It was immediately the ‘60s all over again when McCartney opened the show with a rollicking rendition of “Help.” It’s only the second time he’s performed the song all the way through; he did it the first time during his aforementioned Santa Barbara concert. Garnering a spirited audience singalong, “Help” was the first in a string of gems that McCartney pulled from the Beatles’ time machine. “Got to Get You into My Life,” “Drive My Car,” “Getting Better,” “Love Me Do,” “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” and the particularly poignant “Blackbird” (more on that below) gave many in the multigenerational audience a chance to revisit what had been one of the soundtracks in their lives. Also coloring in the memories: video clips and photos of the Beatles during various phases in the group’s career.

Having paid earlier homage to John Lennon by performing “Help” (on which Lennon sang lead), McCartney later performed the song “Here Today.” It’s an imaginary conversation he wrote in tribute to his Beatles colleague following Lennon’s death in 1980 featuring lyrics such as, “I still remember how it was before/ And I am holding back the tears no more.” Paying further tribute, McCartney segued into the last Beatles’ song, the 2023 Grammy winner “Now and Then” — a ballad written and sung by Lennon. In remembering George Harrison further into the show, McCartney took to the stage with a ukulele in hand that Harrison had given him. Then he began to play and sing “Something” — the group’s 1969 Abbey Road classic penned by Harrison — first by himself then joined by the other band members. Afterwards, McCartney gave a special shoutout to Harrison’s widow Olivia, who was in the audience.

His core four band members have all played live with McCartney for far longer than his Beatles mates ever did, most notably keyboardist Paul “Wix” Wickens, who has been with him since 1989, while the others joined in 2001 or 2002. The unity shows, but it’s more than that. The foursome kept up with McCartney every step of the way and on some songs surpassed him. Lead guitarist Rusty Anderson was a delight to watch and listen to, especially on songs such as “Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five” and “Something,” while Abe Laborial Jr. was mesmerizing to observe, with his drumming on “Carry That Weight” thunderous and muscular.  Wickens was great on keyboards throughout, but then blew everyone away by picking up the harmonica for “Love Me Do.” Brian Ray kept everything running on guitar and picked up the bass when McCartney wasn’t on it. They are one of the tightest, best units out there (and are aided by a three-piece horn section, the Hot City Horns). As great as their chops were, what was even more evident was how much fun they were having with big grins on their faces the whole night long, especially during “Dance Tonight,” when Laborial stepped out from behind the drums to do sprightly versions of the Macarena and the Floss. “That is all the choreography for the evening,” McCartney joked as Laborial sat back down. 

McCartney is the most gracious of performers, warmly telling the audience how much he loved them and what it has meant to be on this journey together through the decades, but that feeling of inclusion extended far beyond his words. While he never said anything overtly political from stage in terms of the current political scenario, through his videos, he made his feelings clear. During “Let ‘Em In,” footage of multiple marching bands played in the background, including bands that featured Indigenous peoples, different races and the one proudly waving a Pride flag. During “My Valentine,” a B&W video played on the large screen with Natalie Portman and Johnny Depp performing the song in sign language.  During “Lady Madonna,” faces of women of all colors and creeds were displayed, including teen environmentalist Greta Thunberg, in solidarity with McCartney’s environmentalist stance.  The only time McCartney made his feels obvious was during the introduction to “Blackbird,” a song he wrote about the Civil Rights Movement in America. He talked about how proud he was of having written the song, and even more so, that the Beatles insisted that the white and Black audiences be integrated when they played Jackson, Miss., instead of segregated as the promoter had planned. 

When Wings was in their heyday and topping the charts in the ‘70s, the common joke was that Wings wasn’t even the best band that Paul McCartney had been in. Of course it’s true, but for the most part, the Wings material has stood up every bit as well as the Beatles material, especially live. The songs may never receive the reverence or be quite as well regarded as the music from the Fab Four, but three of the songs that got the biggest applause of the night in Palm Desert were three Wings’ bangers that raised the roof: “Jet,” “Band on the Run” and “Live & Let Die,” a song that all these decades later still takes tremendous flight  in concert, even if Sir Paul did half joke at the end that the pyro techniques were “too loud.”  

In addition to giving a shoutout to his wife Nancy, McCartney took a moment to shout out the entire audience (which included artist John Mayer) as well — in particular some of the signs his fervent fans brought along. Like one man holding up a sign emblazoned with the number 138 — how many times he’d seen McCartney in concert (“It’s a bit obsessive,” said McCartney. “But I like it”). Or another fan whose sign read that she was 64 years old and it was time for her first tattoo, asking McCartney, “Will you sign my arm.” And others sprinkled throughout audience wearing colorful Sgt. Pepper band uniforms… all of which underscored the love affair that fans still have for the forever cute Beatle.