PAUL & 40,000 FANS LAST NIGHT AT B.C.PLACE

The last time Paul McCartney graced a stage in Vancouver was August 22, 1964. The show was cut short due to fear of a riot. "Its been a long time since I was here last," said Paul. "They tell me 48 years.

 That can't be right, I haven't even turned that yet." There were times last night at BC Place when the 70 year-old could make you believe the clock was running backwards. Opening with Magical Mystery Tour, things got off to a bit of a rough start. But by the third song, a wee ditty titled All My Loving, he was dropping those signature "woo-hoo's" like someone at least a third his age. This back and forth would continue all night. Those high pitched harmonies in The Night Before are indeed a young man's game. 

But Let Me Roll It from Band On The Run burned with McCartney tearing off the tune's feedback-drenched licks with panache. He and powerhouse drummer Abe Lagoriel Jr., were beaming during the wee Foxey Lady interlude at the end. This gave McCartney a chance to tell a story about Hendrix that was both funny and a reminder - if you needed one - that he was the Sixties. No doubt many of the 40,000 plus at the sold out local date of the On The Run Tour wanted to be reminded of the decade. Many more just wanted to say they saw a Beatle once. Besides the animated Lagoriel Jr., guitarists Rusty Anderson and Brian and keyboardist Paul Wickens backed Sir Paul with The requisite journeyman chops you would expect. 

All provided harmonies to make tunes such as Nineteen-Hundred-and-Eighty-Five soar when it needed to and then swagger along to McCartney's boogie-woogie piano man. I suppose having Natalie Portman and Johnny Depp onscreen providing signing for My Valentine gave the song some celebrity cred. But the song from McCartney's most recent album, Kisses on the Bottom, is a full-on clunker. 

Maybe I'm Amazed, easily one of the best songs of his post-Fab Four career followed and literally wiped the preceding track. You really get the sense he loves this song because, man, did he ever sing the heck out of it. Much worship followed. 

 To say that hearing I've Just Seen A Face was fantastic is gross understatement. One my fave songs off Rubber Soul was followed by And I Love Her and Blackbird - a pretty epic one, two, three combination if there ever was one. A quite different setlist last night than the previous three shows, lucky us. Here Today from Tug of War was dedicated to his friend John. Nice, but again not much of a tune. McCartney's sappy side always got the better of him without the other three around to say nay. Nonetheless, more worship followed. The catalogue of tunes is positively staggering. It was pretty clear that McCartney really loves performing them too.

 From the ukulele strumming on Something to the other classics during the latter half of the night he was in much better voice and bouncing around in those Beatle boots like a mop-topped lad of yore. That may have been decades ago, but Paul McCartney still does his legacy justice. Few of his living peers can make any similar claim. This was a bucket list gig and turned out to be one for the memory books as well.