Good Evening New York City (2009)
Disc One
1. Drive My Car
2. Jet
3. Only Mama Knows
4. Flaming Pie
5. Got to Get You Into My Life
6. Let Me Roll It
7. Highway
8. The Long and Winding Road
9. My Love
10.Blackbird
11.Here Today
12.Dance Tonight
13.Calico Skies
14.Mrs. Vandebilt
15.Eleanor Rigby
16.Sing the Changes
17.Band on the Run
Disc Two
1. Back in the U.S.S.R.
2. I'm Down
3. Something
4. I've Got a Feeling
5. Paperback Writer
6. A Day in the Life (Give Peace a Chance)
7. Let it Be
8. Live and Let Die
9. Hey Jude
10.Day Tripper
11.Lady Madonna
12.I Saw Her Standing There
13.Yesterday
14.Helter Skelter
15.Get Back
16.Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
By the time Good Evening New York City rolled around in 2009, the live McCartney album had more or less become a well-worn tradition—some might even say a ritual. The formula was firmly in place: a few selections from the latest studio release, a smattering of solo hits, the occasional deep cut to keep the completists happy, and, of course, a healthy avalanche of Beatles songs. At this point, anyone expecting a radically different approach just hadn’t been paying attention. And yet, for all the repetition, it’s hard to blame him. When fans are paying $250 per ticket—face value—it’s safe to assume most of them are hoping to hear Hey Jude, not Temporary Secretary.
This particular live release does have a few distinctions that set it apart, minor as they may be. For one, it’s taken from a single performance rather than culled from multiple shows across the tour, which gives the whole thing a more cohesive, in-the-moment energy. More significantly, it was recorded at New York’s then-brand-new Citi Field, the spiritual successor to the legendary Shea Stadium, where The Beatles made history in 1965. For McCartney, this was something of a full-circle moment—a return to the site (sort of) of one of the most iconic shows in rock history. And that nostalgia gives the performance an added emotional weight.
And while we’re doing the math, let’s take a moment to consider that 43 years had passed since that Shea Stadium gig. McCartney was 66 years old when he took the stage at Citi Field, and yet he performs here with more energy and conviction than most acts half his age. This isn’t just a legacy artist going through the motions—this is a man still in love with performing, still capable of commanding an audience for two-and-a-half hours without a hint of fatigue.
The audio portion of the set (two CDs) captures it all well enough, but the real highlight is the accompanying DVD. Seeing the performance adds a level of excitement and context that a purely audio release just can’t deliver. There’s something about watching McCartney tear through Helter Skelter or deliver a touching rendition of Here Today that hits harder when you see him do it live, not just hear it.
There’s always the sense with artists like McCartney—or the Stones, for that matter—that this could be the final bow. Surely, this must be the last major tour, the last big release. And yet, time and again, we’re proven wrong. Whether Good Evening New York City ends up being McCartney’s final grand-scale live statement or just another mile marker, it’s an impressive one. If this had been the farewell, it would have been a worthy one. But as history has shown us, with Paul, you never really know.
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