Sao Paulo • Tuesday, March 26, 2019

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From paulmccartney.com, November 29, 2018:

I can’t wait to be back in Brazil! The audiences are always wild which makes it very special for us. We’ve freshened up the show since our last visit and we are excited to be playing some of our new songs from the new album as well as the songs we always love to play. We want to see you, we want to rock out and party with you again!

Paul McCartney

From UOL, March 26, 2019 (translated from Spanish):

For the ninth time Paul McCartney is among us. And it does not matter if the more than 45,000 fans who packed Allianz Park tonight have already attended several of their shows. Going to an ex-beatle performance is almost like going to a Roberto Carlos show. You know what’s going to happen, you know all the songs, but you still get emotional with each of them as if it’s the first time….

This time was not different. Macca (for the intimate ones) opened the Brazilian shows of the Freshen Up tour at 21:45 and delivered 37 songs in 2h40 of show, which toured the almost 60 years of his career, alternating hits from the most recent album Egypt Station, the 25th album post -Beatles. “Good evening, Brazil, it’s good to see you again,” Paul said in Portuguese. “Let’s play old songs, new songs and something in the middle. This is an old one,” he added before playing “All My Loving.”…

[…] In Sao Paulo since Sunday, Paul McCartney enjoyed the Sao Paulo capital before the show as a legitimate São Paulo. As he has done since 2010, he returned to cycling, this time in the People’s Park with his wife Nancy Shevell. Except for the arresting security guards, he circled quietly among the people. At the stadium, he made a point of showing that he was practically a Brazilian. To the country, the former Beatle dedicated the song “Back in Brazil” composed in homage to Brazil and that had a video clip recorded in Salvador, Bahia. “This song I did in honor of Brazil,” he said in Portuguese. The audience responded by dropping green and yellow balloons….

From For Whom The Bell Tells, May 28, 2019:

Tuesday 26th March – Allianz Parque, São Paulo, Brazil

It’s only been 18 months since Paul last performed in São Paulo – he’s actually played in Brazil 20 times in the last 10 years – but every visit remains special. Last time we were here, towards the end of 2017, Paul was presented with a special accolade for being the most successful international touring artist ever in Brazil – he’s sold over 1.5 million concert tickets. Paul also was the first artist to play the huge Allianz Parque stadium, back in November 2014. In honour of this there is a special part of the stadium backstage called “McCartney’s Cavern”, which is the walk from the backstage area to the main field.

This time in São Paulo promises to be just as special, not least because he’s now has the joyous ‘Back In Brazil’ in the set, a song he partially began writing the last time he was in the country.

Paul and the band played the track last week at the show in Santiago, but chose to rest it in Argentina. And while he’s in the car on the way to soundcheck at the Allianz Parque, Paul explains the thinking behind that decision during a phone interview with radio station 89 FM.

“We were only going to play it in Brazil,” Paul tells presenter PH Dragani, “but then one of the guys I talked to in Chile, a DJ, said, ‘Oh, we love that song!’ So I thought, ‘Ok, we’ll play it for Chile.’ But then when we played it I thought, ‘You know, it’s really for Brazil.’ So we didn’t play it in Argentina – we thought it would be better to save it for Brazil.”

And there’s no doubt that the 40,000-plus crowd in the Allianz Parque love it. Waving yellow, green and blue balloons, they joyfully sing along with the track’s catchy “Ichiban” chorus. It’s a spine-tingling moment.

But, this being Paul, it’s not the only surprise of the night. He also plays ‘From Me To You’ for the very first time in Brazil, taking the excitement levels to new heights. Even a problem with the pyrotechnics during ‘Live And Let Die’ can’t take the shine off what’s been a sensational first of two nights in São Paulo!

Afterwards we head back to the hotel, where Paul and Nancy invite us all to join them for some post-show celebratory drinks. We’re in the same room where, two years ago, I remember watching Bono and Noel Gallagher hang on Paul’s every word after they’d attended his show. 

Tonight the mood is buzzing as it was a phenomenal show, even by Macca standards. That’s easily one of the highs of the job, getting to watch Paul and the band playing. For those three hours you are connected to the audience as Paul takes everyone through the same experience and on the same journey, and it’s impossible not be moved.

Last updated on May 28, 2019

Allianz Parque

This was the 4th concert played at Allianz Parque.

A total of 5 concerts have been played there • 2014 • Nov 25th • Nov 26th • 2017 • Oct 15th • 2019 • Mar 26th • Mar 27th

Setlist for the soundcheck

Setlist for the concert

24.

Back in Brazil

Written by Paul McCartney