Set List critique
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""Lazy" was a good description. How can his Band continue to play with him after continuing to play the same songs for this long."
Plain and simple, it is a good pay day -lol
"At that time I wrote that Paul was the best current performer out there, I think Howard Stern made a similar comment. At that time his voice was very good and he did many Beatle songs that weren't done by any of the original Beatles in many years"
I agree and the only live performer even close may have been Springsteen. At that time, Paul had not done that many Beatle songs live so it was refreshing and new.
"I'll give him credit for still giving almost a 3 hour slhow but I seriously doubt he will continue to get good reviews if he stays with the same setlist. He didn't need one day of rehearsing with this setlist."
A rock icon and his touring band for 20 years should like you said do that show without rehearsal. Only reason to do one is probably to check the lighting for the concert. He will continue to get good reviews because most cities don't have a decent newspaper music critic so they will just be in awe of a living icon. These same people know little about his post Beatle career and will overlook his no longer powerful voice.
"How difficult was using the Peter Jackson clip to do. It still doesn't justify not doing anything new from his recent albums like McCartney 3 or Eghpt Station."
While this was nice moment in the show, it is not like anybody has never done something similar before in concert. I believe many years ago Natalie Cole for example did "duet" with her Dad live at performances.
"Hardly any effort at all to giving the real fans any "never done before" songs. Even if one of the upcoming show were coming to a city near me, I would never attend. "
Exactly !! I mean he could not even replace songs like "Benefit For Mr. Kite" with a Beatle song he has never done live. Last time I saw him was 2010 and have never had any desire to see him again, his shows are geared for the first timers so let them pay the big bucks -lol.
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I'm trying not to check out last night's set list and all related details, so I'll probably not look lurk here until after the Oakland gigs.
I noticed they released some superb tickets at face days before the Spokane concert.
Hoping it was a triumphant show for all in attendance.
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B J Conlee wrote:
Yankeefan2 wrote:
Everything Aflutter wrote:
Funny all of the MPL Twitter requests before the show about "what would you like Paul to play on your dream set list." Lazy Dynamite? How about Lazy Setlist?
Excellent point. Why bother asking if you are going to ignore it?
"Lazy" was a good description. How can his Band continue to play with him after continuing to play the same songs for this long.
I remember back in 2002 and 2005 seeing Paul multiple times at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia (indoor venue). At that time I wrote that Paul was the best current performer out there, I think Howard Stern made a similar comment. At that time his voice was very good and he did many Beatle songs that weren't done by any of the original Beatles in many yearsl.
I can hardly make that comment after the Spokane Show. I also would never call Paul "lazy" as I always thought he was one of the hardest working men in show business.
I'll give him credit for still giving almost a 3 hour slhow but I seriously doubt he will continue to get good reviews if he stays with the same setlist. He didn't need one day of rehearsing with this setlist.
I see some comment of how great is was for using one of Peter Jackson tapes from "Get Back" during the "I Got a Feeling" song. It wouldn't have changed my mind if I had been to the Spokane Show. How difficult was using the Peter Jackson clip to do. It still doesn't justify not doing anything new from his recent albums like McCartney 3 or Eghpt Station.
I thought I would never say this about Paul but last night he just "mailed" it in. Hardly any effort at all to giving the real fans any "never done before" songs. Even if one of the upcoming show were coming to a city near me, I would never attend. Sad to say from a huge Solo Paul fan like me.
I wish he would play a LOT more of his solo and Wings songs too. But oh well, at least we have those songs on the albums, and he's still making new albums and touring, even if the set lists aren't what we'd want them to be.
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wrote:
nobodytoldme:
paulislive:
[..] Maybe one day when you are in the biggest and most celebrated band the world has ever known,you will realise that other things you have achieved have to take a back seat because of that. Imagine watching a 'neil armstrong' interview and him just talking about the 1970s/1980s 1990s?........The folks turning up at these modern day paul mccartney concerts are getting exactly what they want and have paid big money for I really wish people on here would give it a rest and accept him for the marvel that he is.
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No need to be so defensive. Like said, no one is saying it's a sub-par show. Or even saying he shouldn't serve the masses. Or saying he should only play obscure songs. If Neil Armstrong would have been the first man on Venus in the 70's, and the first man on Mars in the 80's, it would be strange if 80% of interviews with him were concentrating on his 60's achievements.
Yes but thats only in your head....in reality or back in reality he is known and admired the world over for the music he made in the 1960's. Sure he has made some fine music since then and sure he has been a popular artist in his own right. But 90% of the people that go to see him are wanting to hear 90% beatles songs.....sorry that upsets you but its a FACT
I agree, except that it's more like 99% of the people that go to see him are wanting to hear 90% Beatles songs. I go to see him often and I always ask the people sitting around me whether they have seen him before. Invariably, they are "first timers" or, if they have seen him before, it was in 1976 or 1989/1990. Paul knows what his audience wants to hear, and the reason he can fill arenas and stadiums at sky high prices is because he gives them what they want. I am a big fan of his solo work, and it had long been my hope (when his voice was stronger than it is now) that he would do a show at a smaller venue (perhaps Carnegie Hall) consisting solely of post-Beatle songs that he had never performed live before. Similar to BJ Conlee and Yankee fan, I thought he would have wanted to do a show like that to "make a statement" about his post-Beatle work. Sadly (at least for me) that never happened and at this point it is unrealistic to think it ever will. Accordingly, I share the sentiments of the reviewer for Spin magazine who expressed gratitude for the fact that Paul is still able to get up on stage for 2+ hours and please an audience filled with people who cherish him and his work.
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Only conjecture but I assume he maybe dropped Back in the USSR as the tongue in cheek lyrics may not be appropriate given the current war in Ukraine. Still hard to believe he hasn't performed Yesterday the past few tours.
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"Similar to BJ Conlee and Yankee fan, I thought he would have wanted to do a show like that to "make a statement" about his post-Beatle work. Sadly (at least for me) that never happened and at this point it is unrealistic to think it ever will. Accordingly, I share the sentiments of the reviewer for Spin magazine who expressed gratitude for the fact that Paul is still able to get up on stage for 2+ hours and please an audience filled with people who cherish him and his work."
I am sad he never did a smaller venue show with just his solo work, it could have been an awesome show. Like you said, the chance of Paul doing that is long gone. I think the window of opportunity to have tried something like that was around 2002. Paul had not toured since 1993 and had a brand new touring band. There were no expecations about the music he would have in his setlist and he had the big chance to "make a statement" he was great solo artist and not just Beatle Paul. Sadly IMO, that is when he started to make the turn to have his setlist become more about the Beatles than he had in his other tours.
Yes, it is incredible that Paul can still get out there and do close to 3 hour show at his age. His ticket prices may be high but he does give his audience their money's worth. I am very happy for the people who are getting to see him for the first time. I will once again say my disappointment was not just about solo songs in the setlist the other night. I just did not get why he continues to do rather obscure Beatle songs like "Benefit For Mr. Kite" and "In Spite Of Danger" for several tours. There still are enough Beatle songs he has not done yet that IMO would be better than these two. I can't imagine a first-timer being upset if those songs were replaced -lol. Oh well - it is what it is - ha ha.
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Brian Sullivan wrote:
wrote:
nobodytoldme:
paulislive:
[..] Maybe one day when you are in the biggest and most celebrated band the world has ever known,you will realise that other things you have achieved have to take a back seat because of that. Imagine watching a 'neil armstrong' interview and him just talking about the 1970s/1980s 1990s?........The folks turning up at these modern day paul mccartney concerts are getting exactly what they want and have paid big money for I really wish people on here would give it a rest and accept him for the marvel that he is.
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No need to be so defensive. Like said, no one is saying it's a sub-par show. Or even saying he shouldn't serve the masses. Or saying he should only play obscure songs. If Neil Armstrong would have been the first man on Venus in the 70's, and the first man on Mars in the 80's, it would be strange if 80% of interviews with him were concentrating on his 60's achievements.
Yes but thats only in your head....in reality or back in reality he is known and admired the world over for the music he made in the 1960's. Sure he has made some fine music since then and sure he has been a popular artist in his own right. But 90% of the people that go to see him are wanting to hear 90% beatles songs.....sorry that upsets you but its a FACT
I agree, except that it's more like 99% of the people that go to see him are wanting to hear 90% Beatles songs. I go to see him often and I always ask the people sitting around me whether they have seen him before. Invariably, they are "first timers" or, if they have seen him before, it was in 1976 or 1989/1990. Paul knows what his audience wants to hear, and the reason he can fill arenas and stadiums at sky high prices is because he gives them what they want. I am a big fan of his solo work, and it had long been my hope (when his voice was stronger than it is now) that he would do a show at a smaller venue (perhaps Carnegie Hall) consisting solely of post-Beatle songs that he had never performed live before. Similar to BJ Conlee and Yankee fan, I thought he would have wanted to do a show like that to "make a statement" about his post-Beatle work. Sadly (at least for me) that never happened and at this point it is unrealistic to think it ever will. Accordingly, I share the sentiments of the reviewer for Spin magazine who expressed gratitude for the fact that Paul is still able to get up on stage for 2+ hours and please an audience filled with people who cherish him and his work.
Well said Brian!
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bernie1cat wrote:
Only conjecture but I assume he maybe dropped Back in the USSR as the tongue in cheek lyrics may not be appropriate given the current war in Ukraine. Still hard to believe he hasn't performed Yesterday the past few tours.
He only dropped in in 2019. He did it in 2018 which was still technically the same tour (Freshen Up)
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Yankeefan2 wrote:
"Similar to BJ Conlee and Yankee fan, I thought he would have wanted to do a show like that to "make a statement" about his post-Beatle work. Sadly (at least for me) that never happened and at this point it is unrealistic to think it ever will. Accordingly, I share the sentiments of the reviewer for Spin magazine who expressed gratitude for the fact that Paul is still able to get up on stage for 2+ hours and please an audience filled with people who cherish him and his work."
I am sad he never did a smaller venue show with just his solo work, it could have been an awesome show. Like you said, the chance of Paul doing that is long gone. I think the window of opportunity to have tried something like that was around 2002. Paul had not toured since 1993 and had a brand new touring band. There were no expecations about the music he would have in his setlist and he had the big chance to "make a statement" he was great solo artist and not just Beatle Paul. Sadly IMO, that is when he started to make the turn to have his setlist become more about the Beatles than he had in his other tours.
Yes, it is incredible that Paul can still get out there and do close to 3 hour show at his age. His ticket prices may be high but he does give his audience their money's worth. I am very happy for the people who are getting to see him for the first time. I will once again say my disappointment was not just about solo songs in the setlist the other night. I just did not get why he continues to do rather obscure Beatle songs like "Benefit For Mr. Kite" and "In Spite Of Danger" for several tours. There still are enough Beatle songs he has not done yet that IMO would be better than these two. I can't imagine a first-timer being upset if those songs were replaced -lol. Oh well - it is what it is - ha ha.
I have a feeling that he kept so many of the songs we thought he should have dropped and replaced because he knows how to play and sing them in his sleep and at his age just doesn't want to bother to "re-learn" something new or even do something from McCartney III! It still boggles my mind though. Is it his memory that he might have trouble with, or just laziness? I honestly think he ignores the fact that there are many many people in the audience who have seen him do the same songs and tell the same stories for 20 years and just panders to the "first-timers" and those who haven't seen him since 1990 or 1993! It's a damn shame, really.
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B J Conlee wrote:
Yankeefan2 wrote:
Everything Aflutter wrote:
Funny all of the MPL Twitter requests before the show about "what would you like Paul to play on your dream set list." Lazy Dynamite? How about Lazy Setlist?
Excellent point. Why bother asking if you are going to ignore it?
"Lazy" was a good description. How can his Band continue to play with him after continuing to play the same songs for this long.
I remember back in 2002 and 2005 seeing Paul multiple times at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia (indoor venue). At that time I wrote that Paul was the best current performer out there, I think Howard Stern made a similar comment. At that time his voice was very good and he did many Beatle songs that weren't done by any of the original Beatles in many yearsl.
I can hardly make that comment after the Spokane Show. I also would never call Paul "lazy" as I always thought he was one of the hardest working men in show business.
I'll give him credit for still giving almost a 3 hour slhow but I seriously doubt he will continue to get good reviews if he stays with the same setlist. He didn't need one day of rehearsing with this setlist.
I see some comment of how great is was for using one of Peter Jackson tapes from "Get Back" during the "I Got a Feeling" song. It wouldn't have changed my mind if I had been to the Spokane Show. How difficult was using the Peter Jackson clip to do. It still doesn't justify not doing anything new from his recent albums like McCartney 3 or Eghpt Station.
I thought I would never say this about Paul but last night he just "mailed" it in. Hardly any effort at all to giving the real fans any "never done before" songs. Even if one of the upcoming show were coming to a city near me, I would never attend. Sad to say from a huge Solo Paul fan like me.
Re:"He didn't need one day of rehearsing with this setlist."
Anyone who's ever performed knows this isn't true. I'm not a musician but I've done musical comedy. After even a week off you get rusty, your timing is off, things aren't as sharp. Paul and the band hadn't played live for over two years. Your damn right they needed rehearsal. And to get the Lennon duet right -- with the band, all the technical pieces, sound, lighting, etc. -- probably took a whole day all by itself. Non-performers by and large have no clue how much work goes into creating the performance you see. If they make it look easy, that's the point.
I don't love the current set list, or most of his recent set lists, but I don't for a minute think Paul is phoning it in. He's just not doing shows aimed at us, he's aiming at the casual Beatles/Wings fan, and -- judging by the review in the Spokane paper and the rapturous comments I've seen from first timers, he's scoring a bullseye.
Hey, if it were up to me he'd do a Beatles-free show, opening with Getting Closer and including Wanderlust, Dominoes, Friends to Go and Seize the Day, among others. But it ain't gonna happen. We're not the audience he's designing these shows for.
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"I have a feeling that he kept so many of the songs we thought he should have dropped and replaced because he knows how to play and sing them in his sleep and at his age just doesn't want to bother to "re-learn" something new or even do something from McCartney III! It still boggles my mind though. Is it his memory that he might have trouble with, or just laziness? I honestly think he ignores the fact that there are many many people in the audience who have seen him do the same songs and tell the same stories for 20 years and just panders to the "first-timers" and those who haven't seen him since 1990 or 1993! It's a damn shame, really. "
Nancy, I would vote it is laziness and not memory. As we both know, there is screen monitor in front of him scrolling the lyrics and musically it should not be that tough to remember. It is not like we were asking him to do some obscure song off some album he did in the 80's, we were disappointed he did not do more off his most current album. Sad to say but either he believes nobody comes to hear his solo songs or just does not care about the people who have been buying those albums for over 40 years. He panders to the first timers and he makes sure to have most of his concert dates in places he has never been before or has not beeen there in decades. That way he figures he can get away with the same stories and not have to mix up set list much. I agree 100%, it is a damn shame.
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"Anyone who's ever performed knows this isn't true. I'm not a musician but I've done musical comedy. After even a week off you get rusty, your timing is off, things aren't as sharp. Paul and the band hadn't played live for over two years. Your damn right they needed rehearsal. And to get the Lennon duet right -- with the band, all the technical pieces, sound, lighting, etc. -- probably took a whole day all by itself. Non-performers by and large have no clue how much work goes into creating the performance you see. If they make it look easy, that's the point."
You obviously don't get that comment was said "tongue-in-cheek". I have told you in another post when you said the same thing that I played in a band when I was a young man for about 5 years. Trust me, there were times we did not have a"gig" or rehearsal every week and we did not get rusty I am not trying to compare our bar band to McCartney just saying it takes quite awhile to get rusty IMO. Also, we are talking about a rock icon and his touring band who have played together for 20 years. In addtion, it is not like any of them stopped playing their musical instrument or never sang songs the last two years. I mentioned that obviously they needed to get things right with the lighting/sound of the show.
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Yankeefan2 wrote:
"I have a feeling that he kept so many of the songs we thought he should have dropped and replaced because he knows how to play and sing them in his sleep and at his age just doesn't want to bother to "re-learn" something new or even do something from McCartney III! It still boggles my mind though. Is it his memory that he might have trouble with, or just laziness? I honestly think he ignores the fact that there are many many people in the audience who have seen him do the same songs and tell the same stories for 20 years and just panders to the "first-timers" and those who haven't seen him since 1990 or 1993! It's a damn shame, really. "
Nancy, I would vote it is laziness and not memory. As we both know, there is screen monitor in front of him scrolling the lyrics and musically it should not be that tough to remember. It is not like we were asking him to do some obscure song off some album he did in the 80's, we were disappointed he did not do more off his most current album. Sad to say but either he believes nobody comes to hear his solo songs or just does not care about the people who have been buying those albums for over 40 years. He panders to the first timers and he makes sure to have most of his concert dates in places he has never been before or has not beeen there in decades. That way he figures he can get away with the same stories and not have to mix up set list much. I agree 100%, it is a damn shame.
I meant memory with the guitar/bass chords, not lyrics. I know he has a lyric monitor.
Maybe it also has the chords listed? I didn't think so though as I once saw a photo taken by MJ Kim from behind Paul and you could clearly see the lyrics on the screen.
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Going back to 'Mr Kite' when Paul first played it live back in 2013 it was a very pleasant surprise but now think its time to change it, particularly as Paul is doing 'Here today' and 'I've got a Feeling ' with John's vocals. Why not pick another song from Sgt Pepper or that 66/67 period like 'Fixing a hole, She's leaving Home, For no one or Good Day Sunshine.
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Did anyone really think the whole list was going to be changed? Ha ha.
Having gone to multiple shows and multiple years ... I always liked when some songs were rotated in and out. I would have a big Yes! Going through my thoughts sometimes said out loud as a good reaction.
I agree that some should be rotated out and another from the same album or time frame could be done.
It is what it is .... I am glad that he can still tour ... the only song changes that are likely to have more changes is the Soundcheck show. -
The_Fool wrote:
Did anyone really think the whole list was going to be changed? Ha ha.
Having gone to multiple shows and multiple years ... I always liked when some songs were rotated in and out. I would have a big Yes! Going through my thoughts sometimes said out loud as a good reaction.
I agree that some should be rotated out and another from the same album or time frame could be done.
It is what it is .... I am glad that he can still tour ... the only song changes that are likely to have more changes is the Soundcheck show.I don't think anybody expected the whole set list to change much -lol. I just thought there would have been more than one song from "McCartney III". In addition, I was hoping like may others that he might have done something different like "I Want To Hold Your Hand" as an opening song. Maybe it is me but even the soundcheck list of songs is very stale.
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Yankeefan2 wrote:
The_Fool wrote:
Did anyone really think the whole list was going to be changed? Ha ha.
Having gone to multiple shows and multiple years ... I always liked when some songs were rotated in and out. I would have a big Yes! Going through my thoughts sometimes said out loud as a good reaction.
I agree that some should be rotated out and another from the same album or time frame could be done.
It is what it is .... I am glad that he can still tour ... the only song changes that are likely to have more changes is the Soundcheck show.I don't think anybody expected the whole set list to change much -lol. I just thought there would have been more than one song from "McCartney III". In addition, I was hoping like may others that he might have done something different like "I Want To Hold Your Hand" as an opening song. Maybe it is me but even the soundcheck list of songs is very stale.
The opening in Spokane was.....ordinary. His concert openings were once excellent, exciting, inspired and memorable. Very memorable. Instant grabbers! At best, "Can't Buy Me Love" was a middle of the concert song, not an opening. I guess had I never seen him in concert before, it would have been great...but it just wasn't. And, yes, he needs to drop "Maybe I'm Amazed." It's a song....however great.....that he just can't sing anymore.
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Beatles4Ever wrote:
Yankeefan2 wrote:
The_Fool wrote:
Did anyone really think the whole list was going to be changed? Ha ha.
Having gone to multiple shows and multiple years ... I always liked when some songs were rotated in and out. I would have a big Yes! Going through my thoughts sometimes said out loud as a good reaction.
I agree that some should be rotated out and another from the same album or time frame could be done.
It is what it is .... I am glad that he can still tour ... the only song changes that are likely to have more changes is the Soundcheck show.I don't think anybody expected the whole set list to change much -lol. I just thought there would have been more than one song from "McCartney III". In addition, I was hoping like may others that he might have done something different like "I Want To Hold Your Hand" as an opening song. Maybe it is me but even the soundcheck list of songs is very stale.
The opening in Spokane was.....ordinary. His concert openings were once excellent, exciting, inspired and memorable. Very memorable. Instant grabbers! At best, "Can't Buy Me Love" was a middle of the concert song, not an opening. I guess had I never seen him in concert before, it would have been great...but it just wasn't. And, yes, he needs to drop "Maybe I'm Amazed." It's a song....however great.....that he just can't sing anymore.
I totally agree with you, the opening was very ordinary. It was thrilling when you heard the opening chord of "Hard Day's Night" and it set the mood for the evening. "Venus And Mars/Rock Show" was the all time classic opening IMO for a McCartney concert.
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Yankeefan2 wrote:
Beatles4Ever wrote:
Yankeefan2 wrote:
The_Fool wrote:
Did anyone really think the whole list was going to be changed? Ha ha.
Having gone to multiple shows and multiple years ... I always liked when some songs were rotated in and out. I would have a big Yes! Going through my thoughts sometimes said out loud as a good reaction.
I agree that some should be rotated out and another from the same album or time frame could be done.
It is what it is .... I am glad that he can still tour ... the only song changes that are likely to have more changes is the Soundcheck show.I don't think anybody expected the whole set list to change much -lol. I just thought there would have been more than one song from "McCartney III". In addition, I was hoping like may others that he might have done something different like "I Want To Hold Your Hand" as an opening song. Maybe it is me but even the soundcheck list of songs is very stale.
The opening in Spokane was.....ordinary. His concert openings were once excellent, exciting, inspired and memorable. Very memorable. Instant grabbers! At best, "Can't Buy Me Love" was a middle of the concert song, not an opening. I guess had I never seen him in concert before, it would have been great...but it just wasn't. And, yes, he needs to drop "Maybe I'm Amazed." It's a song....however great.....that he just can't sing anymore.
I totally agree with you, the opening was very ordinary. It was thrilling when you heard the opening chord of "Hard Day's Night" and it set the mood for the evening. "Venus And Mars/Rock Show" was the all time classic opening IMO for a McCartney concert.
Hello Goodbye in 2002 was pretty great too! And his voice was still sublime even at age almost 60 then!
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This thread started about 8 years ago and people were wanting the show not to be as focused on Beatle songs and to hear more solo/Wings stuff. After awhile, people like myself and BJ finally gave up and admitted to ourselves that would never happen. We then hoped that Paul would at least rotate the solo songs he played better and not just the 3-4 solo songs from his current album. We have now reached the point where we are hoping he does more than one song from his most recent album in his show - OMG
In regards to Beatle songs he does on his set list. It is one thing to play a not that well known song like "In Spite Of All Danger" for a tour but to repeat it is mind boggling to me when there are other cool Beatle songs he never did and plenty of great solo songs he has ignored.
Due to Paul only making one minor change last night, swapping out "Queenie Eye" for "New" it seems this set list is probably pretty much set. I guess to be fair, I should give him another few shows to see if he does make more changes.