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Thursday, September 20, 2018

Montreal

Concert • By Paul McCartney • Part of the 1st North America leg of the Freshen Up Tour

Last updated on March 30, 2021


Details

  • Country: Canada
  • City: Montreal
  • Location: Bell Centre
  • Attendance: 16,135 / 16,135
  • Revenue: $2,403,773

Location

  • Location: Bell Centre

Timeline

Band members

Line-up Discover Backing band 2019-Present

From For Whom The Bell Tells, January 11, 2019:

Thursday, September 20 – Centre Bell, Montreal

“Bon retour au Centre Bell!” read massive signs across the city. The atmosphere around the venue is electric as the sold-out audience starts to arrive in the afternoon. Seven years since his last visit but you would think far longer given the almost tangible levels of anticipation.

The terrible traffic in the city (there is building going on everywhere) holds up Paul’s arrival for soundcheck.  When his car pulls in just after 5:30pm Paul heads to stage for soundcheck.  After soundcheck he’s taking a language lesson and cramming it all it as team members run in and out of his dressing room asking questions and delivering last minute updates.  Mind boggling really as within hours he’ll be rocking out in front of almost 20,000 people!

The following morning the Montreal Gazette report: “HEARTS GO BOOM FOR PAUL McCARTNEY AT THE BELL CENTRE. McCartney crammed an amazing 39 songs into a highly energetic, beautifully staged display of positive energy.”

From Montreal Gazette, September 21, 2018:

[…] From the moment Sir Paul took the stage Thursday night to face a sold-out Bell Centre and launched into A Hard Day’s Night — as perfect a musical representation of Beatlemania as he and John Lennon ever wrote — the belief in yesterday was evangelical in its fervour.

And yet one surprising thing about a McCartney show is that the glorious past is approached faithfully, but not reverently — at least in terms of sequencing. Immortals like Lady Madonna and Eleanor Rigby are placed side by side in the set list with more debatable efforts like the recent Fuh You and his 2015 collaboration with Rihanna and Kanye West, FourFive Seconds. If the critically inclined raised an eyebrow, virtually no one else seemed to care.

As usual, the songs — admittedly given a charge by one of the great live backing bands of all time — spoke for themselves and did most of the talking. Undervalued Wings gems like the bluesy Let It Go — with a three-man horn section doing its riffs halfway down the arena on the floor — and the robust rocker Hi Hi Hi made welcome appearances alongside the inevitable avalanche of Fab Four evergreens, solo beauties and a few selections from his latest disc, the mostly wonderful Egypt Station.

Not leaving the stage during the by-now-expected three hours (with no intermission), McCartney crammed an amazing 39 songs into a highly energetic, beautifully staged display of positive energy. […]

@ kimblome / Instagram
From For Whom The Bell Tells: Freshen Up Tour– Canada 2018 | PaulMcCartney.com

Bell Centre

This was the 2nd concert played at Bell Centre.

A total of 2 concerts have been played there • 2010Aug 12th2018Sep 20th

Setlist for the soundcheck

  1. Jam

  2. Massage

Setlist for the concert

  1. Medley

  2. Michelle

    Written by Lennon - McCartney

  3. Blackbird

    Written by Lennon - McCartney

  4. Let It Be

    Written by Lennon - McCartney

  5. Hey Jude

    Written by Lennon - McCartney

  6. Encore

    1. Yesterday

      Written by Lennon - McCartney

    2. The End

      Written by Lennon - McCartney

See song statistics for “Freshen Up Tour”

Paul McCartney writing

Talk more talk, chat more chat

Notice any inaccuracies on this page? Have additional insights or ideas for new content? Or just want to share your thoughts? We value your feedback! Please use the form below to get in touch with us.

Katie • 6 years ago

https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/paul-mccartney/2018/centre-bell-montreal-qc-canada-53e9eb01.html

It's like the exact same setlist as the one from the Quebec City concert, except there isn't "Foxy Lady." Hope this helps again! Sorry I didn't see the "Foxy Lady" coda after "Let Me Roll It" when I typed the first setlist.


The PaulMcCartney Project • 6 years ago

Thanks Katie !


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