Paul McCartney in Denver July 15, 2010

Anyone going to a Paul McCartney show can expect to be thoroughly entertained. With an incredibly rich collection of music to draw from, Sir Paul never disappoints. In his latest concert, though, McCartney demonstrated at 68, that he could still rock and that his legacy, both during and after the Beatles proves it.

While providing much for those baby boomers who sought 60's nostalgia, McCartney also drew heavily from his Wings songbook, at times playing hard rockers that hadn't been heard in concert since the 1970's. In fact, he began the show with an abbreviated version of the Venus and Mars/Rock Show/Jet medley that started his 1976 "Wings Over America" tour. The first part of the evening continued by alternating Wings material with some of his more classic Beatles material, punctuated by "Highway" from his most recent effort as the pseudonymous Fireman. The juxtaposition worked well demonstrating that Paul's 70's material can hold its own well alongside his more celebrated Beatles work.

It was interesting too, that he chose some relatively obscure rock numbers to highlight his Wings career. "Letting Go" and "Let Me Roll It," with their heavy guitar riffs, along with the raucous piano driven "Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five," seemed designed to show that well into his seventh decade, Paul can still rock. Combined with "All My Loving," "Got to Get You Into My Life," and the palate cleansing 'Long and Winding Road," the opening numbers established a high energy introduction to an already vibrant crowd.


Turning next to more familiar Wings standards, "Let 'Em In" and "My Love," McCartney transitioned to a slower, more acoustic set that included Wings, Beatles and solo standards. Of particular note was his commentary on "Blackbird" describing it as his encouragement of the civil rights movement in the United States. This introduction would foreshadow the imagery of Barack Obama during his rendition of"Sing the Changes" from his recent Fireman effort, seeming to indicate that Obama's presidency fulfilled some of the hope expressed in the earlier song.

Obama was not the only person to whom McCartney paid tribute during this show. At one point, he broke into "Purple Haze" and discussed how Jimi Hendrix had incorporated "Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band" into his show only two days after the record had been released. He paid homage to John Lennon, both in his melancholy "Here Today" and in a version of "A Day in the Life" with "Give Peace a Chance" tagged on at the end. And, of course, "My Love" remains his tribute to Linda.


Perhaps the most interesting part of the evening was when Paul pulled out his ukulele for the expected tribute to George Harrison. He began, however, by playing "Ram On" from his second solo release, an obscure track, and then talked about how he had showed George his version of "Something" when the two were visiting, playing ukuleles together. He then launched into a hybrid version of "Something," beginning with the ukulele and ending with the full band playing the more familiar version of the song.

The last part of the concert featured Paul playing mainly hard rocking Beatles numbers to the enthused crowd. "Back In the USSR," "Day Tripper, and "Helter Skelter" were among the highlights. Included in that set were "Let It Be," and the sing along "Hey Jude." Of course no McCartney concert is complete without the pyrotechnics accompanying "Live and Let Die" and the classic "Yesterday." Finally, he completed his second encore with a medley of "Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band," and "The End."


Paul was backed by an incredibly able band, and he noted that they had played over 200 shows together. Of particular note is percussionist be Abe Laboriel Jr. His drumming, backing vocals, and general showmanship make him the best drummer that McCartney has worked with over his storied career-- well almost.


In the end, Paul McCartney showed that he is still a force to be reckoned with as a rock and roll performer. The Rolling Stones may claim the brand of World's Greatest Rock and Roll Band, but McCartney showed that he is the real deal. While the other famous Knight of the Realm, Sir Mick was last seen in the spectator section of a soccer match with a former president, Sir Paul having left the White House with the most sizzle it has seen since his countrymen torched it during the War of 1812 is now blazing a trail across our nation. He may be in his late 60's, but, true to his tour's name, Paul McCartney is still "Up and Coming."