How do you prefer your Paul McCartney?<\/p>\n
Do you prefer McCartney the Beatle, from the simple but unforgettable three-minute pop masterpieces of Lennon and McCartney of the early 1960s to the more psychedelic and anthemic songs of the late 1960s?<\/p>\n
Is it the McCartney of Wings, the 1970s band often branded as too commercial but still a bone fide hit-making machine and perhaps underrated because of McCartney\u2019s first band? Or do you prefer McCartney the solo artist, less commercial and perhaps ignored through the eras of grunge, hip hop and today\u2019s pop music, but often introspective and occasionally brilliant?<\/p>\n
The Beatles, from left to right: George Harrison, Paul McCartney, John Lennon and Ringo Starr, in Sweden.<\/p>\n
The good news for Coachella Valley music fans \u2014 and those who traveled from outside the area to see him locally \u2014 McCartney has dished out something for everyone. His 2009 headline appearance at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, his 2016 two-weekend stint at Desert Trip and his pop-up visit in between Desert Trip sets at Pappy and Harriet\u2019s in Pioneertown all showed the depth and the scope of his musical catalogue.<\/p>\n
As McCartney returns to the desert to start a new tour Sept. 29 at Acrisure Arena in Palm Desert<\/a>, fans can be assured that McCartney\u2019s biggest and most popular hits will be in the set. The Cute Beatle couldn\u2019t show up and not sing \u201cHey Jude,\u201d right?<\/p>\n It’s interesting to think about how different McCartney\u2019s past performances in the desert have been. It’s arguably even more interesting to consider how the 83-year-old’s age \u2014 he was 66 when he played Coachella in 2009 and 74 when he played Desert Trip and Pappy’s in 2016 \u2014 might be part of his changing sets.<\/p>\n McCartney\u2019s headlining set on the Friday of the Coachella 2009 was truly a singalong. And he made a statement by starting the set with \u201cJet,\u201d a Wings song, though there is a fine line between Wings songs<\/strong> and McCartney as a solo act with a really good band. That was followed by \u201cDrive My Car,\u201d a Beatles song, again making the statement that McCartney\u2019s full songbook would be on display for those who care to stick around after Morrisey had played the main stage before McCartney.<\/p>\n The Coachella set might have been McCartney at his crowd-pleasing, singalong best, including pyrotechnics for \u201cLive and Let Die,\u201d followed by \u201cHey Jude\u201d to end the main set. But Coachella 2009 will always truly be remembered for two epic encores by McCartney, which ran the set over by 52 minutes, costing promoter Goldenvoice $1,000 a minute.<\/p>\n It was money well spent, as McCartney\u2019s final encore began with the iconic \u201cYesterday,\u201d slid into \u201cHelter Skelter,\u201d then \u201cGet Back,\u201d then the reprise for \u201cSgt. Pepper\u2019s Lonely Hearts Club Band\u201d It was Beatles Shangri-la.<\/p>\n Desert Trip (I was there for Weekend 2) began almost as brilliantly with the goosebump-producing opening note of \u201cHard Day\u2019s Night.\u201d Still, there were differences between the two performances seven years apart.<\/p>\n Yes, McCartney played his John Lennon tribute \u201cHere Today\u201d and his ukelele performance of \u201cSomething,\u201d his tribute to George Harrison, as he had at Coachella. But somehow, under a full desert moon, a warm breeze and playing to a Desert Trip crowd that was certainly older and perhaps more invested into the 1960s and 1970s, the performances seemed more introspective. So did the completely underrated ballad \u201cMy Valentine,\u201d which wasn\u2019t released until 2012, three years after McCartney\u2019s Coachella set.<\/p>\n There were other changes, like \u201cQueenie Eye,\u201d another song that wasn\u2019t written when McCartney played Coachella. But the biggest change was two guests McCartney invited on stage, something that didn\u2019t happen at Coachella.<\/p>\n2009: Paul McCartney headlines Coachella<\/h2>\n
2016: Paul McCartney plays Desert Trip<\/h2>\n