April 14, 2002
McCartney's getting better all the time

TORONTO -- Paul McCartney's return to the road turned out to be a very personal one last night at the Air Canada Centre.

Touring for the first time in nine years, McCartney's 36-song set list was brimming with love songs to both his future and late wife and tributes to deceased bandmates George Harrison and John Lennon. Not to mention his own dearly departed mother and Lennon's son Julian.

Still, McCartney was able to emphasize Beatles material over everything else in his two-and-a-half-hour show much to the delight of the 16,000 fans who snapped up tickets in a half-hour.

It was a wise move on McCartney's part given he's just released a new solo album -- his first in four years -- called Driving Rain and could have been tempted to put those songs on display.

Instead, he kept the new stuff to a minimum and played song after Beatles song along with some choice cuts from his days with Wings and as a solo artist.

Frankly, when you've got the songbook that he does, you can't really go wrong.

In fact, McCartney's set list barely deviated from his Driving Rain tour launch in Oakland, Calif., two weeks ago although the Toronto audience did get the special added treat of Mull Of Kintyre during the second encore complete with the Peel Regional Police Pipe Band.

After a blessedly short and strange demonstration by what appeared to be circus performers on the stage and throughout the crowd , McCartney launched the evening with the Beatles' Hello Goodbye.

Backed by guitarist Rusty Anderson, animated drummer Abe Laboriel, Jr. (both from the Driving Rain sessions), keyboardist Wix Wickens (from McCartney's 1990 and 1993 tours) and newcomer Brian Ray on guitar and bass, McCartney certainly seemed jazzed about being on stage again.

Even if there was an overwhelming sadness about him singing songs like Every Night, Maybe I'm Amazed and My Love, love songs for his late wife Linda McCartney, Here Today, written by him after his Beatles bandmate John Lennon was murdered in 1980, and a ukele version of Harrison's signature track, Something.

His stage was stripped down, with the exception of an abundance of video screens, which worked extremely well during the Beatles songs, All My Loving and Can't Buy Me Love, as black and white archival footage of The Fab Four was played in the background.

But McCartney, dressed casually in a jeans, a red and white T-shirt and black blazer which he later discarded, was also confident on stage alone.

His bandmates eventually abandoned him for an acoustic guitar set that saw him perform a memorable trio of Beatles tunes, Blackbird, We Can Work It Out, and Mother Nature's Son only to be followed by his forgettable Oscar-nominated Vanilla Sky.

An electric piano was eventually brought out so he could perform You Never Give Me Your Money /Carry That Weight and Fool On The Hill, the latter featuring footage from Magical Mystery Tour.

Meanwhile, Wings songs standing the test of time included Jet, Let Me Roll It, Band OnThe Run, and Live And Let Die, the latter bolstered by explosions and fireworks.

But for my money, Eleanor Rigby, Here There And Everywhere and Back In The USSR, are as close to pop-rock perfection as you can get.

And McCartney thrilled with each of those songs. (More on Paul McCartney and JAM! Paul McCartney special)

SET LIST

Hello Goodbye

Jet

All My Loving

Getting Better

Coming Up

Let Me Roll It

Lonely Road

Driving Rain

Your Loving Flame

Blackbird

Every Night

We Can Work It Out

Mother Nature's Son

Vanilla Sky

You Never Give Me Your Money/CarryThat Weight

Fool On The Hill

Here Today

Something

Eleanor Rigby

Here There And Everywhere

Band On The Run

Back In The USSR

Maybe I'm Amazed

C Moon

My Love

Can't Buy Me Love

Freedom

Live And Let Die

Let It Be

Hey Jude

FIRST ENCORE

The Long And Winding Road

Lady Madonna

I Saw Her Standing There

SECOND ENCORE

Yesterday

Mull Of Kintyre

Sgt. Pepper's Reprise

The End

JAM! Rating: 4.5 out of 5