Paul McCartney Rocks Out In Syracuse

Written by Faith Logue

Graphic by Rebekah Witt

Photograph courtesy of MJ Kim and Nasty Little Man

Sir Paul McCartney is one of the most influential and well-known musicians of all time. Imagine my surprise when I saw he was going on yet another tour and coming to Upstate New York. One of the worst parts about living in Upstate New York is the lack of concerts, although there are plenty of cities to choose from. McCartney came to the JMC Arena (formally known as the Carrier Dome) on June 6, and it was one of the best concerts I have ever been to (except for the crowd of older people who do not stand for concerts)!

McCartney has been in the business for over 50 years and has a lot of music to show for it. I was eagerly waiting for the setlist and what songs he was going to pick to play. I wanted him to play a lot of Beatles stuff, and the songs he did pick that were from The Beatles were amazing. He played the likes of “Got To Get You Into My Life,” “Getting Better,” and “Let It Be.” I was not expecting him to play the songs “Being For The Benefit of Mr. Kite” and “Helter Skelter,” which he crushed vocally. “Helter Skelter” is demanding vocally and is one of the earliest heavy rock songs created. I was surprised at how good he sounded considering he is nearly 80 years old, and there are a few artists out there who do not sound like they used to so I was a little concerned he wouldn’t sound good.

He played music from his other band Wings, and I enjoyed those songs. It was a real treat to see the arena on its feet near the end of the show during the song “Band On The Run.” He also played a lot of his solo songs like “Queenie Eye” and “Maybe I’m Amazed.” I think one of the best songs he played was “Live and Let Die” because it is a great song, and during the beat drop, he had fireworks pop off, which was exciting and added to the experience. 

The show also had really good visuals to accompany the songs, one of them being scenes from “The Beatles: Rock Band” video game, which I thought was funny. There were a lot of bright technicolor lights and some confetti at the end of the show. The visuals were cool during certain songs as the backgrounds were animated with different people. I think the coolest visual was during the song “I Got a Feeling” because he did a duet with dead bandmate John Lennon, and through the use of sound manipulation, they isolated Lennon’s vocals so McCartney could sing along with him. 

Overall, I enjoyed the concert. It was worth all the money I paid for it, despite the crowd sort of ruining it for me. The setlist was well thought out to cater to all audiences, and McCartney killed it, per usual. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and I am glad I was able to see it.