Paul McCartney live: Arrowhead Pond, Anaheim – 25 October 2002

Friday 25 October 2002 | Live concert | Arrowhead Pond, Anaheim, California, USA

On 25 October 2002, Paul McCartney performed at the Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim, returning to the arena after his earlier visit on 5 May. The autumn show was the 47th concert in the 58-date Driving World Tour itinerary and was attended by a reported 13,588 fans.

The concert brought together Beatles favourites, Wings songs and solo material, including selections from Driving Rain. It belonged to the autumn North American stretch commonly identified as the Back in the U.S. tour, within the broader 2002 touring campaign.

The complete itinerary appears below, with links to verified concert articles already in our archive. Our Driving World Tour 2002 guide provides the wider tour reference.

Anaheim, 25 October 2002: the essential facts

A second Anaheim visit in the same year

The Driving World Tour had already reached Arrowhead Pond on 5 May 2002. October’s return therefore offered another visit to the same venue within the same touring year, rather than McCartney’s first appearance there.

In the full itinerary, Anaheim followed San Jose on 22 October. The next concert was in Las Vegas on 26 October, followed by Los Angeles and Phoenix before the November dates in Mexico and Japan.

Venue names in the itinerary reflect the period where possible. Modern maps and later references can use different names for the same arenas; those naming changes should not be mistaken for different concert locations.

Paul McCartney’s touring band

The performance featured McCartney with four musicians:

• Paul “Wix” Wickens: keyboards, vocals and additional instruments, including guitar, percussion and harmonica.
• Brian Ray: guitar, bass and vocals.
• Rusty Anderson: guitar and vocals.
• Abe Laboriel Jr.: drums and vocals.

McCartney moved among the instrumental roles needed by a repertoire drawn from different parts of his career. Ray’s guitar-and-bass duties helped support that flexibility, while Wickens’ keyboard parts and the band’s backing vocals supplied elements needed for the varied arrangements.

These are the documented touring roles, not an instrument-by-instrument assignment for every song in the Anaheim performance.

Reported soundcheck setlist

The soundcheck is separate from the ticketed main-show setlist. The following reported sequence includes songs that did not appear in the evening’s concert list. Soundcheck archives can differ in whether they include brief fragments or combine linked titles.

1. Coming Up
2. India
3. Matchbox
4. Honey Don’t
5. Celebration
6. C Moon
7. Calico Skies
8. Blackbird
9. Midnight Special
10. Do You Want to Know a Secret
11. You Never Give Me Your Money
12. Carry That Weight
13. Lady Madonna

Concert setlist

The reported main-show sequence follows. “Carry That Weight” is identified as a passage attached to “You Never Give Me Your Money”; counting it separately changes the numerical total without necessarily identifying an additional standalone performance.

Main set

1. Hello, Goodbye
2. Jet
3. All My Loving
4. Getting Better
5. Coming Up
6. Let Me Roll It
7. Lonely Road
8. Driving Rain
9. Your Loving Flame
10. Blackbird
11. Every Night
12. We Can Work It Out
13. You Never Give Me Your Money / Carry That Weight passage
14. The Fool on the Hill
15. Here Today
16. Something
17. Eleanor Rigby
18. Here, There and Everywhere
19. Michelle
20. Band on the Run
21. Back in the U.S.S.R.
22. Maybe I’m Amazed
23. Let ’Em In
24. My Love
25. She’s Leaving Home
26. Can’t Buy Me Love
27. Freedom
28. Live and Let Die
29. Let It Be
30. Hey Jude

First encore

1. The Long and Winding Road
2. Lady Madonna
3. I Saw Her Standing There

Second encore

1. Yesterday
2. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)
3. The End

What the repertoire reveals

The opening run moved from the Beatles catalogue into Wings and solo material before reaching the Driving Rain songs “Lonely Road”, “Driving Rain” and “Your Loving Flame”. The album’s presence was therefore substantial enough to be heard as a distinct part of the show, not merely a name attached to a retrospective set.

The middle of the concert included “Here Today”, McCartney’s tribute to John Lennon, and “Something”, associated in this touring period with his tribute to George Harrison. Later came the larger-scale run of familiar favourites leading into “Hey Jude”.

Autumn selections such as “Let ’Em In”, “She’s Leaving Home” and “Michelle” also help distinguish this reported concert list from a generic spring-tour setlist. The 2002 repertoire should not be treated as identical on every date.

Complete Driving World Tour 2002 itinerary

The following 58-concert itinerary covers the spring North American dates, the autumn return, Mexico and Japan. It lists each night separately. Linked dates lead to verified existing articles; other dates remain plain text. The Anaheim concert covered here is entry 47.

Spring North America: April–May

1. 1 April 2002: Oakland Arena, Oakland, USA
2. 3 April 2002: HP Pavilion, San Jose, USA
3. 5 April 2002: MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, USA
4. 6 April 2002: MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, USA
5. 10 April 2002: United Center, Chicago, USA
6. 11 April 2002: United Center, Chicago, USA
7. 13 April 2002: Air Canada Centre, Toronto, Canada
8. 16 April 2002: First Union Center, Philadelphia, USA
9. 17 April 2002: Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford, USA
10. 19 April 2002: FleetCenter, Boston, USA
11. 21 April 2002: Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, USA
12. 23 April 2002: MCI Center, Washington, DC, USA
13. 24 April 2002: MCI Center, Washington, DC, USA
14. 26 April 2002: Madison Square Garden, New York City, USA
15. 27 April 2002: Madison Square Garden, New York City, USA
16. 29 April 2002: Gund Arena, Cleveland, USA
17. 1 May 2002: The Palace, Auburn Hills, USA
18. 4 May 2002: Staples Center, Los Angeles, USA
19. 5 May 2002: Arrowhead Pond, Anaheim, USA
20. 7 May 2002: Pepsi Center, Denver, USA
21. 9 May 2002: Reunion Arena, Dallas, USA
22. 10 May 2002: Reunion Arena, Dallas, USA
23. 12 May 2002: Philips Arena, Atlanta, USA
24. 13 May 2002: Philips Arena, Atlanta, USA
25. 15 May 2002: Ice Palace, Tampa, USA
26. 17 May 2002: National Car Rental Center, Sunrise, USA
27. 18 May 2002: National Car Rental Center, Sunrise, USA

Autumn United States: September–October

28. 21 September 2002: Bradley Center, Milwaukee, USA
29. 23 September 2002: Xcel Energy Center, St Paul, USA
30. 24 September 2002: United Center, Chicago, USA
31. 27 September 2002: Civic Center, Hartford, USA
32. 28 September 2002: Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, USA
33. 30 September 2002: FleetCenter, Boston, USA
34. 1 October 2002: FleetCenter, Boston, USA
35. 4 October 2002: Gund Arena, Cleveland, USA
36. 5 October 2002: Conseco Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, USA
37. 7 October 2002: RBC Center, Raleigh, USA
38. 9 October 2002: Savvis Center, St Louis, USA
39. 10 October 2002: Value City Arena, Columbus, USA
40. 12 October 2002: New Orleans Arena, New Orleans, USA
41. 13 October 2002: Compaq Center, Houston, USA
42. 15 October 2002: Ford Center, Oklahoma City, USA
43. 18 October 2002: Rose Garden, Portland, USA
44. 19 October 2002: Tacoma Dome, Tacoma, USA
45. 21 October 2002: ARCO Arena, Sacramento, USA
46. 22 October 2002: HP Pavilion, San Jose, USA
47. 25 October 2002: Arrowhead Pond, Anaheim, USA — this concert
48. 26 October 2002: MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, USA
49. 28 October 2002: Staples Center, Los Angeles, USA
50. 29 October 2002: America West Arena, Phoenix, USA

Mexico: November

51. 2 November 2002: Palacio de los Deportes, Mexico City, Mexico
52. 3 November 2002: Palacio de los Deportes, Mexico City, Mexico
53. 5 November 2002: Palacio de los Deportes, Mexico City, Mexico

Japan: November

54. 11 November 2002: Tokyo Dome, Tokyo, Japan
55. 13 November 2002: Tokyo Dome, Tokyo, Japan
56. 14 November 2002: Tokyo Dome, Tokyo, Japan
57. 17 November 2002: Osaka Dome, Osaka, Japan
58. 18 November 2002: Osaka Dome, Osaka, Japan

Tour recordings and the individual concert

The touring campaign was documented through Back in the U.S. and Back in the World. These releases provide context for the band and repertoire, but they should not be described as complete releases of this Anaheim show.

A live album assembled from tour recordings and a concert-specific setlist answer different questions. The setlist above identifies the reported sequence for 25 October; it is not a claim that every performance was selected for an official album.

Venue map: Arrowhead Pond, Anaheim

The map locates the Anaheim arena associated with the concert. A contemporary map may display a later venue name; the historical name used here is Arrowhead Pond.

Frequently asked questions

Continue exploring: Complete Driving World Tour guide · Paul McCartney’s story · Paul McCartney solo discography · On This Day in Beatles History.