Review: Paul McCartney amazes during first of two Oakland shows

Never doubt Paul McCartney.

After the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of his shows in 2020, the first-tier Rock and Roll Hall of Famer promised fans that he’d get back to touring at some point.

He made good on his word late last month with the launch of the Got Back Tour, which touched down at the Oakland Arena on Friday, May 6.

“Good evening, Oakland,” the 79-year-old superstar said to the capacity crowd. “We are very happy to be back here after a long interlude.”

The Got Back Tour — which, yes, does indeed sound like the title of a Sir Mix-a-Lot road show — includes a second date on Sunday at Oakland Arena. So, if there are any moms in your life who are big Beatles fans, this could be just the right ticket for Mother’s Day. (See apeconcerts.com for ticket details.)

Friday’s show was 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.

“Tonight, we’ve got some old songs for you, some new songs and some in-between ones,” McCartney explained.

Any guesses which ones went over best with the crowd?

Yup, it was definitely the older songs, starting with when the star and his longtime backing band — featuring Paul “Wix” Wickens on keyboards, Abe Laboriel Jr. on drums, Rusty Anderson on guitar and Brian Ray on guitar/bass — opened the show with a fun romp through the Beatles’ “Can’t Buy Me Love.”

The set list was terrific, featuring some three dozen numbers — many of which rank among the best songs of all time.

Yet, McCartney’s catalog is so deep with treasures that he could put together an equally excellent set list with songs that he didn’t play on Friday night — “Penny Lane,” “All My Loving,” “The Long and Winding Road,” “Rocky Raccoon,” “Yesterday,” etc., etc.

But nobody was talking about what didn’t make the cut, given that they were too busy dancing and singing along to so many of the ones that did.

“Something is giving me a feeling that we are going to have a really good time in here tonight,” McCartney said.

It was no surprise that his feeling proved to be right, but what was interesting was how the show — and the energy level — just seemed to keep getting better throughout the night. It’s hard enough to maintain a high standard of excellence for 2 hours and 40 minutes, let alone continue to raise the bar the whole time.

McCartney did, however, have a secret weapon in the form of the Hot City Horns. The three-piece horn section — featuring Mike Davis on trumpet/flugelhorn, Paul Burton on trombone and Kenji Fenton on saxophone — gave the show a definite boost whenever it appeared onstage to propel such songs as “Got to Get You Into My Life.”

McCartney’s vocal work was superb throughout the evening, handling both up-tempo offerings like “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” and ballads such as the tremendous “Blackbird” equally well. He also put on an absolute clinic on how to connect with the crowd, charming basically everyone in the house with his between-song banter.

Of course, it’s a bit easier to accomplish that mission when the fans absolutely adore you. Further proof of that fact came when McCartney took off his jacket early in the show and was immediately greeted with howls of approval from the crowd.

Even after all these years, he’s still the cute one.

Most of the highlights were, of course, Beatles songs. Standout moments in that regard included McCartney’s regular tribute to the late George Harrison on “Something” (strummed on a ukulele giving to him by Harrison); the rocking “Get Back” (complete with footage from Peter Jackson’s great documentary show of the same name) and the emotional retelling of “Let It Be” that prompted thousands to light up their smart phones and wave them in the air.

McCartney also found terrific results with his own solo cuts — especially the love letter to the late John Lennon, “Here Today,” and the gorgeous “Maybe I’m Amazed” — and such Wings numbers as “Band on the Run.”

McCartney was still upping the ante by the time he hit the last two songs of the main set, as he delivered a raucous take on the Wings classic James Bond theme “Live and Let Die” — fueled by the special effects triumvirate of fireworks, flames and lasers — and then led the crowd through the single greatest-sing-along song in rock history, “Hey Jude.”

The troupe then returned to the stage — with McCartney waving a large Ukrainian flag and other band members carrying American, British, California and Pride flags — for a six-song encore highlighted by the powerful run through “Golden Slumbers,” “Carry that Weight” and “The End.”