PAUL AT NATIONWIDE ARENA

Paul performed in Ohio after nearly three hours and three dozen songs Tuesday night at Nationwide Arena, he dressed them in a half-dozen or so Wings songs and a few new ones from his most recent release, 2013’s New.

Paul exhibited confidence, humility, an easy sense of humor, and a contagious feeling of fulfillment that made even the most common, overly familiar Beatles hit, if not new again, certainly alive and well worth revisiting.
Though he performed so many crowd favorites, the lengthy set reminded, as well, what a rich and lengthy career the lucky McCartney has enjoyed.
A simple list of last night’s tunes alone will light memories, from Hey Jude to Eight Days A Week; Band On The Run to Lady Madonna; Blackbird to Paperback Writer. But Paul made each one a new experience and In fact, on And I Love Her, it was downright touching.

It helped that he had one of the finest bands on the road today. In fact the four of them — Rusty Anderson on guitar, Brian Ray on guitar and bass, Paul “Wix” Wickens on keyboards and the incredible Abe Laboriel Jr. on drums — rocked hard, sounded like twice as many musicians, and consistently found the right tone and beat to accompany the singer and material.

Far more often the band found a groove that, if it was just a bit slower than the original recording, was right in the pocket for last night. Got To Get You Into My Life was a fine example, dropping the recording’s panic in favor of a deep swing. With Maybe I’m Amazed, Paul tapped his inner Little Richard, while the accompaniment fit him perfectly.

That went double for Band On The Run, which sounded surprisingly new and as dramatic as ever.
Interestingly, a few songs that revived the mid-’60s folk-country sound of the Revolver and Rubber Soul albums, sounded right in sync with the Americana sounds of today.