Lennon was often in the mix on Friday. His voice unexpectedly emerged via video during “I’ve Got a Feeling.” It was Lennon and McCartney together again, and the band rocked out to the delight of the crowd.
As he has done on recent tours, McCartney also honored the other late Beatle, George Harrison, with a gorgeous reading of “Something,” starting on a ukulele (that Harrison gave him) before the band joined in.
Nothing, really. No mention of Prince, to whom Sir Paul dedicated his Target Center show in 2016, a couple of weeks after the Minnesota icon died. Nine years ago, McCartney talked about how he’d seen the Purple One perform the previous New Year’s Eve. “Minneapolis, Prince,” he declared and paused. “Prince, Minneapolis. It goes together.” Back then, he even snuck in a taste of “Let’s Go Crazy” at one point and flashed a Prince glyph on the video.
There was a quiet Prince nod Friday during “Hey Jude” as keyboardist Wix Wickens hit a tambourine with Prince’s glyph on it, and it was broadcast live on the video screens.
The social commentary side of the Beatles’ music often gets overlooked. After playing “Blackbird,” a tune inspired by the Civil Rights Movement, McCartney recounted how in 1964 the Beatles refused to perform before a segregated audience in Jacksonville, Fla., and eventually convinced the promoter to let concertgoers sit wherever they wanted to.
Though this band doesn’t have a moniker, these musicians have been with Macca longer than any other group. The Beatles’ run went from 1960 to ’70 and Wings flew from 1971 to ’81. Since his 2001-02 tour, McCartney has been accompanied by Rusty Anderson (guitar), Brian Ray (guitar/bass), Wickens (keyboards) and Laboriel (drums). McCartney has added the Hot City Horns for this tour, which brought depth and vibrancy to “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da,” “Letting Go” and “Got to Get You into My Life,” among others.
Source link
