Coachella Reviews Round Up

02.05.2009
2 May 2009

International reviews of Paul's Coachella performance last month.

"Everything you could ask for in a McCartney set. Stunning. Beautiful." LA Weekly

"The verdict from his Coachella debut on Friday? Never underestimate the power of a Beatle." "The night belonged to Paul."

"Pity the poor acts who had to go on opposite him while 95% of those still on hand for the conclusion of Fridays opening show packed themselves like so many sardines as close to the big Coachella stage as they could."

"McCartney in turn delivered a two-hour-plus show in as strong a voice as hes exhibited in his Southland stops in recent years, and one with a goodly number of surprise choices that took the set well beyond the Beatles/Wings greatest hits run-through he easily could have fallen back on.

"Hip comes and hip goes, but McCartney proved once again, a great pop song lasts forever." Los Angeles Times

"For almost two and a half hours, he had the attention of what seemed to be the entire multigenerational festival" NY Times

"Moments of genuine emotional connection... McCartney unleashed some stirring sparks of electric guitar-heroism of his own with a bit of Jimi Hendrixs Foxy Lady and the set-closing mini-epic The End. Mac can play." Rolling Stone

"People could not stop talking Sunday about Paul McCartney's two and half-hour performance " San Bernardino Sun

"The sounds (and fireworks) that rang out during Paul McCartneys night-ending show were unmatchable." Santa Barbara Independent

"Best Encore: Paul McCartney... McCartney defied expectations... Way to go, Macca -- carry that weight, and then some." Spin

"I was hard-pressed to find someone who did not instantly place McCartney as their favorite act of the weekend" USC Daily Trojan

"McCartney delivered an emotional, career-spanning set during his debut Coachella performance....'It's Paul f***ing McCartney!' shouted one man as fireworks shot up from the stage." NME.com

"Playful and passionate... a moving performance" Associated Press

"It gave the up-and-coming artists something to strive for -- a long career and a body of work that makes a lasting impression on popular music." CNN

"Im still in something of a trance-like state after Paul McCartneys nearly-three-hour headlining set"

"Id never seen a Beatle, and yeah, I was moved to tears a couple of times, especially when he busted out My Favorite Song of All Time, A Day in the Life.

"Maybe it was the evenings cool desert breeze, but I kept getting the chills." Buzzbands.la

"Paul McCartney received the most attention of any artist, earning international raves for his two-and-a-half-hour set on Friday." Desert Sun

"The set list was deep with classics" Jambase.com

"Immensely moving... Now, perhaps we know why Coachella was really moved up a week this year - to enable such a special set." OC Register

"What, at 66, does McCartney have left to share with us? Here, upwards of 35 songs culled from a catalogue that's a huge part of pop history." Pitchfork

"The man has so many iconic songs, and he paraded them out one by one, as if putting the younger bands who performed earlier in their place... by the end you couldn't help but be disoriented and in awe at the sheer depth of his classic catalogue."

"Paul's the man. There is no argument." Stereogum.com

"Paul made me cry (and I loved it)‚ LA Times Music Blog