Paul McCartney wows music lovers of all ages during Dome return

The show was not only sonically exceptional; it was also very appealing to the eye. A large screen behind McCartney and his band displayed a variety of animations, videos, and photographs that paralleled each song and really added to the musical experience. There was an animated, 3-dimensional Yellow Submarine moving underwater while the group played a Fab Four hit; a sign-language translation of “My Valentine” performed by Natalie Portman and Johnny Depp; a video collage of sepia-toned footage and photographs of McCartney on the beach with a couple of his children; and much more to look at apart from the performance itself.

The use of visuals wasn’t the only way in which McCartney creatively revisited several of his classics, and especially homages to fellow Beatles members George Harrison and John Lennon. McCartney performed “Something,” a personal favorite of mine, in honor of Harrison, but he put his own twist on it by using a ukelele to play the first pair of verses and choruses before switching back to electric guitar. Later during his encore. McCartney played his tribute to Lennon, “Here Today,” and was then able to duet with his old friend during the encore performance of “I’ve Got A Feeling,” in which Lennon’s vocals were isolated and played alongside footage — which came from this past year’s Disney+ show The Beatles: Get Back — of the band’s iconic rooftop performance.

Between songs, McCartney shared stories and told jokes that charmed longtime music lovers and newer fans alike. He spoke fondly of Jimi Hendrix, who he honored by adding a bit of “Foxy Lady” onto the end of “Let Me Roll It,” and recalled the famous guitarist asking Eric Clapton to tune his guitar after a typical whammy bar-heavy performance of his in the late 1960s. He also casually engaged with fans throughout the duration of the show. He read and reacted to a number of fans’ posters (during which he was asked to sign someone’s butt) and jokingly asked how many people in the crowd had attempted, and failed, to teach themselves “Blackbird” at some point throughout their lives.

McCartney’s gratitude for his supporters in the crowd, whose bountiful energy matched his own, was continuously emphasized throughout the show — something you can’t always count on from artists who have been around as long as he has. Audience members ranged from full-fledged Beatlemaniacs dressed in homemade Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band costumes, to modern-day Beatles girls who sported old-school Wings merch and danced and sang along to every single lyric with McCartney, to children who were more or less dragged to the show by their Macca-loving parent(s) — and McCartney was appreciative of each and every one of them, whether it was their first concert of his or their 127th (yes, really).

I had never in my life heard fully-grown adults scream at the top of their lungs and “fangirl” so hard for someone until this concert, and it was truly magical to witness. McCartney’s superpower seems to be bringing fans back to their roots, many of which revolve around his music. Seeing people as old as or even older than McCartney himself physically jump up and down and shake posters that read “I was at the (given location) show in (given year)! Do you remember me?” was a reminder of music’s special ability to connect people — an ability that I believe The Beatles, Wings, and McCartney’s solo works all hoped (or, in McCartney’s case, still hope) for in the music they put out into the world.

After McCartney’s set ended, the pre-show excitement that once vibrated through the audience was gone, but something was left in its place. No, I’m not referring to the red, white, and blue pieces of confetti that covered the floor — I’m talking about a sense of wholeness that connected the crowd. We had all experienced something together, something unique and vulnerable and beautiful, and we had all been individually changed by it in some way.

Before exiting the stadium, I turned around and gave Guidone’s daughter a curious thumbs-up, wondering whether or not she’d had a good time and hoping she felt the same sense of togetherness that I felt — the sense of togetherness that I’d discovered in music at a young age, the sense of togetherness that makes artists like Paul McCartney so extraordinary.

She gave me an enthusiastic nod and even though she was wearing a mask, I could tell from the crinkles at the ends of her eyelids that she was beaming.