Knoxville • Tuesday, May 31, 2022

About

This was the eleventh date of the “Got Back” tour.

From knoxnews.com, June 1, 2022:

There are plenty of places Paul McCartney remembers. Yet, throughout his long and winding career — all the years he’s been wandering around — how come nobody told him there is a place called Knoxville? 

He has played the friendly state of Tennessee before, down in Nashville town. Then there was that time he had a golden slumber at Howard Johnson’s Motor Lodge-West in Knoxville due to troubles driving his car. But the Apple scruffs of Scruffy City have been waiting for this live musical moment to arise, longer than the road that stretches out ahead. […]

Smiles awaited McCartney as the crowd decided to rise. It was clear from the first notes of “Can’t Buy Me Love” that everybody’s gonna dance around tonight, from those who were older and losing their hair to what seemed like children at the 79-year-old’s feet. Multiple generations were all in the palm of McCartney’s hand. […]

They just couldn’t get enough of that sweet stuff, as McCartney played the tunes of yesterday, today and in between, with fans helping sing his songs. He even stopped in place to have a moment “just to drink it all in.”  Although these songs had been heard by millions over the years – and 22,000 on this good night – each note felt just fuh you. 

I looked at his hand as he picked the bass guitar with ease, like a casual conversation after all these years. He’s getting better all the time as days and nights pass by, but he may not have a lot to give for much longer. 

After more than 30 songs, unexpected pyro hot as sun and John Lennon coming together with the band in virtual fashion, it’s safe to say people won’t forget the time or place they saw McCartney – that lucky day he came to Knoxville. While everyone has had a hard couple of years, everyone let their hair down, had a good time and surely will be listening to the music playing in their head over and over for days to come. 

Yes, the tickets were pricey. One sign-wielding fan claimed a floor seat was purchased using money from 176 aerobics lessons. But the memories are something money just can’t buy. And for though we may be parted, there’s still a chance we will see McCartney on stage in Knoxville again. […]

I tell you what, we got something special for you here. Peter Jackson rang me up and he said, ‘you know, I can take the Get Back film and I can isolate John’s voice, and you can play along live

Paul McCartney – Introducing “I’ve Got A Feeling”

If we do a Beatles song, the crowd lights up with your phones, like a sky full of stars. And then when we do a new song, it’s like a black hole. But we don’t care! We’re gonna do em’ anyway

Paul McCartney

From paulmccartney.com, June 6, 2022:

“How do I pick a notable moment from a show that was nothing but?”

That question from the writer from Auburn University’s WEGL FM perfectly sums up the quandary posed to us all — fans, media, GOT BACK crew members alike — by Paul’s Knoxville debut. At turns joyous, bombastic, tender, reflective and more, Paul’s unforgettable first visit to the Thompson-Boling Arena was everything anyone could want from his usual masterclass and so much more. It would, in fact, be impossible to pick a better closer to this chapter of the GOT BACK tour blog than this perfect complement to Fort Worth’s return to the site of the Wings Over America tour opener… Yes, Knoxville was that good.

“You are a great crowd, Knoxville!” Paul exclaimed early on to the adoring masses voicing their gratitude for his first visit to the gateway to the Great Smoky Mountains.  And it was immediately and abundantly clear that this was indeed an exceptional crowd filling this arena’s particularly cavernous interior, one that was not shy in the least in showing their appreciation that Paul had at long last made it to their hometown. For the next nearly three hours, there would be non-stop singing, dancing, and full throated jubilation — all the manifestations of the unique magic that only a first-time Paul show can conjure.

The constantly heightening exchange of electricity was mutual, Paul and the band and the people of Knoxville amplifying one another all night long — As ‘Let Me Roll It’ steamrolled into ‘Getting Better’, the latter’s refrain became the theme of the evening, as the momentum built with each of these songs, by this performance and this audience continued to gain exponentially. The irresistible positivity of ‘We Can Work It Out’ made a perfectly occasioned return to tonight’s setlist, while ‘Dance Tonight’ spurred an impromptu exhibition dance-off amongst thousands of participants. Elsewhere, the supercharged crowd took in the tributes of ‘Something’ and ‘Here Today’ with an intensified reverence that equalled the ebullience of their response to the opening notes of ‘Lady Madonna’, the pyro-kinetic thrill ride of ‘Live And Let Die’… and it almost goes without saying: their absolutely deafening A+ effort to claim the title of loudest ‘Hey Jude’ singalong of the tour.

But don’t take my word for it—to sum up, here’s a snippet from the Knoxville News Sentinel’s review, one comprised largely of some very familiar lyric excerpts and (para)phrases: “After more than 30 songs, unexpected pyro hot as sun and John Lennon coming together with the band in virtual fashion, it’s safe to say people won’t forget the time or place they saw McCartney – that lucky day he came to Knoxville. While everyone has had a hard couple of years, everyone let their hair down, had a good time and surely will be listening to the music playing in their head over and over for days to come.”

And in an inspired final moment of off-stage performance, The Hot City Horns played Paul onto the waiting bus with an homage to Dolly Parton (a nod to Dollywood’s location about an hour away in Pigeon Forge TN), and with that it was time for GOT BACK to head northeast… Please tune in again when we resume reporting from Syracuse.

Steve Martin – Paul McCartney’s US publicist 

Last updated on June 30, 2022