Las Vegas • Friday, June 10, 2011

About

From paulmccartney.com, April 15, 2011:

Having played some three dozen shows to over 1,000,000 fans over the course of 2010, Paul’s record-smashing Up and Coming Tour will make its first U.S. stop of 2011 on Friday, June 10 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, NV.

From Las Vegas Weekly, June 15, 2011:

With each passing year, Paul McCartney’s shows feel less like rock concerts and more like guided tours. Not that “Let Me Roll It” and “Helter Skelter” don’t rock anymore; they absolutely do. But these days it seems McCartney’s crowds are there mostly to whittle down bucket lists. Hear solo-acoustic “Yesterday”? Check. See ukulele tribute to George? Check. Chant “na na na nananana” to “Hey Jude” coda? Check. And who can blame them? McCartney turns 69 this month, and there’s no telling when the Greatest Living Beatle might fade from the road for good.

Friday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, the Macca appreciation circuit included a special stop, in the lower reaches of Section 117. There, flanked by two bodyguards, sat Yoko Ono, Sean Lennon, Olivia Harrison and George Martin—objects of near-constant shutter snapping for the better part of three hours. No longer were we simply watching Paul perform his greatest hits; we were watching Yoko watching Paul perform his greatest hits. Would she get misty during “Here Today,” the song Paul wrote in the wake of John’s 1980 murder? Would she sing along to John’s “Give Peace a Chance,” appended to the end of “A Day in the Life”? Would the sudden pyro explosions during “Live and Let Die” jolt her from her aquamarine stadium seat? (The answers, in order: Her dark sunglasses hid her reaction; yes, and she also flashed peace signs with both hands; and no, silly, it takes a lot more than TNT to scare Yoko Ono.)

For his part, McCartney looked healthy and appeared pleased to be in Las Vegas for his first public U.S. date this year, going so far as to carry a blue Nevada flag onstage for his encore. A corporate gig one night earlier in the same venue might have sapped some of his vocal strength, however, with Paul’s famously reliable voice coming up hoarse at points throughout the night. When he reached for a high note during “And I Love Her,” he came up completely empty.

Not that anyone seemed to care. The 33-song set featured well-chosen Beatles (“I’m Looking Through You,” “I’ve Got a Feeling”), Wings (“Mrs Vandebilt”) and solo (“Sing the Changes”) material, interspersed with stories from Paul’s singular musical journey. He even told one about the time he saw Jimi Hendrix play “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.”

Check.

From For Whom The Bell Tells, July 8, 2011:

[…] This time, [Paul McCartney] found himself in Las Vegas, where he attended the 5th anniversary of Cirque du Soleil’s Love show and played two huge live dates at the famous MGM Grand to bring his record-breaking Up and Coming Tour to a spectacular end. Fans couldn’t believe their eyes as they watched Macca deliver one of his best shows yet watched by none other than Yoko Ono, Sean Lennon, George Harrison’s widow Olivia and legendary Beatles producer, George Martin. All stood and joined in as Paul sang ‘Give Peace A Chance’ in a scene that fans present will definitely never forget. Critics were bowled over too, with the Las Vegas Review-Journal declaring “Some things are ageless, and McCartney’s one of them.”

Stuart Bell

Last updated on November 28, 2020

MGM Grand Garden Arena

This was the 7th concert played at MGM Grand Garden Arena.

A total of 8 concerts have been played there • 2002 • Apr 5th • Apr 6th • Oct 26th • 2005 • Nov 25th • Nov 26th • 2011 • Jun 9th • Jun 10th • 2013 • Sep 21st

Setlist for the soundcheck

Setlist for the concert