Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, the sole remaining Beatles, performed together last night at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.
The show was put on by Twins Peaks creator David Lynch for his new venture Dif.TV, an online streaming company to raise money for the David Lynch Foundation.Composer Angelo Badalamenti opened the show with the Twin Peaks theme. Moby, Betty LaVette, Sheryl Crow, Eddie Vedder and Ben Harper performed for the first half.
After a break, Donovan, who was with the Beatles in India for the meeting with the Maharishi, performed his classic ‘Hurdy Gurdy Man’ and Sheryl Crow joined him for his other classic ‘Season Of The Witch’.
Jerry Seinfeld did a bit of comedy, Howard Stern said a few words and then Ringo came on.
Ringo performed with Ben Harper’s band Relentless 7 backing him. The audience heard ‘It Don’t Come Easy’, ‘Boys’ and then he did ‘Yellow Submarine’ with Sheryl Crow and Eddie Vedder.
Then on came Sir Paul.
McCartney performed classic after classic. ‘Drive My Car;, ‘Jet’, ‘Got To Get You Into My Life’, ‘Let It Be’, ‘Lady Madonna’, ‘Blackbird’, ‘Here Today’, ‘Band On The Run’ and then Can’t Buy Me Love’.
Then the highlight ... the reunion.
McCartney introduced “Billy Spears” and on came Ringo to perform ‘With A Little Help From My Friends’.
This was as much The Beatles as The Who today is The Who and you could say a lot more Beatles than a current Smashing Pumpkins lineup.
McCartney and Starr then did ‘Cosmically Conscious’, a Paul song written in 1968 that didn’t surface until his ‘Off The Ground’ album almost 30 years later.
The finale was ‘I Saw Her Standing There’.
To the audience it was The Beatles. To McCartney and Starr, it was just two old friend together.
