Paul McCartney gives Fresno royal treatment at explosive concert

Don’t worry if you didn’t get to see the opening night of Sir Paul McCartney’s One on One tour in Fresno. The way the member of the Fab Four rocked the Save Mart Center on Wednesday night, he’s got plenty of tour dates left in him.

McCartney started the concert on a high note, belting out The Beatles standard “Hard Days Night” - the first time he has performed the song in 51 years, according to Rolling Stone -  and then plowing through a lengthy set list that included material from his days with John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, plus tunes he made famous with Wings and as a solo act.

No matter where McCartney performs, he comes with a bag loaded with gold record tunes, some of which are the most influential melodies in pop/rock music history, and a touch of new material. The mix creates the kind of performance that people will brag about seeing for decades.

Even a tune like “Temporary Secretary,” which is not as well known as the massive list of other McCartney songs, was delivered with such musical fire and performance passion that it was received with the same furor from fans as the more familiar “Blackbird” or “Lady Madonna.”

McCartney’s decision to play slightly smaller venues on this tour instead of the massive stadiums he has traditionally played, coupled with his abundance of natural charm and charisma, made this sold-out arena show feel and sound more like a really big piano bar.

Between songs, he mixed in stories, gave salutes to Fresno and even pulled one lucky fan out of the audience to get her back autographed. The most endearing moments came when he paid tribute to the late Lennon and Harrison with performances of “Here Today” and “Something.”

He also performed numbers written for his late wife Linda, “Maybe I’m Amazed,” and for his current wife, Nancy, with “My Valentine.” The performance of “Maybe I’m Amazed” was a reminder of how perfect a tune can be, especially in contrast to “My Valentine,” which was the weakest number of the night.

As the evening went on, McCartney bounced from standards like “Eleanor Rigby” and “Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite” to newer tunes such as “Four Five Seconds.” The set lineup had many of the songs McCartney has played for years, but he has freshened it up in a few spots with those less known works.

He’s too good a performer not to wind up the concert with the explosive “Live and Let Die,” the soul grabbing “Let It Be” and the wonderfully constructed “Back in the USSR.”

McCartney took the stage wearing a deep blue collarless coat over a white shirt. He ditched the coat after only a few songs, telling the audience that would be the only costume change of the night.

He wasn’t lying.

McCartney smoothly went from piano to ukulele to bass to acoustical guitar running through crowd favorites like “Fool on the Hill” and “Obladi Oblada.” He never left the stage for water or a break, except after the crowd-pleasing ‘Hey Jude” that ended the regular part of the show and before his encore of six tunes ranging from the melodic “Yesterday” to the jamming “Birthday.”

Even after a 2  hour and 20 minute concert, McCartney showed the same energy in the encore, wrapping up his performance with “The End” and telling the audience he would see them next time.

In the end, the love McCartney gave to the crowd was equal to the love they gave back.

Let’s hope that McCartney keeps his word and keeps touring. There’s no clues he is slowing down. In the meantime, the sold-out crowd Wednesday night can say they got to see one of the biggest icons in music history.

This story was originally published April 14, 2016 at 1:34 AM with the headline "Paul McCartney gives Fresno royal treatment at explosive concert."