 |
The pinnacle moment during Day 2 of Firefly in Dover—where Thursday’s mud had dried into a cakey, gummy consistency—was undoubtedly the two-and-a-half hour headlining set by Sir Paul McCartney. The 73-year-old ripped through a 32-song setlist Friday night punctuated by tributes, pyrotechnics and a diverse catalogue of Beatles, Wings and McCartney solo material that spanned nearly six decades.
By Saturday morning the show was still the talk of Firefly campsites. Billboard magazine went as far to call the performance “career defining.”
Singalongs with the enormous crowd erupted early and often, beginning with The Beatles’ 1968 “Birthday” (Sir Paul’s birthday was the day prior) right on through to set closer “Hey Jude.”
He dedicated “The Long and Winding Road” to the victims of the Charleston, S.C. shooting, and autographed a fan’s arm onstage. He strummed a ukulele during a moving rendition of “Something,” which he dedicated to the memory of George Harrison. At one point during the encore, McCartney and his bandmates stormed onto the stage waving U.S., British and Delaware flags—a fitting symbol for McCartney’s first-ever performance in the First State. Flames were burst, tears were shed. If not a career-defining performance for Macca, it was certainly a festival-defining performance for Firefly.
McCartney’s Firefly Setlist:
Birthday (Beatles)
Save Us
Got to Get You into My Life (Beatles)
Let Me Roll It (Wings)
Paperback Writer (Beatles)
My Valentine
Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five (Wings)
The Long and Winding Road (Beatles)
I’ve Just Seen a Face (Beatles)
We Can Work It Out (Beatles)
Another Day
And I Love Her (Beatles)
Blackbird (Beatles)
Here Today
New
Queenie Eye
Lady Madonna (Beatles)
Eleanor Rigby (Beatles)
Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite! (Beatles)
Something (Beatles)
Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da (Beatles)
Band on the Run (Wings song)
Back in the U.S.S.R. (Beatles)
Let It Be (Beatles)
Live and Let Die (Wings)
Hey Jude (Beatles)
Encore:
Hi, Hi, Hi (Wings)
Can’t Buy Me Love (Beatles)
Helter Skelter (Beatles)
Golden Slumbers (Beatles)
Carry That Weight (Beatles)
The End (Beatles)
