). The 74-year-old delighted the packed stadium with hits old and new as he rocked and rolled his way through more than two and a half hours of The Beatles, Wings and solo tunes.
McCartney weaved back and forth deftly through his catalog, his voice sounding youthful and energetic. For fans of Sir Paul, the entire concert was a bright spot (literally, too; impressive pyrotechnics and fireworks light up the night during "Live and Let Die"). But here are the 7 moments that stood out the most.
1. His Instrumental Prowess
During the set, McCartney showed off his electric guitar, acoustic guitar, piano and ukulele skills.
2. The Tributes
Paul played a tiny bit of "Foxy Lady" in honor of Jimi Hendrix, "My Valentine" for his wife Nancy Shevell, "Maybe I'm Amazed" for his late wife Linda McCartney, "Here Today" for John Lennon, and "Something" for George Harrison.
3. His Stories
Watching Hendrix one night, McCartney recalled the late legend's guitar went out of tune. Hendrix then called out to Eric in the audience to come on stage and fix his guitar. Eric Clapton, of course, declined -- per Sir Paul.
4. His Russian Accent
After playing "Back in the U.S.S.R.," McCartney recalled the time when the Beatles held a concert in Red Square. Backstage, the Fab Four met many Russian government officials, who told the Beatles they used their records to learn English. While telling the story, McCartney did a great impression of a Ruski.
5. A Wardrobe Change
The August heat had everyone sweating. And after "Temporary Secretary," McCartney took off his blue jacket, rolled up his sleeves and said, "That's the one and only wardrobe change for the evening."
6. Old and New Songs
McCartney's set spanned generations. "We played you our oldest song," he said, referencing the pre-Beatles tune from The Quarrymen "In Spite of All the Danger." "Now we're going to play our newest," he continued, before jumping into "FourFiveSeconds." Earlier, though, he admitted he knows what the fans want. "We can tell which songs you really like. When you play an old Beatles song, your phones all light up like the galaxy. When we play a new song, it's like a black hole." But that didn't stop him from playing his newer tunes. "Here's another black hole," he added before playing the title track from his 2013 album New.
7. Playfulness With Fans
He read signs, pretended to jump out into the crowd, joked about signing someone's butt, and even shook his own during "And I Love Her." He's still making girls scream, after all these years.
Gothamist
Paul McCartney made 55,000 concertgoers feel like the luckiest people in the world Sunday night as he brought his "One on One" tour to MetLife Stadium, performing over three dozen songs in a rousing and rocking show. Grown men were screaming "I love you!" and people were even hugging the security staff when the show was over.
Superlatives seem cliché when talking about a Legend, but the 74-year-old Macca deserves them. He and his exceptional band— Rusty Anderson (guitar), Abe Laboriel, Jr. (drums), Paul Wickens (keyboards) and Brian Ray (guitar and bass)—didn't just play songs, they delivered a master class in arena concerts, with impeccable playing and incredible energy. If you've ever played a Beatles or Wings album, then that's pretty much how it sounded in East Rutherford—a flawless living jukebox.
The setlist included many Beatles classics and deep cuts, plus a song from his Quarrymen days, as well Wings favorites ("Live and Let Die" turned the concert into a KISS spectacle for a few minutes, with fire and fireworks) and newer songs, like an ode to his wife, former MTA board member Nancy Shevell, "My Valentine"; "Queenie Eye"; and his collaboration with Rihanna and Kanye West, "Four Five Seconds."
McCartney's banter was engaging throughout the night: At one point he admitted that he tries not to read the signs in the crowd while playing, lest he forget lyrics or a chord. Then he proceeded to read the signs: "'Kiss my butt'?!" he said, in a wounded voice, before asserting, "Let's have a look at it.”
Newsday
Paul McCartney mixes old with new at MetLife concert
Paul McCartney still knows how to pull out some surprises.
There was the Kraftwerk-like new wave of “Temporary Secretary.” There was the rockabilly swing he gave “Can’t Buy Me Love.” And there was his Elvis Presley-ish version of the first song he ever recorded, “In Spite of All the Danger” by The Quarrymen.
But McCartney’s “One on One” tour, which stopped at MetLife Stadium on Sunday, is actually one big surprise. It isn’t supporting a new album, which means Macca gets to pick through the most celebrated catalog in rock and roll history and find the songs that suit his current mood.
That means we get to hear songs from his 2013 album “New,” including the joyous “Queenie Eye,” and his more rocking take on “FourFiveSeconds,” his collaboration with Kanye West and Rihanna.
At 74, McCartney also is big on paying tribute, dedicating songs to Nancy Shevell, his wife of nearly five years; his late wife Linda McCartney, with the great “Maybe I’m Amazed”; and the late Beatles John Lennon and George Harrison.
However, it’s the way McCartney keeps his classics so current that maybe amazes most. His style is often punchier, harder-hitting than it used to be, making songs like “I’ve Got a Feeling” sound rougher and tougher.
His band — guitarist Rusty Anderson, drummer Abe Laboriel Jr., keyboardist Paul “Wix” Wickens, and bassist Brian Ray — is first-rate and used brilliantly, whether they are filling “A Hard Day’s Night” with extra percussion or bringing the house down with a titanic, flame-filled version of “Live and Let Die.”
And when McCartney delivers the poignant civil rights anthem “Blackbird” by himself on acoustic guitar, raised 20 or so feet in the air on a special videoscreened riser, that is when the night is most magical.
After all, the best parts of the “One on One” tour come when it feels like McCartney is engaging each concertgoer personally, telling stories of how some of his classics were created or personal remembrances of his friends.
McCartney’s warm, easygoing personality has always been his most charming quality. On nights like this, it’s still a surprise how well he still shows it off.
NJ.com
The demo cost them just five pounds, Paul McCartney said.
He, John Lennon, George Harrison and their mates huddled around a single microphone, and laid down two tracks in Percy Phillips' Liverpool studio, a small middle-room, between a kitchen and living room-turned-electrical shop.
The single 78 disc they received from the session featured a grainy cover of Buddy Holly's "That'll Be The Day," and an original, written by McCartney and Harrison, called "In Spite Of All The Danger."
It was the band's first recording, as The Quarrymen — they wouldn't become The Beatles for two more years. McCartney had just turned 16. It was 1958.
Stop reading for a moment and take a look around. Think of what's changed since McCartney began; all the good things, all the unspeakably horrible things.
None of that seemed to matter Sunday night at MetLife Stadium, where the sovereign songwriter of pop and rock revisited his "Danger" — inside three hours of indomitable Beatles, Wings and solo tunes — and all but seized the clocks on our digital screens.
At 74, McCartney has shown no interest in retirement — this was night No. 29 of his One On One stadium tour — and in 2016, our landscape of political uproar and seemingly endless acts of human brutality may require his voice, his music and his whimsy more than ever.
Backed by a wonderfully precise four-piece band, Sir Paul traversed nearly 60 years of his rock standards, and was sure to wrap many in ebullient tales, of their origins, his songwriting process and his undying belief in peace and love.
Here are a few highlights from his marathon at the Meadowlands.
Paul McCartney's One On One tour heads to Washington D.C for two nights at the Verizon Center before continuing across the country until his final August show at the Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland. Full details here.
