McCartney has a discography packed full of some of the most immortal songs of all time from the Beatles to Wings to his solo career, and the multigenerational crowd that packed the sold-out 18,000-capacity venue showed their appreciation by shouting and singing along with every song. That includes some that practically invented the concept of the full-arena sing-along, like "Let It Be" and "Hey Jude." GO Transit extended service so out-of-town concertgoers could head home 40 minutes after the concert ended at 11 pm, and the "na na na"s could still be heard humming throughout that nearly two-hour train ride back to Toronto.
Partway through the set, the 83-year-old artist took an informal poll: "How many of you here are actually from Hamilton?" he asked, before repeating the question asking how many are not. Judging by the cheers, it sounded 60-40 out-of-towners to Hamiltonians. It's been nearly 10 years since McCartney last played the city, and he made it count with a marathon 36-song setlist that lasted close to three hours.
The well-structured set had parts for every era of his career, including a mini-history of the Beatles: the first song they ever recorded, "In Spite of All the Danger," the first song they played for George Martin, "Love Me Do," and their first No. 1, "From Me to You." He also played "Now and Then," the John Lennon-penned song that was finished and re-recorded with AI technology in 2023, stretching the Beatles legacy into the present.
McCartney was bolstered by a band including Rusty Anderson on guitars, Brian Ray on bass and guitar, Paul Wickens on keys, and Abe Laboriel Jr. on drums. There was also a three-part horn section, plus the Paris Port Dover Pipe Band filling the stage with bagpipes during a performance of "Mull of Kintyre."
There were plenty of bells and whistles that showed off the audio-visual capabilities of the renovated venue. Now a music-first arena, with no full-time sports tenant (yet), TD Coliseum's production was impressive. Large LED screens bolstered the stage, showing old footage of the Beatles, including some from the recent documentary Get Back, some animation that veered dangerously close to AI slop and, at one slightly jarring time, interpretive sign language from Natalie Portman and Johnny Depp from the music video of "My Valentine." Screens were everywhere, sometimes even on the back of McCartney's piano.
The biggest "wow" moment was during the James Bond theme "Live and Let Die." After McCartney sang the piano ballad lead-up, the song literally exploded with loud pyro that heated up the floor seats and non-stop lights and lasers that awed the crowd from the floor into the cheap seats. It was the bang the venue started with.
Paul McCartney at TD Coliseum in Hamilton, Ontario, on Nov. 21, 2025.Mike Highfield
The most powerful performance, though, was one in which McCartney was solo. He grabbed his acoustic guitar for a performance of "Blackbird" on a platform that slowly raised as he sang. After the song was over, he explained he wrote the song during the civil rights movement of the '60s, a meaning that was emphasized in Beyoncé's cover on last year's Cowboy Carter album. After playing the song, McCartney told the story of how The Beatles forced a promoter at a Jacksonville, Florida show to integrate a concert that was initially segregated, then put it in their contract that they would never play another segregated show.
McCartney came with plenty of stories. He added a coda of Jimi Hendrix's "Foxy Lady" after playing the Wings rock jam "Let Me Roll It" and told the story of watching the Jimi Hendrix Experience play their whole set in a London club for just the Beatles and their crew before the word spread shortly after. And he told a story about George Harrison's ukulele before playing a beautiful version of "Something" with it. The night ended with Abbey Road 's full side-B closing medley, including the perfect concert closer "The End."
TD ColiseumCourtesy Photo
TD Coliseum now looks and feels like a modern concert venue, well-fitted for arena spectacles like this one. It's filled with VIP lounges and boxes, while the concession stands include buzzy food options like Matty Matheson's Rizzo's House of Parm and Matty's Patty's, as well as the first Canadian outpost of Big Chicken, the fried chicken chain owned by Shaquille O’Neal. There were some first-night jitters — payment options didn't work for debit cards throughout the now-cashless venue, meaning you had to pay with credit card — but that should be worked out in time.
With the first night spectacular out of the way, the real test will come as TD Coliseum settles into its full schedule. The venue, in partnership with Live Nation, has already booked shows by MGK, Jonas Brothers, The Offspring, Nine Inch Nails, TWICE, Cardi B, The Guess Who and more, while the Juno Awards will come to the arena next March. There will be a press conference announcing news about that event this Monday (Nov. 24).
Read more about TD Coliseum's opening week here.
