Candlestick farewell: McCartney gets it done with a little help from his friends

The Beatles ended their disappointingly short set on Aug. 29, 1966, at Candlestick Park with a barely-audible-above-the-screams version of "Long Tall Sally." Just before the band hopped in an armored car on that day, John Lennon promised "We'll see you next year!" More than half a lifetime later (17,512 days to be exact), Paul McCartney returned to Candlestick for what will probably be the last major event at the 54-year-old concrete edifice. The Beatles never played a commercial show again, but McCartney arranged his schedule to send the stadium off, with a pre-demolition show that few in attendance will forget. The key word there is "in attendance." Some of the worst Bay Area event traffic in recent memory forced thousands of concertgoers to say goodbye to Candlestick from an idling car outside the stadium. McCartney did his best to accommodate the stragglers, starting at 9 p.m. and playing a nearly 2 1/2 hour show with more than 30 songs.

The set list was familiar to anyone who has seen the ex-Beatle in recent years. But McCartney seemed engaged, at times deviating from the stock banter to acknowledge the gravity of the moment. "We got so pissed off, we never did it again," he joked, referencing the band's decision to stop touring after the 1966 Candlestick show, even though they recorded for several more years. "... It's sad to see the old place closing down, but we're going to close it down in style." McCartney played a safe and crowd-pleasing mix, with arguably too much representation from the Wings catalog and McCartney's recent solo work. His voice has developed a pleasant warble - not unlike the one Willie Nelson has enjoyed all of his career - which blended elegantly with the slower and more spare arrangements, especially "Blackbird" and "Let It Be."

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Source: SF Gate