Hamilton • Thursday, July 21, 2016

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From paulmccartney.com, April 11, 2016:

New Canadian Date Confirmed

July 21: Hamilton, ONT – FirstOntario Centre

Paul McCartney has confirmed another first on his brand new ‘One On One’ tour.

On July 21, Paul will appear at the FirstOntario Centre in Hamilton, Ontario. Paul’s historic debut appearance in Hamilton is the newest confirmed Canadian stop of the ‘One On One’ global trek, which opens April 13 in Fresno, California.

From The Toronto Sun, July 22, 2016:

No maybes about it.

I’m definitely amazed that 74 year old Paul McCartney, on his current One On One tour, is continuing to deliver marathon shows with the energy of a musician a third of his age.

Macca arrived at the FirstOntario Centre (formerly Copps Coliseum) on Thursday night to play his first ever show in Hamilton and the sold-out crowd of 15,000 were on their feet, cheering, singing and clapping along from the moment he opened the two hour-and 50-minute show with The Beatles’ A Hard Day’s Night.

“Good evening Hamilton — why do I get the feeling we’re going to have a good time tonight?” said McCartney, in a sparkling blue blazer, black lined white dress shirt and black jeans with his brown hair in a stylish shag and only his sideburns their natural grey.

Eventually, he lost the blazer, joking: “That is the one wardrobe change of the whole evening.”

Truthfully, the show wasn’t that dissimilar from McCartney’s mid-October visit to Toronto’s Air Canada Centre as part of his previous Out There Tour right down to the stage banter from him taking a moment “to take it all in” to being so distracted by all the placards being waved by fans that he might forget the words to songs. (He didn’t.)

What was unrehearsed was his sheer enthusiasm for his job after more than a half-century as a singer-songwriter-musician.

[…] Aided by his trusty band of guitarists Rusty Anderson and Brian Ray, keyboardist Paul “Wix” Wickens, and drummer Abe Laboriel Jr., McCartney easily moved between bass, acoustic guitar, piano and even ukulele (the latter in a tribute to Beatles bandmate George Harrison with the gorgeous Something).

His Beatles songwriting partner John Lennon was also acknowledged during Here Today as “a conversation we never had,” as McCartney played acoustic guitar solo on a riser.

And when he brought out Hamilton’s own Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Pipe Band to join him and the group for Wings’ Mull of Kintyre, the place went nuts, especially since he came on stage for the encore waving a Canadian flag.

“How about that?” he said afterwards.

Last updated on March 6, 2021

FirstOntario Centre

This was the 1st and only concert played at FirstOntario Centre.

Setlist for the concert