Tonight, Sir Paul McCartney is announcing his first Australian tour in twenty-four years, putting an end to one of the longest dry spells our touring circuit has seen. But other cities have been luckier, and earlier this year, he played a four-night stint in the heart of Tokyo — his third tour in less than four years. ADAM LEWIS was there to catch it and presents this (spoiler-filled!) heads up on what you can expect.

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The Full Bag Of Hits

That’s what we’re all here for, right? It’s hard to think of anyone who has a back catalogue like Paul McCartney, and the big question for a tour like this is where he takes it.

Some artists have, shall we say, a complicated relationship with their more popular songs, opting to subvert audience expectations with reworkings, new material, and really anything but the nostalgia that people demand (we’re looking at you, Bob Dylan). And while this is often great in its own right, Paul McCartney is absolutely not that guy.

“His shows are absolute fan service”

His shows are absolute fan service, pulling out constant hits from early Beatles, to a generous helping of Band On The Run-era Wings, to present. In Tokyo he even played ‘FourFiveSeconds’, his Kanye/Rihanna collaboration, singing all parts — which was kind of unintentionally funny, really.

And while he couldn’t possibly cover everything, he’s as generous as they come — most setlists hit a massive 39 songs. The bulk of the set is Beatles songs, and pretty much all of them are huge singles. It’s complete bucket-list stuff.

Giant, Heaving Arenas

Paul McCartney last toured way back in 1993. Teen angst was all the rage, he was in the midst of some pretty ordinary albums, and he wasn’t even a Sir yet. It was by no means a flop, but he wasn’t quite the untouchable figure he is now. Numbers-wise, he fell a little short of selling out three Sydney Entertainment Centres.

To put it in today’s terms, that total number is about one and a half Qudos Bank Arenas, two-thirds of an Allianz Stadium, or a third of ANZ Stadium — the three venues he’s most likely to visit this time, and can probably fill for multiple nights.*

Of course, he’s a literal Beatle, one of the greatest songwriters we’ve known, and one of the few remaining originators of the popular music that we still adore today. His plucky earnestness feels universal now, and he’s arguably an even bigger deal now — playing to some of his biggest ever crowds.

So expect everyone to want a shot at seeing this tour. If it’s anything like his Tokyo shows, where he sold out all 180,000 tickets of his three-night run within a few days, tickets will absolutely fly for this tour, and you’ll probably be sharing the experience with more people than pretty much any other show in Australia.

(*To be fair, he also had two nights at Parramatta Stadium – something that we absolutely do not expect to happen this time around.)

A Near-Religious Experience

That said, sharing the show with a huge arena of people is by no means a bad thing. There’s not a songbook on earth that’s as embedded in our pop culture DNA as Paul’s, and having been on the ground for one of his shows, the shared experience itself is a big thing to look forward to.

All the way leading into the show, there’s such a charge of excitement. With each new song, another ripple of recognition and energy. And by the time those massive Beatles choruses come out, it’s game-on — we’re all along for the ride, shouting the songs that’ve been there our whole lives.

“There’s not a songbook on earth that’s as embedded in our pop culture DNA as Paul’s”

There’s also plenty of variety, with back-to-basics acoustic sections, pyrotechnic-laced arena-fillers like ‘Live And Let Die’, and the biggest singalongs you’ll ever be a part of (‘Hey Jude’, what else?).

But the most reverent experiences are the quietest ones. Hearing ‘Blackbird’ played solo, in a pin-drop silent stadium, is a damn-near spiritual experience.

McCartney In Fine Form

Of course, this wouldn’t mean much if the show wasn’t great to match.

Luckily, it is. At 75, McCartney can still nail a two-and-a-half hour show, sounding energised and in fine voice throughout. Holding it down on bass and guitar, he’s surrounded by a touring band that’s been with him for over fifteen years, and together they make songs from throughout his half-century career sound vibrant and full of life.

So really, it’s hard to think of a better way you could see these songs performed live, and judging by how long it took for this tour to happen, there’s no guarantee there’ll be another chance. This is as close to a must-see tour as it gets.

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Adam Lewis is a music booker and enthusiast from Sydney. Follow him on Twitter.