Oakland • Friday, May 6, 2022

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This was the first of two nights in Oakland, and the fourth date of the “Got Back” tour.

From riffmagazine.com, May 7, 2022

OAKLAND — In all reality, Paul McCartney didn’t need any literal fireworks at his performance at Oakland Arena on Friday night—the first of a two-show stand in a city where he hasn’t played in 20 years. The man, the songs and the occasion were special enough. So when someone pressed a button and unleashed an entire Metallica concert’s worth of pyrotechnics all during Wings hit “Live and Let Die,” there were no more boxes for McCartney to check for the concert to be any more special.

And yet, the very next song was “Hey Jude,” which incited one of the most massive singalongs of the night. And that was followed by an encore of “I’ve Got a Feeling,” which included McCartney dueting with a recording of John Lennon, “Birthday,” a fiery “Helter Skelter,” and the now signature Abbey Road medley of “Golden Slumbers,” “Carry That Weight” and “The End.” […]

“The funnest time we’ve ever had together as a band was 20 years ago right here in this place,” he said at one point. […]

The main set concluded with “Hey Jude,” with dozens of fans raining “NA-NA” signs in unison and the massive singalong sweeping the arena. McCartney and his band began the encore by walking onto the stage and waving the flags of Ukraine, the U.S., California and England, as well as the rainbow flag.

From paulmccartney.com, May 23, 2022:

Paul has no shortage of historic touchstones with the Bay Area. From The Beatles’ 1966 final concert at Candlestick Park to Paul’s 2014 Last Pick at the Stick show shortly after which the storied ballpark was demolished, just to name a few, Paul’s relationship with the region runs deep—and includes multiple recent landmark gigs between the Candlestick bookends, such as 2010 at AT&T Park on the Up & Coming tour and Paul’s 2013 headline set at the Outside Lands festival in Golden Gate Park during the Out There tour.

However, Paul last stepped onto a stage in Oakland proper for the 2002 opener of the Driving World tour — the first McCartney tour of the current century, and one that ended a near-10-year gap between Paul tours itself. The fact that Paul’s May 6 show would be his first Oakland appearance in 20 years struck a chord with the local populace, who quickly snapped up every ticket, leading to the announcement of a second Oakland Arena date to take place May 8. What better Mother’s Day gift…!

The significance of Paul’s return to Oakland following this 20-year absence was not lost on him on night one, as he remarked, “Good evening, Oakland. We are very happy to be back here after a long interlude.” And noting another Bay Area milestone, Paul noted that his previous Oakland show in 2002 was his first with his longtime band of Wix, Rusty, Abe and Brian: “Happy birthday to us!”

And yes, ‘Birthday’ would be played some two-hours-plus later, Paul’s dedication to everyone having a birthday tonight (or anytime this year) presumably including his own band on this unique occasion. Highlights of Paul’s long-awaited return to Oakland would range from songs that Paul played for the first time in that same city some 20 years past—including ‘Getting Better’, ‘Here Today’, and ‘Something’—to a good helping of songs released during that 20-year interlude debuting before Oakland eyes and ears—such as ‘Come On To Me’, ‘Women And Wives’, ‘Dance Tonight’, ‘New’ and ‘Fuh You’. 

The audience response was uniformly warm and ecstatic, with the stripped down “blues shack” portion of tonight’s show a notable yardstick of the evolution of this band over the last two decades. From the boys’ sublime harmonizing on ‘In Spite Of All The Danger’ to Wix’s harmonica on ‘Love Me Do’ to Abe’s one-man dance party, ahem, choreography on ‘Dance Tonight’, this was a masterclass in the benefits of two decades of musical camaraderie, chemistry, and good old-fashioned road work. 

All told, night four was yet another magical evening on the GOT BACK tour—one the Mercury News described as “an absolute joy to behold, as Sir Paul jogged memories and warmed hearts during a marathon show that ran some 2 hours and 40 minutes,” while the San Francisco Chronicle raved “Paul McCartney’s explosive return to Oakland worth the wait for Bay Area fans… Throw in some pyrotechnics, a catalog of timeless classics, and McCartney’s boundless energy on stage, and it’s easy to understand why fans — whether getting their first dose of Macca or, as one sign in the crowd boasted, their 124th — leave his shows in a state of elation.” […]

Steve Martin – Paul McCartney’s US publicist Steve Martin

Last updated on June 16, 2022