Review: Paul McCartney shows he won't let it die at San Jose concert
Paul McCartney kicked off a three-hour, career-spanning set with the iconic opening strain of “A Hard Day’s Night” at San Jose’s SAP Center on Wednesday, July 10 — and from there, the 77-year-old never let up as he barreled through decades of hits from every phase of his career.
McCartney brought the crowd to hushed reverence during a stirring rendition of “Blackbird,” while later on, the mood was decidedly different when the riff-laden excess of “Back in the U.S.S.R.” brought everyone to their feet. It’s no surprise that McCartney’s contributions to pop rock’s greatest songbook continue to enthrall generation after generation. Even when the newest songs to join his set list — a handful of fairly forgettable tracks from McCartney’s 2018 solo release, “Egypt Station” — were, by contrast, tepidly received by the crowd, he wasn’t the least bit fazed.
“When we do a Beatles song,” he playfully moaned, “a galaxy of phones light up. When we do a new song, a black hole suddenly emerges. That’s OK, though. We don’t care.”
Source: Joshua Kosman/datebook.sfchronicle.com
