…Seeing Paul McCartney live remains a bit of a religious experience – tears were shed during “Let It Be,” couples were swaying during “Let Me Roll It” and inter-generational families were singing along during ripping opener “A Hard Day’s Night.” If you’ve been to a McCartney show before, you’re familiar with some of the stories he tells before each song, which he cheekily acknowledged during his mid-song banter: “Have you heard this story? Well, I’m gonna tell it anyway.”
A few of those anecdotes have a sense of newfound relevance. Prior to performing “Mrs. Vanderbilt” (which isn’t always in his setlists), McCartney talked about singing the Wings tune in Independence Square in Kyiv, Ukraine, back in 2008. With a note of sadness, McCartney recalled the concert had a sense of uplifting freedom. “Let’s hope we get back to that,” he said, tipping to Russia’s ongoing war of aggression in the Ukraine.
Prior to his Civil Rights-inspired ode “Blackbird,” McCartney talked about how the Beatles encountered legal segregation in the American south during their first tour of America. “We thought it was just stupid,” he said plainly before sharing the story of how the Beatles forced a Jacksonville, Fla., venue to integrate for their show. It’s a story that he’s told before, but at this moment in American history, we could use a reminder that it makes a difference when artists stand up to governments and courts that stoke racial divisions.
