The emotional climax of Paul McCartney ’s tour opener in Palm Springs: right at the start, when he sang “Help!” It was his full show, after a short warm-up dress rehearsal last week in a small Santa Barbara venue. But he set the stakes high with “Help!,” John Lennon ’s personal cry of desperation, and a song he hasn’t sung since the Beatles broke up. Paul sang the John part, as his guitarists sang the vocal counterpoint that Paul wrote 60 years ago. For the acoustic breakdown, Paul sang alone, with his voice cracking just every so slightly on “So much younger than todaaaaay.” It was a knockout moment in a show full of them.

“It’s the first night of the tour, so we’re young and fresh and reckless,” he told the crowd before leaping into a euphoric “Drive My Car.” But as always, he’s a

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