Paul McCartney Rocks The Bowery (Night 3)

On February 11 and 12, 2025, Paul McCartney surprised fans with last-minute announcements of impromptu gigs at The Bowery Ballroom in New York, revealing each just hours before showtime.

On February 13, he added a third show for February 14, turning the surprise performances into a three-night run of intimate concerts in New York City.

Bowery! Thank you for three amazing nights!

Paul McCartney – From Paul McCartney on Instagram, February 14, 2025

We had a fabulous week in New York with three small gigs leading to the 50th anniversary show of Saturday Night Live . It is always exciting to play at small venues it reminds me of when we began in places like the Cavern and Hamburg. The three gigs we played at The Bowery Ballroom were fabulous. We really enjoyed playing to the young, enthusiastic audience and the atmosphere was intimate and electric!

Paul McCartney – From Paul McCartney on Facebook, February 21, 2025

THIRD AND FINAL SHOW ADDED
PAUL McCARTNEY ROCKS THE BOWERY – Night 3
Friday, February 14th. Bowery Ballroom, New York.

5:00pm Doors
6:30pm Showtime

Tickets are on sale now

First come, first served. One ticket per person. Avoid purchasing tickets from third-party vendors. Fake tickets will not be honoured and entry will be denied.

From Paul McCartney on Facebook – February 13, 2025

From Stereogum, February 15, 2025:

[…] The first big surprise of the evening arrived four songs in. McCartney addressed the audience: “I think we have some connoisseurs here tonight. Are you connoisseurs? Connoisseur this!” After multiple requests on the other nights, the synths of “Temporary Secretary” kicked up. There was a group of younger fans in the middle of the crowd who lost their shit like it was one of the most beloved Beatles tracks, jumping up and down and singing every word.

That was a funny thing to witness across the night, how certain chapters of McCartney’s career have taken on new relevance with different generations. “Let Me Roll It” was massive, and as iconic as “Lady Madonna” later in the set. Even the 2018 cut “Come On To Me” felt surprisingly vital.

But, of course, the beauty of seeing an artist like McCartney is seeing someone able to conjure true universal moments defying age, background, whatever. He busted out “Something” as a tribute to George Harrison mid-set, first in a loping ukulele rearrangement; when the full band kicked in with the song’s wistful lead guitar, the cheers were near feral. “Get Back” prompted so much jumping it almost, for a second, felt like you were at a punk show.

And then there was the ending. I mean, what do you even say about that. You’re in a room, with just a few hundred other people, and Paul McCartney does “Let It Be” and he does “Hey Jude” and milks the crowd for the singalong just long enough, and then he returns for an encore consisting of the “Golden Slumbers”/“Carry That Weight”/“The End” section of the Abbey Road medley. I’ve seen videos of McCartney at Glastonbury, or at a stadium, and thought about how rapturous it must be, surrounded by thousands and thousands singing the “Hey Jude” refrain. But it’s a different kind of rapture, when it’s a few hundred, bottled up in a tiny room in New York, witnessing this for maybe the first time, maybe the last time.

That was the weird thing that stuck with me from the show, though. I’ve seen enough of the old icons to know a certain feeling well, a weird twinge of melancholy that they’re all getting older, and they won’t be around forever. Every time McCartney closes a show by singing “And in the end/ The love you take/ Is equal to the love/ You make” I think it’s a perfect sign-off to everything his career has represented. But that wasn’t really how it felt last night, even with reflective moments like recent Grammy winner “Now And Then,” or stories from sixty years ago. The beauty of seeing McCartney now, in 2025, is watching an 82-year-old who has scaled every mountain that existed and yet his joy has not dimmed at all. The show ended, but he stuck around to say a few more words. It didn’t feel like McCartney was going anywhere else anytime soon.

From Stereogum, February 15, 2025

The poster for the three concerts was designed by Argentinian graphic designer Santi Pozzi:

De escuchar obladi oblada en el auto de mi vieja por las mañanas yendo a la escuela en Venado Tuerto, a esto, nada tiene sentido, yo por lo menos no entiendo nada. Gracias @paulmccartney por existir. Voy a tener serigrafias

English translation: From listening to obladi oblada in my grandma’s car in the mornings going to school in Venado Tuerto, to this, nothing makes sense, I at least don’t understand anything. Thank you @paulmccartney for existing. I’m gonna have prints

From Santi Pozzi on Instagram, February 11, 2025

Something truly cosmic in proportions happened last week. My band and I met Paul McCartney in a chance encounter on the sidewalk in Brooklyn, mere feet away from where we happened to be rehearsing for our upcoming Valentine’s Day shows.

The serendipity of this and how we happened to be in the same place at the same time still ties my brain in knots to think about. Needless to say, Paul and the Beatles are probably the most important influence on my life and music out of any artist or group, and to get to stand and talk with him for several mind-bending minutes was a great honor and an actual dream. He was very sweet and funny and completely casual; even shook all of our hands. It was surreal.

A kind stranger happened to capture these photos of the interaction, otherwise I’d have no record of the happening, as we didn’t want to impose by asking for a photo. Here you can see me attempting to tell Sir Paul about our band, and that we had learned a Beatles cover for our show — “I Need You,” a George song, (to which he said “oh I love George.”) he asked the group name and I said “Cut Worms” and to my unending delight, he spoke the words “Cut Worms” back to me. Whether or not he looked it up I’ll never know, but this was enough. It was a thrill also that we all got to experience it together, with @primordialsounds @johnjandrews @joncatfishdelorme and @thebublight

What a buzz, man I cannot tell you.

Cut Worms – From Facebook, February 21, 2025

The Bowery

This was the 3rd concert played at The Bowery.

A total of 3 concerts have been played there • 2025 • Feb 11 • Feb 12 • Feb 14

Setlist for the concert

1. A Hard Day's Night

   Written by Lennon - McCartney

2. Junior's Farm

   Written by Paul McCartney, Linda Eastman / McCartney

3. Got to Get You Into My Life

   Written by Lennon - McCartney

4. Temporary Secretary

   Written by Paul McCartney

5. Medley

1. Let Me Roll It

   Written by Paul McCartney, Linda Eastman / McCartney

2. Foxy Lady

   Written by Jimi Hendrix

6. Let 'Em In

   Written by Paul McCartney, Linda Eastman / McCartney

7. My Valentine

   Written by Paul McCartney

8. Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five

   Written by Paul McCartney, Linda Eastman / McCartney

9. Every Night

   Written by Paul McCartney

10. I've Just Seen a Face

    Written by Lennon - McCartney

11. From Me to You

    Written by Lennon - McCartney

12. Blackbird

    Written by Lennon - McCartney

13. Something

    Written by George Harrison

14. Come On to Me

    Written by Paul McCartney

15. I Wanna Be Your Man

    Written by Lennon - McCartney

16. Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da

    Written by Lennon - McCartney

17. Drive My Car

    Written by Lennon - McCartney

18. Get Back

    Written by Lennon - McCartney

19. Now and Then

    Written by John Lennon

20. Lady Madonna

    Written by Lennon - McCartney

21. Let It Be

    Written by Lennon - McCartney

22. Hey Jude

    Written by Lennon - McCartney

23. Encore

1. Golden Slumbers

   Written by Lennon - McCartney

2. Carry That Weight

   Written by Lennon - McCartney

3. The End

   Written by Lennon - McCartney

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.