The most anticipated desert concert of 2025 has come and gone, and now I know what it means to “believe in yesterday.”<\/p>\n
Paul McCartney\u2019s official launch of the 2025 leg of the Got Back tour on Sept. 29 at Acrisure Arena included heavy traffic and long lines getting into the venue, but nothing was going to stop the modern-day Beatlemania.<\/p>\n
Even though Sir Paul started 15 minutes past his scheduled 8 p.m. start time, his performance still featured roughly 2.5 hours of music spanning his Beatles, Wings and solo catalog. From the jump, the setlist immediately signaled a change from recent tours that began with Beatles classics such as \u201cCan\u2019t Buy Me Love\u201d or \u201cA Hard Day\u2019s Night\u201d as openers and instead started with \u201cHelp\u201d \u2014 which he’d never played in full as a touring solo artist until his Santa Barbara Bowl show three days prior \u2014 followed by \u201cComing Up\u201d from \u201cMcCartney II\u201d and \u201cGot To Get You Into My Life.\u201d<\/p>\n
More: <\/strong>Paul McCartney tour setlist features hits from The Beatles as well as his solo career<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve got a feeling we\u2019re going to have fun here tonight,\u201d McCartney told the crowd before jumping into the Wings song \u201cLetting Go.\u201d<\/p>\n Other notable highlights from the set included \u201cLet Me Roll It\u201d and the less frequently performed Beatles classic \u201cGetting Better,\u201d which was accompanied by visuals of crumbling parts of London interspersed with colorful flowers growing throughout the landscapes. Additionally, the performance featured the return of \u201cLet \u2018Em In,\u201d complemented by high-resolution video footage of various marching bands and drum choirs.<\/p>\n The video production showcased in the show was remarkable. During the performance of “Maybe I’m Amazed,” a younger McCartney, with a beard, was seen outdoors holding his newborn daughter, Mary, inside his jacket with her head peeking out. At times, the still images came to life with animation.<\/p>\n Paul McCartney fans take their seats in a packed Acrisure Arena in Palm Desert, Calif., on Monday, Sept. 29, 2025.<\/p>\n More: <\/strong>From toddlers to college kids playing hooky, the Paul McCartney tour opener had it all<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n Before performing \u201cMy Valentine,\u201d McCartney dedicated the song to his wife, Nancy, and a black and white video of Natalie Portman and Johnny Depp played, translating the lyrics into sign language.<\/p>\n In the middle of the show, McCartney performed a stripped-down selection of songs alongside his guitarist (and Palm Springs resident) Brian Ray<\/a>, guitarist Rusty Anderson, and drummer Abe Laboriel Jr. that felt more raw and intimate. They moved to the front of the stage to get closer to the audience, and lowered production screens from above that displayed simple still imagery.<\/p>\n A humorous moment came during the song \u201cDance Tonight,\u201d when Laboriel danced the \u201cMacarena\u201d while standing behind his drum set and hitting his bass drum pedal.<\/p>\n Another highlight of the night was the heartfelt rendition of \u201cBlackbird\u201d performed from an elevated platform at the front of the stage, positioned above the audience. Afterwards, McCartney explained the song\u2019s powerful pro-civil rights message<\/a>, which uses the metaphor of a bird taking its first flight into an uncertain dark night to symbolize the actions of civil rights activists like the Little Rock Nine who integrated Little Rock’s Central High School. He also told a story about how The Beatles once refused to perform a concert in Jacksonville, Florida to a segregated audience<\/a>, forcing the venue to integrate the show.<\/p>\n Soon after, the song \u201cNow and Then\u201d included a haunting sense of nostalgia as footage of Paul McCartney and fellow Beatle Ringo Starr was combined \u2014 or interacting with \u2014 the AI-generated visuals of their late bandmates John Lennon and George Harrison.<\/p>\n His famous former bandmates also loomed large over \u201cSomething,\u201d when McCartney began the song with a ukulele that he said was given to him by Harrison. He added that Harrison\u2019s widow, Olivia, was in the audience.<\/p>\n Paul McCartney kicked off the latest leg of his Got Back tour at Acrisure Arena in Palm Desert, Calif., on Monday, Sept. 29, 2025.<\/p>\n The final segment of McCartney\u2019s concert was filled with classic hits. He performed “Band on the Run,” “Get Back,” “Let It Be,” and an impressive, pyrotechnic-driven rendition of “Live and Let Die.” As the smoke and fumes from the pyrotechnics dissipated, McCartney encouraged the crowd to join him in a sing-along for “Hey Jude.” Throughout the arena, phone camera lights illuminated the space, alongside signs that read \u201cI\u2019m Jude\u201d or \u201cNa-na-na.\u201d<\/p>\n At 83, McCartney shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. However, his vocal abilities have declined since his last performance in the area in 2016 during Desert Trip<\/a>. Nevertheless, it\u2019s Paul McCartney, and few artists can perform at the same level \u2014 and with the same legacy \u2014 in arenas or stadiums. Very few performers deliver two-hour-plus concerts, and at his age, this endurance sets him apart as a musician and entertainer.<\/p>\n There are noticeable flaws, but McCartney\u2019s concerts are an opportunity to connect in a live setting with songs that shaped modern music, performed by the man who wrote many of them. And that\u2019s worth the price of admission.<\/p>\n Brian Blueskye covers arts\u00a0and entertainment for the Desert Sun. He\u00a0can be reached at brian.blueskye@desertsun.com.<\/p>\n<\/span><\/div>\n
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