Sir Paul McCartney closed out the historic Candlestick Park stadium in spectacular fashion last night. The beloved fifty four year old home to the San Francisco 49ers hosted The Beatles final concert together on August 29, 1966 and forty eight years later, Sir Paul finally returned. The final pre-demolition event sold-out to 49,000 fans, with a rumored fifth row middle lawn seat selling day of for $11,000, a far cry from the $5.50 tickets for The Beatles back in ’66. The set list was familiar to McCartney’s appearance in San Francisco’s Outside Lands festival last summer, but the cosmic weight of the evening hung tangible in the air and on the rock legend’s face as he looked behind him at images of the Beatles from their ’66 show and out on the crowd whose deafening cheers filled the stadium throughout the three hour set.
The ex-Beatle walked onto the giant winged stage on the north side of the stadium in a scarlet topcoat with flowery cuffs, sprightly as ever at 72 as he smiled upon the tens of thousands in Beatles sweaters, tie-die shirts and 49ers jackets. He opened the nostalgia-driven show with “Eight Days a Week” while colorful circles ran across the stage and dancing crowd. Next came “Save Us,” before McCartney addressed the crowd, “Hey San Francisco! Welcome to Candlestick Park!” and slammed into Beatles’ classic “All My Loving” while footage of Beatlemania played behind him. He took a moment after the song to say, “Ey, listen this is such a cool event. I’m gonna take a moment to soak it all in” as he struts across the stage with hands in his high pockets and a smirk on his face before the drums into to Wings song, “Listen to What the Man Says.” The power chord intro to Wings song, “Let Me Roll It” kept the hard rock pace high before McCartney and guitarists gathered in the center of the stage for a tribute to “the late great Jimi Hendrix” playing a section of “Foxy Lady.” Before the next track, he told the story of releasing the Sgt. Pepper album on a Friday and Hendrix opening a show in London with songs from it on Sunday, during which he had to ask Eric Clapton up from the crowd to help him tune his guitar. He played “Payperback Writer” next on the same guitar he used to record the song.
Next, he moved to the piano, introducing the next song saying, “I wrote this next song for my wife Nancy. She’s with us here tonight, this one’s for you Nance!” The black and white music video of Johnny Depp and Natalie Portman sign language signing the words to “My Valentine” played behind him as he serenaded the crowd. The pace quickened with Wings’ “Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five” before romantic serenades, “The Long and Winding Road” and one he wrote for Linda, “Maybe I’m Amazed.” He slowed down the powerful piano notes halfway through “Maybe I’m Amazed,” before rumbling back into a huge, passionate delivery. He took a moment after to say, “As I’m sure you all know this is gonna be the last gig in Candlestick Park so we’re gonna party it up!” before the vocal harmonies and folksy rhythm of “I’ve Just Seen a Face” had everyone dancing again. He covered Jessie Fuller’s, “San Francisco Bay Blues” which had everyone clapping along in the classically San Francisco piano-driven jazzy jam. The acoustic strum for, “We Can Work It Out” added to the huge list of Beatles songs McCartney delivered, constantly taking time to remember in the between song banter saying, “So I suppose you know that the very last gig we ever did with the Beatles was here…and here we are back again, it’s a bit of a deja vu. Its sad to see the old place closing down but we’re gonna close it out in style.” Giving everyone a laugh in “Another Day,” Sir Paul turned around and shook from side to side in his suspenders during the chorus. He once again remembers back to the 60s, this time acknowledging the strife of the era, saying he wrote this song “for the civil rights folks in the south…I hoped this song might just give them a little bit of hope.” The entire stadium filled with echoes as the thousands sung every word to “Blackbird” with McCartney, who sat at the piano as it rose into the sky in a truly unforgettable performance of the moving melody.
McCartney continued to pull on the heartstrings, introducing the next song saying, “I wrote this song after my dear friend John passed away. Let’s hear it for John. (deafening applause) It’s in the form of a conversation we never got to have.” He played, “Here Today” while pictures and film of Lennon commemorated his mark on the world. McCartney snuck in some songs off his “New” album, “New,” and “Queenie Eye” before returning to Beatles hits, “Lady Madonna,” “All Together Now,” and “Lovely Rita.”
The whole place was grooving in technicolor for “Eleanor Rigby” and “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” singing along every word to the timeless classics many were raised on. The flashing lights and blazing guitars of Wings’ “Band on the Run” catapulted the show into the roaring finale. Next came, “Back in the U.S.S.R” where the stage flashed with blood red lights, ending with lead guitarist Rusty Anderson falling to the ground and playing while lying down. The stadium filled with held up iPhones and lighters for the bone-chilling piano performance of “Let It Be.” The highlight of the show came with the pyrotechnic extravaganza of “Live and Let Die,” where fireworks and explosions lit up the concrete stadium with each pounding riff, flames in the eyes of thousands. He finished out the set with sing-a-long “Hey Jude,” where the na-na-na-nas were screamed by the masses in a spectacular finish.
The legend returned to the stage carrying a huge billowing American flag, followed by bandmates carrying the British and California flags before he shouted, “It’s a party at Candlestick Park!” and the brilliant encores began with, “Day Tripper.” “Wanna keep goin?” He shouted to raucous cheers as the Wing’s “Hi,Hi,Hi” and Beatles, “I Saw Her Standing There” carried the frenzy to a finish. The ultimate showman linked his thumbs in his suspenders and strolled across the stage, taking bows as the lights went out. The stands rumbled in an earthquake of audience feet making more noise than the deafening applause of the night before he ran back onto the stage for a second encore, “He tells me you wanna keep rockin!” The chanting settled down for just McCartney center stage spotlight with an acoustic guitar for “Yesterday.” He continued the sentiment of the evening, playing the last song the Beatles ever played together in concert, there in the same spot he stood 48 years ago, playing Little Richard cover, “Long Tall Sally” alone but with a little help from his friends. The three hour set came to a soaring conclusion with a true Beatles ending of, “Golden Slumbers,” “Carry That Weight,” and “The End” as The Stick was sent off in extraordinary style, up in smoke from the fireworks of a rock legend.
Set List
1. Eight Days A Week
2. Save Us
3. All My Loving
4. Listen to What the Man Said
5. Let Me Roll It
6. Paperback Writer
7. My Valentine
8. Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five
9. The Long and Winding Road
10. Maybe I’m Amazed
11. I’ve Just Seen a Face
12. San Francisco Bay Blues (Jesse Fuller Cover)
13. We Can Work It Out
14. Another Day
15. And I Love Her
16. Blackbird
17. Here Today
18. New
19. Queenie Eye
20. Lady Madonna
21. All Together Now
22. Lovely Rita
23. Everybody Out There
24. Eleanor Rigby
25. Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!
26. Something
27. Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
28. Band on the Run
29. Back in the U.S.S.R.
30. Let It Be
31. Lie and Let Die
32.Hey Jude
Encore
33. Day Tripper
34. Hi, Hi, Hi
35. I Saw Her Standing There
Second Encore
36. Yesterday
37. Long Tall Sally (Little Richard cover)
38. Golden Slumbers
39. Carry That Weight
40. The End
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