Paul McCartney surprised fans with an intimate concert at New York's Bowery Ballroom, echoing the unexpected thrills of Beatlemania. On Tuesday night, McCartney returned to New York, not at the 82,500-seat MetLife Stadium where he performed three years ago, but rather a 575-capacity venue at the Bowery Ballroom. He announced the concert just hours before the 6:30pm showtime, prompting fans across Manhattan to race for the limited tickets, which sold out within 30 minutes.
Performing with his regular band and a three-member horn section, McCartney engaged the crowd with a full catalog setlist. Songs ranged from "A Hard Day's Night" to "Hey Jude," including a solo acoustic rendition of "Blackbird," a tribute to the civil rights movement. The 82-year-old legend drew cheers when he covered "Now and Then," the so-called last Beatles song, written by John Lennon and just released in 2023. McCartney said: "Let's hear it for John."
Fans Amy Jaffe and Phil Sokoloff were among the few who snagged tickets. Jaffe, 69, dashed 30 blocks to the ballroom in a Lyft. "I thought: I can do this," she says. Sokoloff, 31, happened to be nearby and brought co-worker Mat Fuller, saying: "We just got lucky." In a playful exchange, McCartney joked about the iconic "Beatles screams" and expressed hopes for Ukraine's peace before playing "Mrs. Vanderbilt," recalling a 350,000-strong audience in Kyiv. "Let's hope it gets back to that soon," he said. (This story was generated by Newser's AI chatbot. Source: the AP)
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