Review: McCartney at home for a night

Monday, April 8, 2002 | 9:03 a.m.

Paul McCartney invited us into his old digs Friday night, piping in the nose-tickling odor of incense and parading a collection of strolling performers -- contortionists and balloon-carrying acrobats and the like -- through MGM Grand Garden Arena.

The atmosphere was decidedly mid-1960s, the days when McCartney lived in a room atop a house in London, soaking up avant-gaurd art, dabbling in mind-altering chemicals and allowing his musical mind to wander.

He fittingly set the stage for one more magical mystery tour.

From the start -- from the opening moment when McCartney kicked in with "Hello Goodbye" until he signed off with "The End" -- the evening was a dizzying voyage through 40 years of music that has touched us, moved us or merely made us dance. The concert lasted 2 1/2 hours, covered 38 songs from all phases of McCartney's career. He certainly made the right choices and worked hard for the lofty ticket prices (ranging from $129 to $354), which surely prevented every seat from being occupied.

No matter. In strong voice and still looking fit and youthful (McCartney these days is a walking advertisement for clean living), the 59-year-old rock legend performed for an ebullient audience that could not have asked for a more uplifting show. Touring perhaps for the final time and making his first stop in Las Vegas since 1993, McCartney gave a full complement of his hits and paced the show ideally.

Early on he thrilled the crowd with a multimedia reminder whence he came -- churning out "All My Loving" as a montage of classic black-and-white Beatles footage played on a cavalcade of big screens. He dusted off "Getting Better," a song he'd never played live, and incorporated a couple of new tunes, "Lonely Road" and the title song "Driving Rain," off his latest CD.

Over the past decade McCartney has shown that the older he gets, the more acclaim his new music receives. And though the songs off "Driving Rain" will probably never make a McCartney all-time greatest hits compilation, they fell seamlessly into place alongside classics from his Beatles and solo careers.

Much of the credit for that goes to McCartney's powerhouse band, the most energetic collection of musicians he's performed with since you-know-when.

Keybordist Paul "Wix" Wickents, a holdover from McCartney's previous world tours in 1989-90 and '93, provided horn and orchestral arrangements and even unveiled an accordion for "Mother Nature's Son." Rusty Anderson and Brian Ray were easily up for the task on guitar and also provided the wide-ranging backing vocals required for McCartney's hit parade.

Rounding out the band was beefy drummer Abe Laboriel Jr., providing power even when it wasn't required. It's one thing to throw thunderbolts into "Band on the Run" "Jet," or "Live and Let Die," but Laboriel even added punch to such docile offerings as "My Love," and added a couple of customized drum beats to Ringo Starr's famed solo leading into "The End" (a move that would prompt the more militant Beatles fans to suggest Laboriel stick to the script).

McCartney held forth in casual comfort, far removed from the 21-year-old British rocker who Brian Epstein fitted with a collarless suit. McCartney shed his jacket after three songs and often mischievously sauntered around stage with his hands in his jeans pockets, like a kid deciding which toy to pick up next. His banter was curt, spontaneous and frequently funny.

After Anderson attempted a gambling joke -- something about an new card game called White Jill (to counter blackjack, get it?) -- McCartney, seated at the piano, laughed and said, "Rusty! Do you want to do another half-hour? Rusty's the man, workin' the lounge."

The set list wold make a pleasing collection on CD and included full-force rockers "Coming Up," "Let Me Roll It," "Back In the USSR," "Can't Buy Me Love," "I Saw Her Standing There," "Lady Madonna" and the reprise from "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band." The finest ballads in McCartney's burgeoning collection were also featured, including "Let It Be," "The Long and Winding Road," "Fool on the Hill," "Here, There and Everywhere," "Yesterday" and "Eleanor Rigby." "Hey Jude" prompted the requisite audience singalong, and the crowd rose and clapped along dutifully to McCartney's patriotic ode to Sept. 11, "Freedom."

But the night's most poignant moments were when McCartney excused his bandmates for an acoustic set that featured "Blackbird," "Mother Nature's Son" and "We Can Work It Out." During that stretch McCartney told of the regret and grief he felt about the death of his departed friend, John Lennon, and simply said, "A cheer and applause for John," and the audience stood and boomed back. Then he played "Here Today" on acoustic the song off 1982's "Tug of War," in which McCartney professes his love for his fallen comrade. It was a moment when you had to remind yourself to breathe.

McCartney also spoke of George Harrison's fondness for the ukulele, and broke out one of his own for a version of "Something" that was at once cheeky and heartwarming.

It was so Beatles, and, as was the rest of the night, so right.