Penned on the Run: ‘GOT BACK’ Tour Diary 2025 Part 4

The tour blog from Paul’s US publicist Steve Martin continues, as Steve reports from Columbus, Pittsburg, Buffalo, Montreal, Hamilton and Chicago.

In this fourth instalment, we pick up where Part 3 left off as the GOT BACK tour rolls on through North America.

Columbus

10 years nearly to the day since his last Columbus appearance, Paul brought Got Back 2025 to the Nationwide Arena to prove that lightning can strike twice—or three times if you count Paul’s first visit to the Arch City back in 2005.

As local NPR affiliate WOUB recounted, the second the opening pleas of “Help!” rang out, the capacity crowd was "electrified, hit by a force elemental and shared, one that crackled through the entirety of the packed arena. This, dear reader, is what the legendary, madness-making, red-hot embrace of Beatlemania feels like.”

The good people of Columbus proved more than up to the challenge of matching Paul’s boundless energy for the nearly three hours that followed, a truly multi-generational mix ranging from grandparents to toddlers alike sporting Lonely Hearts Club uniforms to 20-something year-old women in the front row, tears and cheers flowing for the duration.

And as always, there were plenty of highlights to maintain that electrification: “Coming Up” marked the Hot City Horns’ first Columbus appearance alongside Paul, the added flavor they brought to “Got To Get You Into My Life,” “Letting Go,” “Jet” and more delighting and further energizing the already supercharged masses. “My Valentine” provided a sweetly received romantic interlude, the warmth it spread throughout the crowd kicking back up to a white hot intensity with a rollicking “Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five.” “Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!” added a mesmerizing psychedelic spectacle to the spectrum, while “Blackbird,” “Here Today” and “Something” proved as always that Paul is equally captivating armed only with an acoustic guitar or ukulele as he is with a full backing band and horn section.

In what may well have been a ripple effect from Nashville, it seemed that relatively few among the Columbus crowd were watching via their smartphones. With the notable exception of the sea of lights that greeted a sublime “Let It Be,” this was an audience rapt and in the moment, fully experiencing every moment, from the fireballs and concussions of “Live and Let Die” to every “na na na na” of “Hey Jude” and beyond. Kudos to Columbus for making the absolute most of Paul’s three visits over three decades.

Pittsburgh

You could feel the anticipation in the chilly Pittsburgh air for Paul’s first visit since the Out There tour rolled through in July 2014. The energy only built in momentum and intensity as every seat in the PPG Paints Arena filled, reaching a first of many crescendos at 8:15 when Paul hit the stage to begin the latest chapter in a legacy that stretches back to The Beatles’ 1961 set at the Civic Arena.

Pittsburgh was more than up for the evening’s initial barrage of rave-ups, offering up raucous Steel City receptions to “Drive My Car,” “Come on to Me” and “Let Me Roll It.” as the night flew by, a transcendent “Maybe I’m Amazed,” playful renditions of “I’ve Just Seen a Face” and “Love Me Do,” and heartstring-tugging versions of “Here Today” and “Now and Then” took each and every audience member on their own personal journey — one that ran the gamut of emotions, evoking memories while creating new ones in the moment.

“Something” hit particularly hard with the Pittsburgh crowd, moving Paul to add a little extra to this customary thanks to George for blessing us all with the gift of that song that perpetually keeps giving. “When I met George,” Paul said, “We were just a couple scruffs on the bus. Years later, he turned out to be a genius!”

If you’d thought at the time that the show had filled its quota of peaks, the final third of the 30+ song setlist would handily disabuse you of that notion, or as the PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE so accurately put it, "If you walked in for the last hour, you saw one of the best things you’ve ever seen in your life… Paul’s voice was getting even stronger with every song.”

True that. From an epic “Band on the Run” through a ripping “Get Back” whose musical pyrotechnics were seen and raised by a literally combusting “Live and Let Die,” through a triumphant encore that kicked off with the Pittsburgh debut of Paul and John’s virtual duet on “I’ve Got a Feeling” and scaled final peaks that including the frenzied three-way guitar duel of “The End.” All in all, it was another unforgettable entry in a historic ledger of Paul’s Pittsburgh performances — one that undoubtedly had all in attendance feeling what the POST-GAZETTE put into words:

"So, how? How does Paul McCartney rock so hard at 83?!

Who knows?

It’s magic. And, somehow, in 2025, we had the great privilege to revel in it."

Buffalo

Got Back 2025’s rolling into the KeyBank Center signaled the end of a 10-year stretch between Paul McCartney shows in New York State’s second-most populous city. And the upstanding citizens of Buffalo would celebrate the occasion in style, giving their downstate neighbors a run for their money in the audience enthusiasm stakes.

As Paul strode onstage nearly exactly at 8:15pm to deafening fanfare, it was clear that this would be another historic evening for the thousands fortunate enough to score tickets. A spirited 1-2 combo of “Help!” and “Coming Up” drove the point home instantly, while “Getting Better” and “Let ‘Em In” provided two more early highlights that, like the two opening numbers, were not played at Paul’s 2015 show at the First Niagara Center. However “Maybe I’m Amazed,” which was played at Paul’s previous Buffalo visit, put a massive explanation point on tonight’s already raucous crowd reaction. 

Paul, the band and—in yet another first time playing alongside Paul in yet another US city—the Hot City Horns shared 2+ hours off the charts energy, guiding the nearly 20,000 faithful through an impressive showing on the singalong history lessons of “In Spite of All the Danger” and “Love Me Do” to effusive approval of Abe’s choreography display during “Dance Tonight” to trying in vain to hold back the waterworks during “Here Today” and “Now and Then”—all the while remaining "as solid a band as McCartney could ask for” per the BUFFALO NEWS.

As the voices of every single person in the house joined in a climactic “Hey Jude” and rallied once more for a revelatory encore, DIGITAL JOURNAL delivered a “Verdict” that read in part:

"He had the Buffalo audience with him every step of the way, which consisted of multi-generational fans of all age groups. He proved that he is still at the top of his game musically, even at the ripe age of 83.

There was a feeling of nostalgia and sheer euphoria in the venue, and the crowd was well aware that they were in the presence of a true living music legend. His show in Buffalo, New York, garnered two giant thumbs up."

Montreal

Paul’s relationship with Montreal spans lifetimes, stretching all the way back to The Beatles’ historic stint at the Montreal Forum in 1964. Got Back's November 17 and 18 doubleheader at Centre Bell would mark Paul’s fifth visit to Quebec’s largest city overall, having previously played the Montreal Forum as far back as 1989 and having played Centre Bell in 2010, 2011 and most recently 2018.

While the seven years that had passed since that 2018 Freshen Up tour stop represented a significantly shorter interim that the 21-year span between Paul’s 1989 and 2010 Montreal gigs, you’d hardly have known from the fervor that gripped the city’s snowy streets. Festooned with welcome murals and signage welcoming Paul, it was clear that Montreal was more than ready to get back.

The infectious local excitement over Got Back 2025’s first two Canadian dates may have been apparent from well before Paul touched down in Montreal, but it truly began hitting fever pitch as early as soundcheck, where “One After 909,” “Ram On” and a handful of other Beatles, Wings and Paul solo standards and beloved cover tunes would set the stage for two momentous nights in North American musical history.

The vibe inside Centre Bell as that first “Help!” rang out was the first in a succession of truly overwhelming moments that would defy — or at least challenge — verbal description, but as always we’ll give it our best. “Got To Get You Into My Life” and “Drive My Car” conjured the spirit of those 1964 Montreal Beatles screams, bringing them into the present courtesy of possibly the most effusive multi-generational audience Paul had ever drawn in 60-plus years of playing in Montreal.

On both nights, the joyous “Yeahs” of “Maybe I’m Amazed” and the jaunty skiffle of “I’ve Just Seen A Face” would be followed by a special surprise, especially and exclusively for the people of Montreal:

"Michelle, ma belle
⁠Sont des mots qui vont très bien ensemble
⁠Très bien ensemble”

If earlier moments in the Got Back 2025 setlist elicited over the top reactions from the jam-packed Centre Bell, the thousands of Quebecois voices singing along to every English and French lyric of the rarely aired Rubber Soul classic virtually rattled the arena to its very foundations. In truth, it was one of the loudest singalongs on this North American trek — thanks to the approximately 40,000 Francophones who gave it their all over two consecutive nights of unparalleled celebrations of life, love and music.

Along with notable guests in attendance including Elvis Costello and Diana Krall, the local critical community embraced Paul’s first Montreal shows in seven years with equal affection and wonder, with LE DEVOIR calling Got Back 2025 "an amazing evening,” LE DROIT describing the experience as “timeless,” and CANADIAN BEATS summing up succinctly and expertly "Paul McCartney didn’t just perform in Montreal—he lifted the Bell Centre straight into the stratosphere."

Hamilton

While Paul’s second ever show in Hamilton Ontario was in and of itself cause for city-wide celebration, the fact that Got Back 2025’s Hamilton play would be the first official show at the just christened TD Coliseum generated an additional wave of literal front page news.

So when Paul stepped onto a Hamilton stage for the first time since 2016 at the FirstOntario Centre, it was instantly apparent that this would be an unforgettable evening on so many levels — even more than a peerless rock show that took a sold-out crowd on a journey through the soundtracks of their lives, it was a moment that put Hamilton on the radar of an even greater population of music lovers from surrounding cities, states and provinces. With documented pilgrimages being made from two hours away in Toronto to the further reaches of upstate New York, for this one night only Hamilton was Macca Mecca of North America.

BILLBOARD CANADA backed up this observation, noting that when Paul asked the assembled masses how many attendees were Hamilton locals vs. how many were from out of town, "Judging by the cheers, it sounded 60-40 out-of-towners to Hamiltonians.”

It should be added that it also sounded like 100% were ecstatic to be there, regardless of the length of their respective journeys. The people of Hamilton truly filled their new flagship venue with gratitude, joy, love and, most of all, their voices. Along with a sea of phone camera lights that illuminated the entire interior of the arena, nearly 20,000 voices in unison made for a particularly moving “Let It Be,” followed in close succession by “Live and Let Die” and its accompanying pyrotechnic display that will likely remain unmatched for the lifetime of the new building if only for safety reasons. “Hey Jude” closed out the main set as always, its “na na na na” refrains uniting the various North American tribes of Macca fanatics in glorious vocal elation — as the HAMILTON SPECTATOR marveled, "If you had filled every seat with thousands of members of gospel choirs, you wouldn’t have had more enthusiastic and unanimous participation."

It was the encore, however, that would reveal the evening’s most special surprise: Following the roars of approval that greeted the Hamilton debut of Paul’s virtual duet with John on “I’ve Got a Feeling,” Paul swapped out the Les Paul for an acoustic guitar and for the first and only Got Back 2025 performance of “Mull of Kintyre,” accompanied by local Scottish-music troupe the Paris Port Dover Pipe Band, effectively "transforming a big-ticket rock concert into a community-centre gathering” to quote the TORONTO STAR.

It was a singular moment in a wholly stellar experience, and an undeniable highlight of a hugely successful run that would sadly be winding down in…

Chicago

Looking forward to Got Back’s two-night grand finale at Chicago’s United Center was a bittersweet proposition: On one hand, Paul’s Chicago shows have been the stuff of legend — from the Beatles and Wings stadium plays of the ‘60s and ‘70s respectively to more recent milestones including 2011’s multiple nights at Wrigley Field and 2015’s Lollapalooza headline, Paul has always enjoyed a deep and passionate relationship with the Windy City. On the other, no matter how awe-inspiring and unforgettable these last two shows were, they’d still be just that: the final two shows of the run.

"Jojo got back. Sweet Loretta Martin, too. So did everyone fortunate enough to witness Paul McCartney amaze a standing-room-only audience at United Center,” raved the CHICAGO TRIBUNE. “The 83-years-young legend presided over a joyful celebration that inspired, uplifted and unified.”

Truer words were never written, as Paul’s 2025 Chicago doubleheader kept multiple generations singing, dancing, laughing and crying non-stop for a cumulative nearly six hours over two nights. Appropriately scheduled in the days leading up to Thanksgiving, Paul basked in the gratitude of tens of thousands who joined together on massive communal choruses from the outset with “Help!” and “Coming Up” through to home stretch staples “Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da” and “Hey Jude,” and virtually every point in between.

A rare technical glitch on night one necessitated a restart on “Let ‘Em In,” quickly repaired and ultimately resulting in an even more impassioned than usual reading of the Wings favorite — while also, as Paul pointed out, proving that he and the band are playing live.

Paul, the band and the Hot City Horns exuded such intensity in Chicago that these shows could have easily been mistaken for a tour opener. “Jet” ascended to new anthemic heights, while “Lady Madonna” had the full age spectrum from children to grandparents dancing in the aisles. 

For all their abundant energy, the Chicago Got Back 2025 attendees stood rapt in reverent silence for Paul’s unaccompanied moments including “Blackbird,” “Here Today” and the ukulele/vocal-only first section of “Something.” And on both nights, they came back as ever roaring with a vengeance for the likes of “Band on the Run” and “Get Back.”

Chicago’s encores were particularly incendiary, with “I’ve Got a Feeling” eliciting some of the loudest response of the two-month run and “Helter Skelter” simply shredding in every sense of the word, from Paul’s apocalyptic vocal performance to Rusty, Brian and Wix engaging in a three-way guitar duel bolstered by Abe’s mammoth percussive onslaught. Moments later, the Hot City Horns would return to the stage for a final Got Back 2025 rendition of the closing Abbey Road medley, Kenji, Mike and Paul adding emotive brass embellishments to Paul’s mellifluous delivery on “Golden Slumbers” and extra emphasis on the stops and starts punctuating “Carry That Weight.”

One more three-way guitar exchange and one final “And in the end/the love you take/is equal to the love you make,” Got Back 2025 was officially in the books. “We’ll see you next time,” Paul said as he left the stage for the last time in 2025, leaving us to echo the sentiments that RIFF magazine conveyed: "We’ll hold onto that statement. Until next time, Macca."