Paul McCartney performed two rare club shows at the historic Fonda Theatre in Hollywood on Friday and Saturday, delivering a stripped-back set built from The Beatles, Wings and solo classics just days after unveiling details of his upcoming album The Boys Of Dungeon Lane.
by Paul Cashmere
Sir Paul McCartney returned to the stage for the first time since wrapping the North American leg of his Got Back tour late last year, performing two tightly packed concerts at the 1,200-capacity Fonda Theatre in Hollywood on Friday and Saturday. The performances marked one of the smallest venues the former Beatle has played in Los Angeles in decades, placing audiences within metres of one of popular music’s most enduring figures.
The concerts, each running for roughly 100 minutes, offered a condensed version of the set McCartney presented on his 2025 arena tour. For the fans fortunate enough to secure tickets through a pre-registration lottery system, the experience felt closer to a private recital than a stadium event, a rare opportunity to hear songs written across six decades in a theatre originally opened in the 1920s as the Music Box.
The significance of the shows extended beyond the novelty of scale. McCartney, now 83, continues to maintain an active performance schedule while preparing the release of his forthcoming album The Boys Of Dungeon Lane, due 29 May. The new record, his first studio album since McCartney III in 2020, revisits memories of his Liverpool upbringing and early songwriting years with John Lennon and George Harrison.
Despite the promotional activity around the new release, the Fonda Theatre concerts focused almost entirely on McCartney’s existing catalogue. The set opened with The Beatles’ Help! before moving quickly into the solo hit Coming Up and the Motown-inspired Beatles track Got To Get You Into My Life. Across the night McCartney alternated between eras of his career, drawing from the Beatles years, the 1970s output of Wings and selected songs from his extensive solo catalogue.
A highlight early in the performance was Let Me Roll It, originally recorded by Wings for the 1973 album Band On The Run. The track once again included a brief instrumental reference to Foxy Lady, the 1967 recording by the Jimi Hendrix Experience, a nod McCartney has incorporated into the song’s live arrangement for years. The band, featuring long-time collaborators Paul “Wix” Wickens, Rusty Anderson, Brian Ray and Abe Laboriel Jr., maintained the tight musical precision that has characterised McCartney’s touring ensemble for more than two decades.
The intimate setting encouraged a more relaxed stage presence. At one point McCartney addressed the venue’s balcony seating with a playful remark about the “posh seats upstairs”, before noting that those standing on the floor had the task of staying on their feet throughout the show. The moment echoed a well-known quip delivered by John Lennon during a 1963 Royal Variety Performance, a reminder of the class humour that frequently surfaced in the Beatles’ public appearances.
Midway through the set McCartney attempted The Beatles’ acoustic ballad Blackbird, briefly halting the performance after mixing up a lyric. Laughing off the mistake, he restarted the song, drawing a warm response from the audience. The relaxed exchange illustrated the difference between a theatre performance and the highly choreographed structure of arena tours.
The show also included two rarer selections from McCartney’s solo catalogue, Every Night from his 1970 debut McCartney and the title track of the 1997 album Flaming Pie. Both songs have appeared only occasionally in recent tours, making their inclusion notable for long-time followers of his live repertoire.
McCartney did reference his newly released single Days We Left Behind, explaining that the band was still learning how to perform it live. The track serves as the lead introduction to The Boys Of Dungeon Lane and reflects on memories of youth in Liverpool, themes that have become central to the album’s narrative.
As the set progressed, the show moved steadily toward its most recognisable material. Songs such as Lady Madonna, Jet, Get Back, Let It Be and Hey Jude transformed the theatre into a collective singalong, reinforcing the enduring role these compositions play in popular culture more than half a century after their creation.
The encore closed with the final medley from the Beatles’ 1969 album Abbey Road. McCartney performed Golden Slumbers at the piano before the band joined for Carry That Weight and the concluding statement of The End, including the rotating guitar solos originally recorded by McCartney, Lennon and Harrison. It remains one of the most recognisable finales in rock music.
Performances of this scale have become an occasional feature of McCartney’s touring activity in recent years. Similar appearances at New York’s Bowery Ballroom and other small venues have allowed him to present material without the large-scale production typical of stadium concerts.
For audiences at the Fonda Theatre, the absence of giant screens and elaborate stage effects placed the focus squarely on the songs themselves, a catalogue that continues to resonate across generations of listeners.
While no immediate tour announcement accompanied the shows, the timing suggests McCartney may be preparing for further performances later in the year following the release of The Boys Of Dungeon Lane. For now, the two Hollywood concerts served as a reminder that even after more than sixty years on stage, Paul McCartney remains one of the most active and compelling performers in contemporary music.
March 27 2026 setlist
Help!
Coming Up
Got to Get You Into My Life
Let Me Roll It
Getting Better
Let ‘Em In
My Valentine
Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five
I’ve Just Seen a Face
Every Night
Love Me Do
Blackbird
Now and Then
Lady Madonna
Flaming Pie
Jet
Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
Get Back
Let It Be
Hey Jude
Encore:
Golden Slumbers
Carry That Weight
The End
March 28 2026 setlist
Help!
Coming Up
Got to Get You Into My Life
Let Me Roll It
Foxy Lady (Jimi Hendrix Experience cover)
Getting Better
Let ‘Em In
My Valentine
Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five
Maybe I’m Amazed
I’ve Just Seen a Face
From Me to You
Every Night
Blackbird
Something
Band on the Run
Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
Now and Then
Lady Madonna
Get Back
Let It Be
Hey Jude
Encore:
Golden Slumbers
Carry That Weight
The End
Stay updated with your free Noise11.com daily music news email alert. Subscribe to Noise11 Music News here
Be the first to see NOISE11.com’s newest interviews and special features on YouTube. See things first—Subscribe to Noise11 on YouTube
Follow Noise11.com on social media:
Bluesky
Facebook – Comment on the news of the day
