Paul McCartney’s previous New York-area performance took place three years ago at MetLife Stadium, capacity 82,500. His surprise show Tuesday night at the Bowery Ballroom fit, at most, 575.
It was probably less than that since McCartney’s sound board and gear — too much to fit backstage — occupied a portion of the floor space at the venerable downtown theater. The whole thing felt like, and was, a lark. McCartney announced the show just hours before taking the stage.
Like an echo of Beatlemania, the news swept through Manhattan and beyond earlier in the day, sending New Yorkers sprinting down Delancey Street for a chance to snag one of the few tickets at the Bowery. Most in attendance, including McCartney, himself, could hardly believe it was happening.
“So, here we are,” McCartney said, grinning. “Some little gig. New York. Why not?”
Later, before launching into “Let Me Roll It,” he added: “I can’t quite believe we’re here, doing this. But we are here, doing this.”
It was not McCartney’s first impromptu concert. The Beatles famously performed in 1969 atop the roof of their Apple Corps headquarters at 3 Savile Row in London. Since then, he’s made something of a habit of it on trips to New York.
In 2009, McCartney returned to the Ed Sullivan Theater, site of the Beatles’ famous U.S. debut, and performed above the marquee. In 2018, he popped up in Grand Central Terminal to promote the release of his “Egyptian Station.”
With temperatures in the low 30s on Tuesday, McCartney, 82, this time opted for an intimate, indoor show. Tickets were sold only physically at the venue, one per person. All were snapped up within about 30 minutes.
For those quick enough, it was like hitting the lottery.
Amy Jaffe, 69, was at home about 30 blocks north when she saw the announcement on Instagram. “I thought: I can do this,” Jaffe said before the show. “I put on jeans, grabbed a coat, called a Lyft.”
Jaffe has seen McCartney many times before, including with the Beatles in 1964 in Forrest Hills, Queens. But she was still incredulous, smiling and shaking her head: “I don’t actually believe it.”
Phil Sokoloff, 31, was on his way to work nearby when he saw the news. He ran in and told his co-worker, Mat Fuller, and they rushed over to the Bowery Ballroom.
“We just got lucky,” Sokoloff said. “I’m always learning about these things the day after.”
McCartney took the stage roughly on time at 6:30 p.m. with his regular band, along with a three-member horn section. They had only rehearsed once, the day before, McCartney said. Someone shouted: “You don’t need to rehearse!”
If the location was stripped down, the former Beatle didn’t come with a minimized show, packing in a blistering tour through his entire catalog, from Beatles classics to Wings hits. He began with “A Hard Day’s Night” and also performed “Got To Get You Into My Life,” “Maybe I’m Amazed,” “Lady Madonna,” “Jet,” “Get Back,” “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da,” “Let it Be” and “Hey Jude.”
“Blackbird” was a solo number on acoustic guitar, and afterward McCartney reflected on how he wrote it for the Civil Rights Movement, a memory that brought back his first trips to the United States.
“We were just kids,” McCartney said. “I’ve got grandchildren older than that now.”
In the early days, he said, he and John Lennon were always writing for the audience, and the songs were all about reaching out: “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” “From Me to You.”
“It had everything to do with the fans, really,” McCartney said.
Before playing the Wings song “Mrs. Vanderbilt,” McCartney spoke of playing it in front of 350,000 people in Kyiv, when Ukraine was exuberant with a newfound freedom. “Let’s hope it gets back to that soon,” he said.
Conversation, mixed with shouts from the audience, peppered the set. After one particularly shrill scream, McCartney responded. “That was a Beatles scream.” Then he asked for more, saying, “OK, let’s get it out of the way. Girls, give me a Beatles scream.” All in attendance obliged.
McCartney also performed the so-called last Beatles song, “Now and Then,” a ballad penned by Lennon in the late ’70s but only released in 2023 with the help of the some of the technology used in Peter Jackson’s 2021 documentary, “The Beatles: Get Back.” The song made McCartney wistful for his songwriting partner, whom he noted loved New York.
“Let’s hear it for John,” he said.
McCartney, who was spotted Sunday at the Super Bowl in New Orleans chatting with Adam Sandler, was in New York for the upcoming “Saturday Night Live” 50th anniversary festivities. He’s to be a guest on the star-studded television special Sunday.
It was unclear if McCartney was playing a single show or preparing for something more. He wrapped the Got Back Tour in December and has said he’s hoping to finish a new album this year.
For now, though, it was a one-night-only event. One crowd member asked McCartney if it could go all night. “Some of us need to get some sleep, you know,” he replied.