Paul live in Oakland April 1 2002
Paul opened his first show in Oakland, California, singing “Hello, Goodbye”, he had never played this song live before. After this, “Jet” came in. He also played “C Moon”, “My Love”, “Here Today” and “Something”, for George Harrison.
Below is the complete setlist from Paul´s first show. Almost 40 songs!!! The show lasted 2 hours and 40 minutes.
Setlist 01/04/02 :
1. Auraverde (Rushes album - Fireman)
2. Hello, Goodbye (Hofner bass)
3. Jet (Hofner bass)
4. All my Loving (Keyboard player Paul Wix Wickens on guitar)
5. Getting Better (Les Paul guitar)
6. Coming Up (Hofner bass)
7. Let Me Roll It (Les Paul)
8. Lonely Road (Hofner bass)
9. Driving Rain (Hofner bass)
10. Drummer introduction Abe Laboriel Jr, who made a speech
11. Your Loving Flame (Piano)
12. Blackbird (Guitar solo)
13. Every Night (Guitar with Wix)
14. We Can Work It Out (Guitar with Wix)
15. Mother Nature's Son (Guitar with Wix)
16. Vanilla Sky
17. You Never Give Me Your Money/Carry that Weight (Piano solo with Magic Piano)
18. The Fool on the Hill (with Wix, on the Magic Piano)
19. Here Today (Paul solo on guitar)
20. Something (Playing “ukulele” – the same instrument played in the end of Free As A Bird)
21. Eleanor Rigby (Guitar with the band)
22. Here There and Eveywhere (Guitar with the band)
23. Band On The Run (Hofner bass)
24. Back In The USSR (Hofner bass)
(Guitarist Rusty Anderson is introduced, and he does a little speech )
25. Maybe I'm Amazed (Piano)
27. C Moon (Piano)
28. My Love (Piano)
(Paul presents Wix, who also makes a speech)
29. Can't Buy Me Love (Paul with Les Paul and Wix on guitar)
30. Freedom (Guitar)
(Paul presents guitarist Brian Ray. The musician says his father is from Oakland)
31. Live and Let Die (with fires exploding!)
32. Let it Be (Grand piano)
33. Hey Jude (Grand piano)
1º Encore
34. The Long And Winding Road (Grand piano)
35. Lady Madonna (Grand piano)
36. I Saw Her Standing there (Hofner bass)
2º Encore
37. Yesterday (Guitar)
38. Sgt Pepper's LHCB (Paul on guitar with Rusty and Brian)
39. The End (part of the medley from Abbey Road)

Driving USA Tour Dates :
April 1 Oakland -- The Oakland Arena
April 3 San Jose -- Compaq Center
April 5,6 Las Vegas -- MGM Grand
April 10-11 Chicago -- The United Center
April 13 Toronto -- Air Canada Center
April 16 Philadelphia -- First Union Center
April 17 Rutherford -- Continental Arena
April 19 Boston -- Fleet Center
April 21 Uniondale, N.Y. -- Nassau Coliseum
April 23-24 Washington -- MCI Center
April 26-27 New York -- Madison Square Garden
April 29 Cleveland -- Gund Arena
May 1 Detroit -- Palace at Auburn Hills
May 4 Los Angeles -- The Staples Center
May 5 Anaheim -- The Pond
May 7 Denver -- Pepsi Arena
May 9 Dallas -- Reunion Arena
May 10 Dallas -- Reunion Arena
May 12 Atlanta -- Phillips Arena
May 15 Tampa -- Ice Palace
May 18 Ft. Lauderdale -- National Center

Paul live in San Jose April 3 2002
Paul announced that the setlist of his shows may be changed in any moment. He will study public´s reaction and he may play some songs never played before (in tours, at least), like "Waterfalls", "Calico Skies", "From a Lover to a Friend" and "No More Lonely Nights". After "Live and let die", Paul told a story. Once, an old woman thought he had died on the stage because of the fire explosions!!! The band, all the time, was in a very good mood, laughing and making jokes all the time. The song the public most shouted and clapped for, in both shows, was "Here Today" (Tug of War, 1982). Before singing, Paul pointed to the sky and said "He´s watching us today, you know", refereing to John Lennon, for whom he wrote it.

Paul live in Las Vegas April 5 2002
As it seems very usual in the "Sin City", the show started about 45 minutes late, but the wait was worth it according to the merry crowd that attended the gig. Both shows repeated the set list presented in Oakland and San Jose. The high point was - amazingly - Paul's voice - according to Rick Jones, from Nevada "you could close your eyes and imagine you were watching Wings in 1976". Hours before the show on Friday, ABC News reported that Ringo might show up as a guest. Well, unfortunately not. The only celebrity people who attended the gig in Vegas (but did not participate) were The Who's Roger Daltrey, Alice Cooper, CNN's anchorman Larry King, Tony Orlando and Graham Nash, CSN & Y singer. The low point was technical problems - during 1/3 of Saturday's gig all supporting screens crashed, which according to the public, let Paul down a bit....but didn't affect Paul's performance on stage at all. On Saturday, also Paul messed around a bit with Hey Jude and I Saw Her Standing There lyrics...very funny changes !!

Paul live in Chicago April 10 & 11 2002
The astonishing power of Macca's vocals has been the highlight of both gigs. At the first night, Wednesday, 10th, Paul (and the audience, of course) received the emotional attendance of George Harrison's sister, Louise, who actually has been living in the USA since the 60's. After playing "Something", Paul announced her presence in the arena "And tonight we have here Louise Harrison, George's sister", which caused a strong commotion, receiving a huge ovation. The Chicago's debut show also shone due to the hot response of the public to every song played by Macca. On both nights, Paul autographed lots of objects "offered" to him by people who sat in the front row. The following pieces were seen being signed by the Beatle: a Hard Day's Night LP, a Ludwig drum skin, a hat, and an original White Album LP. The second and last night had also Paul telling stories that hadn't been told in the other gigs, such as the funny treatment that foreign masseuses had given him on the past tours. He was telling these stories while twiddling on the piano before launching into a cool version of Fool On the Hill on the magic piano. The Audience giggled a lot, though the people who attended the second gig seemed to be a bit colder compared to the energized people of the first show. Incidently - backstage after the gig Paul and Heather met up with Louise Harrison, George's sister - seen below in the photograph.

Paul live in Toronto April 13 2002
The show was awesome, as Macca's previous ones in Oakland, San Jose, Las Vegas (2) and Chicago (2). The most remarkable moment at Toronto's magnificent venue was Macca playing his 1977 record-breaking hit, Mull of Kintyre. And more - he didn't drop any of his songs to add his Scottish waltz on the set list! So, the Canadians were blessed with one track extra to the yet massive and hot bunch of songs which was comprised by 37 gems this time! The excuse for Macca changing his repertoire was reported hours before at the press conference, that lasted about 15 minutes. "Toronto was a safe haven to the British people who immigrated to Canada to start a new life", he said. Macca is known to play this song in all cities that have massive Scottish roots, such as Toronto,Auckland, Sydney etc.

Paul Live in Philadelphia April 16 2002
Macca's gig at First Union Center was as hot as Philadelphia's weather this week, which reached amazingly around 34 degrees. Too warm for early spring, according to the forecast people. The truth is that people who were there on April 16 were even more amazed with Paul's voice that seems to get stronger as the tour goes on. Highlights of the show were Maybe I'm Amazed and the antics of Rusty Anderson. According to fans who made the gig, Rusty has given a new spirit to Macca's band, keeping the songs even fresher. The lead guitarist, by the way, was the one who asked Paul to play Getting Better on this tour. To Robin Eastburn, (Laurence Juber's PR - yes the one from Wings) Rusty Anderson is playing just like Jimmy McCullouch, who was also a Wings member, from 1974 to 77, and was the group's most aggressive played, undoubtly. One more detail the : Philadelphia's newspaper's, like almost every US newspaper, has praised Paul's performances, but there's only one thing that they never seem to understand : new songs take a bit of time to be accepted, and didn't miss the opportunity to bash the gentle, Oscar nominated Vanilla Sky, while, on the other hand, praised Wings old tunes.

Paul Live in Rutherford April 17 2002
Moving North East, Paul McCartney took less than 24 hours to rock New Jersey's district of Rutherford, at Continental Airlines Arena. Well, that was a night where Paul's emotions could be clearly spotted on his face. It's well explained, because April 17 brought to him such a sad anniversary : the fourth year since Linda McCartney's passing, in Tucson, Arizona. Needless to say, the fans were expecting at least a word on behalf of this sad event. He did more than just words. Before launching into My Love, he said. "You know, tonight is the fourth year since Linda's death. The next song is Linda's song, and I would like to dedicate My Love to her and all lovers in the house". After that, according to fans, Macca just nailed the song, and wiped a tear from his eye as he finished it. Another hightlight - well, at least for this writer - thanks to Bob Cannon, I could hear two songs from this gig. Bob let me hear Blackbird and Every Night from his mobile phone. Yes, Macca's voice was just as perfect as Bob's fine act, that will always be remembered by me. All I can say is that Paul sang both songs with such a smooth voice and that the crowded applauded Blackbird for more than 30 seconds.

Paul Live in Boston April 19 2002
"Boston, You're LOUD!!!" The quote made by lead guitarist Rusty Anderson, maybe sums up the 10th Driving USA Tour gig in the region of New England, North East of the USA. Actually, according to the Macca-goers, Boston has been undoubtedly the best and warmest audience ever on this tour. Paul and the band realised that pretty soon. Speaking of the band, Boston's night was drummer's Abe Laboriel Jnr night as well. As a native of Boston, he enjoyed every second of the gig. Paul introduced him and said "He was born here at the Beth Israel Hospital", and the crowd went wild. Abe carried on saying that he's still got some relatives living in Lexington, Massachusetts. The light atmosphere of the show allowed Macca to tell a few untold stories as well. He told a story about a man who once "invaded" his hotel room a few years back during one of Macca's world tours. Paul said: "He sat down on the bed and said - "Imagine if I had a hollowed leg made of bronze and a giraffe's neck, can you? Hey Paul, are you feeling all right?" - Then Macca replied: Oh yes, I'm feeling as if I had a hollowed leg and a giraffe's neck". The audience broke down in laughter ! The show's music, of course, was a blast. According to a fan, the new USA anthem, Freedom, brought the house down, and was one of the highlights of the night, with thousand of people waving the American flag.

Paul Live in Long Island (NY) 21 April 2002
After the fab audience response in Boston, it would have been hard to follow up their performance at Uniondale, but the Long Islanders did not disappoint Macca at all - at the old Nassau Memorial Veterans Coliseum. The crowd really went wild hearing Macca playing Band On The Run, Freedom and Beatles classics such as Let it Be, Hey Jude and Back In the USSR. By the way, as it happened in Boston, the set list was the same as the one performed at the very beginning of the tour in Oakland (only interrupted in Toronto, when the band sang Mull of Kintyre). When Macca came back to play the first encore, he returned wearing a T-shirt which said: "No more land mines", following his fiancee's campaign that fights against the explosives planted in the ground by many guerrilla armies around the world. Paul also dedicated My Love for the second time on the tour for Linda, as he did in New Jersey. This time the main reason was perhaps because of Linda's brother John Eastman's presence in the audience.

Paul Live in Washington 23/24 April 2002
The patriotic spirit took over the MCI center on these flawless shows in the capital of the USA. Speaking of patriotism, Macca again showed his respect and feelings over the victims of the September 11th tragedy donating $25.000 (US) in tickets to members of the families who had relatives killed in the Pentagon plane crash. Paul's voice kept its fantastic performance on both shows, only showing hints of tiredness on two or three songs performed on the second gig. Realising his voice was cracking a bit, Paul didn't miss his strong sense of humor, rolling eyes, and smiling to the public. By the way, the human side and the casual flaws have been pleasing the crowd, instead of annoying them, proving that a live gig, is a live gig. No fakes at all...His "anthem" Freedom, again, was one of the standout performances of the two gig days, for obvious reasons. A sea of USA flags accompanied Macca as he sang along with the crowd "FREEDOM!!!!!". On the first gig, Paul told an anecdote about when he and the bandmates were playing a trivia game called the Cranium and that it was kind of easy for his team to win...Why? Piece of cake: the last question was "who is the oldest beatle?", which Macca carried on saying "I had to know that one, so we won!" (Note : of course all Beatles64 readers know that the oldest fab is Ringo, born July, 7th, 1940).

Paul Live in New York 26 / 27 April 2002
No grief, no sadness, no pain. No hard feelings can survive after a Paul McCartney show. So you figure, after TWO McCartney shows at the Madison Square Garden, in New York, the capital of the world ! Macca returned to the Big Apple after the Concert For New York last October, 20th, ready to get things done and relieve a little bit more pain of the saddened New Yorkers, still a bit shaken by the September 11th tragedy. And he did. Better, they did. Paul, Rusty, Abe, Brian and Wix delivered two unforgettable shows - almost perfect ones, filled with humor and intimacy. On the April 26th, Paul "Wix" Wickens completed 200 live gigs behind Macca's keyboard. To celebrate this event, special waiters brought a champagne bottle to the stage for a toast! It was quite a moment. Also on that day, Paul dedicated My Love to Linda, and became very emotional. However, the highlight of the night was Paul telling the public that he was the newest detective of the town. He told us that NYPD officers had visited him backstage and made him a NY Honorary Detective! After telling that, he said "You know, if I catch you smoking "that thing" I'll arrest you!". The audience cracked up. The Saturday's gig showed Paul even more in harmony with the public. For the first time in the Driving USA tour, Macca announced that Your Loving Flame had been written for Heather, so he finally mentioned her name in a gig after simply saying that the song was for a "special person" in the audience. By the end of the gig, after I Saw Her Standing There, the video cameras focused on her so that Heather could be seen by everyone on the big screens. Song curiosities : Macca, also for the first time on the tour, sang the whole lyric of You Never Give Me Your Money without making any "mistake", if you know what I mean!! This time he played the wrong notes on C Moon and Live And Let Die, which made him pull some wild grimaces. He eventually realised what he had done and shook his head and grinned, like only Macca can - and accused himself of playing it wrong. Those little things seemed to entertain the public very much, of course!

Paul Live in Cleveland 29 April 2002
The cold and modern Cleveland went mad and got fever after Macca's gig at the Gund ! It was such a special show for Paul and Linda's relatives, as her late mother, Louise, was born in the city, at the Shaker Heights area. Paul reminisced about her and dedicated My Love to Linda, as he has been doing since New Jersey. Heather also got her name mentioned by Paul again (the second time since the Madison Square Garden shows). He dedicated Your Loving Flame for her and said he'd written the song inspired by his fiancée. By the end of the concert, a lucky fan got his Help LP signed by Macca, what a treat, don't you think?
The only low point about the concert was that the security staff didn't make the fans lives easy. It took a while for most of the people to try and get in to the arena, and most of the people who attended the gig complained they missed a good part of the pre-show performance.

Paul Live in Detroit 1 May 2002
Paul McCartney rocked Motown at The Palace, in the district of Auburn Hills, in one of the most relaxed and hot shows of the Driving USA tour so far. The show provided fans with more of those special autograph sessions, as we have watched in many gigs on this tour. A few lucky fans got their albums signed by Macca towards the end of the concert. This time the LPs that were touched by the blessed hands of Paul were Driving Rain and Revolver. After playing Let Me Roll It, a fan tossed a t-shirt to the stage. Paul grabbed the shirt and proclaimed - "We don't do laundry here!". Overall, Macca sang with strong and youthful vocals the whole 36-song set list, which, by the way, was just the same repertoire performed since the very beginning of the tour, in Oakland, save for Toronto, where he played Mull of Kintyre.

Paul Live in Los Angeles 4 May 2002
Talk about a real constellation of stars attending Paul's gig on his comeback show in the West Coast of the USA ! - Take a look at a short list of entertainers who watched the show in LA : Jack Nicholson, John Cusack, Ted Danson, Tom Cruise, Penélope Cruz, Cameron Crowe, Sylvester Stallone, Pat Boone, Mick Dolenz, Brian Wilson, Geoff Emerick, Denny Seiwell, Jeff Lynne, and many others. The day before the gig, Paul had been the only special guest on Jay Leno's traditional and famous Tonight Show, where he was supposed to perform two songs. Unfortunately, due to a cold, Macca chose not to sing, keeping his throat rested for his performance that would happen right on the following night. His efforts were worthwhile, and Paul only showed signs of his annoying sore throat on a few tunes - nothing that could really spoil the party, if you know what I mean!

Paul Live in Anaheim 5 May 2002
No time at all to rest for Paul !!! - Right after Staples Center show, he did another fantastic performance in Anaheim, located only a few miles away from Los Angeles. Anaheim is the town where the Disney kingdom began to rise, and the Disneyland park stands as the first entertainment centre of the mega Walt Disney's complex. According to most people who went to the evening's gig, Paul's voice seemed to be completely recovered from the cold that had caught him after the Detroit's show and left his throat a bit sore. With all things sorted out, Paul and band repeated the same effervescent performance that they do so well. It is reported that both shows in the Los Angeles area (Staples and The Pond) were caught by an amateur cameraman and also both gigs are now available on good quality VHS.

Paul Live in Denver 7 May 2002
The tour moved to the mountain state of Colorado, and Paul McCartney and band did not disappoint the sold-out Pepsi Arena, in Denver. This time, the bassist/guitarist Brian Ray, acknowledged the audience by saying that he was from Colorado, and that his family had traveled from Durango especially to see him playing tonight. Vanillas Sky's director was again in the audience, which looked as if he was taking part with anything related with the DVD documentary of the tour. More news as soon as we get. For some people who attended the gig, the highlights were the three solo piano run-throughs: Maybe I'm Amazed, C Moon, and My Love.

Paul Live in Dallas 9 / 10 May 2002
Before stepping onstage, Paul McCartney talked to fans on a webchat sponsored by MSN, where he revealed that a DVD and a CD documenting the Driving USA tour is scheduled to be out around Christmas time. Also, he said a complete show will be broadcast by American television towards the beginning of the Autumn. After playing Yesterday, Paul asked for a minute to introduce the man who had produced and arranged the song, Sir George Martin. Paul said that he'd flown right from London especially to see him playing live. The second Texan night for McCartney was nothing but flawless. His voice kept nailing all the songs, with a special mention to Maybe I'm Amazed. "Amazingly" the song has been one of the performance highlights by Paul, who performs it effortlessly. Macca also spent the night acknowledging the audience. He couldn't stop thanking people for being there, and giving a special mention for those who were sat a far way from the stage.

Paul Live in Tampa 15 May 2002
According to the concert goers, the surreal pre-show has been a little shorter, so Paul could extend the Hey Jude chorus in the end. Obviously, people enjoyed singing the "nananas" a few extra times. Paul's daughter, Mary, was in the audience cheering to her dad. Security, this time, wasn't as tight as the previous shows, so flashbulbs took over the whole arena, registering all the band moves. Macca started showing his feelings, as the end of the tour approached. He got choked up singing many numbers and it came to show clearly that he didn't want to stop playing live (and we thank him for that!). In the end, Paul graced the fans with autographs, one of them to a fellow holding a Sgt. Pepper's LP. He was also given flowers by a woman. Another highlight was watching Paul's security man, Mark Hamill, and press agent, Geoff Baker, enjoying themselves, they were spotted dancing, singing and clapping hands through the whole evening.

Paul Live in Fort Lauderdale 17 / 18 May 2002
The END is a word that seems to scare Paul, but he didn't seem scared at all on the penultimate gig of the Driving USA Tour. In Ft, Lauderdale, he did another perfect performance, singing with top voice accompanied by again, a tight and loud band. The only problem for Paul on this show seemed to be pronouncing the city's name Fort Lauderdale. He messed up with the words and apologised to the audience, which, obviously, had a lot fun hearing that. His fiancée, Heather Mills, was seen dancing along with her sister Fiona and a bunch of friends. By the end of the show, Paul thanked all the audiences that made it to his gigs and for being so great and enthusiastic. The best part was reported by a radio station, where Macca had given an interview before the gig. He said there are plenty of chances for him to keep his band on the road. "And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make". Never a song lyric matched and meant so much for the fans who were blessed with Paul McCartney's live music in the Driving USA tour. The last gig - hopefully, only the last of this leg - was really emotional for Paul. He started crying after starting singing The Long And Winding Road. Why? Well, the pre-show performers paid him a tribute by holding up placards with big red hearts stamped, which prompted Macca to gasp throughout the song. After finishing his performance, he apologised for the lousy singing, and wiped a tear away. Of course, the audience understood how emotional that moment had been to Macca. Paul had lots of fun that evening, entertaining the fans with a striptease dance. He started taking his jacket off to sing Let Me Roll It, and the band started playing a typical stripper's music. Paul, of course, pretended he was going to take all his clothes off. The highlight of the show was obviously during I Saw Her Standing There. He called up two fans called Tessa and Casey to the stage, and they had a ball singing and dancing with the band. Paul explained that they had been to every gig of this tour! (Actually, they can be seen also on the two live documentaries of Paul's past tours, Get Back and Paul Is Live). Heather Mills also had her moment on stage, delivering a guitar to Paul after Yesterday. Obviously, she won a little kiss of her favourite Beatle... "See you next time", was his promise after playing The End...well, this writer is tempted to believe that it's really true. So, how about another 40 or 50 gigs, Paul?
But next time don't forget Australia, Japan, South America and Europe (UK included, of course!)

Thanks for following the tour with us, see you next time - Claudio Dirani and Daddy Mallagoli

Check out the photos below :

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