Paul McCartney started his Got Back tour Thursday with his first ever show in Spokane, Washington at the eight-thousand seat Spokane Arena.
Opening with The Beatles' "Can't Buy Me Love," the 79-year old the show ended two-and-a-half hours later and 35 songs later with "The End." And, like all his tours, there was no intermission.
Upon taking the stage he paused to soak it all in before performing, telling the sold-out crowd, "They said ‘get back', and we got back. And it feels cool. You’ll have to give me a moment to myself, just to let me take this in.”
With a new production, and a horn section, McCartney was joined by John Lennon on the giant video screen for a duet on “I’ve Got a Feeling” from the recent Get Back documentary. He told the audience, “[Director] Peter Jackson said, ‘I can pull John’s voice out if you’d like me to'.“
Other surprises included the first performances of The Beatles' "Getting Better" and "You Never Give Me Your Money" since 2003; "She Came in Through the Bathroom Window" since 2008; and the first-ever performance of "Women and Wives" off his most recent album, 2020's McCartney III.
At the end of the show, where he and a bandmate wave the flag of the country they're playing in along with England's Union Jack, McCartney waved the Ukranian flag. And, not surprisingly, he dropped "Back in the U.S.S.R." from the set.
The tour -- 16 dates in all -- runs through June 16th in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Up next is two nights in Seattle starting on Monday. He'll be at Camden Yards on Sunday, June 12.
Paul McCartney Spokane set list:
- Can't Buy Me Love
- Junior's Farm
- Letting Go
- Got to Get You Into My Life
- Come On to Me
- Let Me Roll It (followed by "Foxy Lady" jam)
- Getting Better
- Women and Wives
- My Valentine
- Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five
- Maybe I'm Amazed
- I've Just Seen a Face
- In Spite of All the Danger
- Love Me Do
- Dance Tonight
- Blackbird
- Here Today
- Queenie Eye
- Lady Madonna
- Fuh You
- Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!
- Something
- Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
- You Never Give Me Your Money
- She Came in Through the Bathroom Window
- Get Back
- Band on the Run
- Let It Be
- Live and Let Die
- Hey Jude
Encore:
- I've Got a Feeling
- Birthday
- Helter Skelter
- Golden Slumbers
- Carry That Weight
- The End
Source: PaulMcCartney.com and Premiere