Paul McCartney proved once again last night at Citi Field in New York that he

is the consummate entertainer.  Always eager to please his fans with his song

selection, funny and sometimes touching stories in between the tracks and

great audience banter,  Paul looked like he was having a blast during the two

and a half hour, 33 song set.

His setlist hasn't wavered much since the start of this mini-tour, but the

selections were a nice mix of Beatles favorites, Wings and solo classics and a

few surprises thrown in (seeing him do "I'm Down," "Mrs. Vandebilt" and "I've

Got A Feeling" were personal highlights for me.)

While Paul and his amazingly tight band, comprised of Paul "Wix" Wickens on

keyboards, Rusty Anderson and Brian Ray on guitar, and the always-animated Abe

Laboriel Jr. on drums, played, some wonderful things were going on visually in

the background.  Fans were treated to a collection of personal photos and

polaroids from Paul's home archives, wonderfully psychedelic animations and

even a glimpse of the upcoming Beatles Rock Band game. 

It is so amazing that he is able to perform at a baseball stadium in front of

a sellout crowd of something like 60,000 people and make it seem like an

intimate show in a small club.  He goes out of his way to acknowledge every

section of the stadium, not wanting anyone to feel left out.  Also amazing was

the fact that, like his last few tours, Paul was the only band member who

stayed on the stage for the entire 150 minutes.  That would be quite a feat

for a 47 year old, let alone Mr. McCartney, 67.

Paul continues to command an incredibly diverse audience at his shows.  Baby

boomers and first generation Beatles fans were plentiful, as were parents with

their kids (of practically all ages), college-age fans and even a few metal

heads and punks!  I was also happy to see that Philadelphia (where Paul has

skipped on this mini-tour) was nicely represented.

I was loving the pre and post-show music, which featured remixes of Macca

songs and a scrolling mélange of rare photos on the big screen. 

At the end of the show, Paul has hopefully put any rumours about this being

some kind of "last hurrah" to rest by yelling out "see you NEXT time" to the

very appreciative crowd.

If you were not fortunate enough to see the show, check You Tube.  It seemed

like every other seat was taken by someone either taking pictures or shooting

video.

SETLIST:

Drive My Car
Jet
Only Mama Knows
Flaming Pie
Got To Get You Into My Life (with Beatles Rock Band animation in background)
Let Me Roll It/Foxey Lady
Highway
The Long And Winding Road
My Love (dedicated to Linda)
Blackbird
Here Today (Paul really choked up during this one, explaining afterward that
sometimes the song really gets to him)
Dance Tonight
Calico Skies
Mrs Vandebilt (Paul explained that the audience at his Ukraine show really
loved this one!)
Eleanor Rigby
Sing The Changes
Band On The Run (I LOVE when he shows the film about the album cover shoot in
the background)
Back In The USSR (Paul's girlfriend Nancy Shevell walked by me during this
song, singing the lyrics as she passed.)
I'm Down (Paul recounted the last time he played this was in NYC at the old
Shea in 1965)
Something (with George dedication)
I've Got A Feeling (with a cool rockin' coda)
Paperback Writer
A Day In The Life/Give Peace A Chance
Let It Be
Live And Let Die
Hey Jude

Encore 1
Day Tripper
Lady Madonna
I Saw Her Standing There

Encore 2
Yesterday
Helter Skelter
Get Back
Sgt. Pepper's LHCB (reprise)/The End