The last time Sir Paul McCartney played near New York City, it was three years ago at the MetLife stadium in New Jersey, to an audience of around 82,000. His surprise show on Tuesday at the Bowery Ballroom? Just 500.
Word got around on Tuesday afternoon that one of the world’s most revered living musicians was playing one of his most intimate shows in decades, sending fans sprinting to the box office. Tickets sold out in minutes, one per person.
Just hours later, crowds assembled at the storied club on Manhattan’s Lower East Side – where artists such as Lou Reed, Joan Jett, Radiohead, The Roots, Patti Smith, Amy Winehouse, Lady Gaga and Metallica have graced its modest stage – and welcomed McCartney and his crack team of players.
“So here we are,” the Beatles legend said, with a grin. “Some little gig. New York. Why not?” His 100-minute set opened on the famous guitar twang that precedes “A Hard Day’s Night”, with McCartney continuing to beam as he performed with typical youthful enthusiasm.
McCartney has form when it comes to surprising fans, most famously when The Beatles stormed the roof of their Apple Corps headquarters in London in 1969 – the final public performance of their career.
Since then, he’s rocked up to the Mean Fiddler in London, in 1999, and at the Ed Sullivan Theater, where The Beatles made their US debut. In 2018 – as he was preparing to release his solo album Egypt Station – he curtained off a section of Grand Central and played to just 300 competition winners and invited guests, including Steve Buscemi, Meryl Streep, Kate Moss and Chris Rock.
Yet even he seemed surprised that he’d pulled this off, propping his elbow on the piano and gazing around the small venue as he remarked: “I can’t quite believe we’re here, doing this. But we are here, doing this.”
Fans were treated to a setlist of classics including “Lady Madonna”, “Get Back”, “Jet”, ‘Let It Be”, a solo guitar rendition of “Blackbird”, inspired by the Civil Rights Movement and McCartney’s early trips to the States.
By now, he’s a frequent visitor, having been spotted last weekend enjoying the Super Bowl in New Orleans with Hollywood star Adam Sandler – this week he’s a guest on the forthcoming 50th anniversary special of Saturday Night Live, filmed at NBC Studios.
“I feel like letting go tonight, the Bowery!” McCartney yelled, leading the audience in an overhead clap, USA Today reported. “New York City! Yes, I do!”
Those who made it into the gig were understandably ecstatic. “I don’t actually believe this,” Amy Jaffe, 69, told the Associated Press. She was at home when she saw the announcement on Instagram: “I thought, I can do this,” she said. “I put on jeans, grabbed a coat, called a Lyft.”
For Phil Sokoloff, 31, it was a rare occasion where he didn’t learn about the event the day after. He was on his way to work when he saw the news and told his co-worker; together they rushed over to the Bowery and scored a ticket each.
Aged 82, McCartney is evidently still capable of inspiring Beatlemania. US media in attendance reported that after one “particularly shrill” scream, he commented: “That was a Beatles scream.” He asked for more: “OK, let’s get it out of the way. Girls, give me a Beatles scream.” Everyone in the audience let rip.
Later, there was a performance of the “last” Beatles song, “Now and Then”, which was salvaged with the help of AI technology from a rough recording John Lennon made at his Manhattan apartment in the late Seventies. On 2 February, the song earned The Beatles their first Grammy since 1997, for Best Rock Recording,. “Let’s hear it for John,” McCartney said. Fans pleaded with him to go all night: “Some of us need to get some sleep, you know,” he responded.
Still, there was a rousing encore of “Abbey Road”, “Carry That Weight” and “The End”, sending dazed crowds back to reality, having just experienced something truly special.
Additional reporting by Associated Press
