Photo: MIGUEL SCHINCARIOL / AFP / Getty Images
Paul McCartney gave Beatles fans an unforgettable surprise Friday night with an intimate outdoor rehearsal show at the Santa Barbara Bowl in California, ahead of Monday’s kickoff of his Got Back tour in Palm Desert. With just under 5,000 in attendance, Sir Paul opened the evening with a full performance of “Help!” for the first time since December 1965 during a Beatles show in Wales.
The rest of the night featured a tight 25-song set, mostly made up of fan favorites that have rotated through McCartney’s shows since he resumed touring in 2002. While the rehearsal show was shorter than usual, fans can expect a much longer set list during the tour. McCartney typically performs just under 40 songs per night.
In a recent interview, McCartney shared his approach to building a set list, saying, “I just think, ‘What would I want to see,’ because that probably is what an average…it's not easy to define what an average fan is or an average fan of mine. But I actually do it by just looking into my own mind and think, ‘What would I have to see him do?’”
[Source: Premiere]