At Coachella on Friday night, Paul McCartney honored those that have passed, and, in his own way, made them very much alive, in an unusually emotional performance. It was the 11th anniversary of the death of his wife Linda. "But she loved the desert, she loved music," said McCartney, who performed a two-and-a-half hour set containing many Beatles tunes in a charged performance that was as poignant as it was celebratory. In addition to giving shout-outs to his late ex-Beatles John Lennon and George Harrison, Sir Paul also prefaced 'Blackbird' by explaining that it was written in the 1960's as a response to the civil rights movement. "Now you've got President Obama," he said proudly. "We've come a long way."

Macca performed songs from throughout his music career including hits from his "other" band Wings, as well as newer ones from his electronica-tinged "alter-ego" Fireman. But it was his generous dip into the Beatles canon, which included 'Eleanor Rigby,' 'A Day in the Life,' 'Give Peace a Chance,' 'Back in the USSR,' 'Paperback Writer,' 'Can't Buy Me Love,' 'Get Back,' 'Hey Jude' and 'Let It Be' that kept the crowd hanging on till the final notes.



"It's an emotional day for me," said Macca. "And that's OK. That's good." He dedicated 'Something' to Harrison's widow, Olivia (who was at the show), beginning it on a ukulele that was given to him by George. And by george, he didn't stop there. For the start of his second encore, McCartney took to the stage, solo with an acoustic guitar, for a version of 'Yesterday' that was particularly moving given the anniversary of Linda's passing. Wearing his emotion on his sleeve wasn't all mournful, however -- McCartney threw himself into turning it into a celebration, often joking with the crowd and very obviously enjoying himself.

As he left the stage before the encore, he leaned down towards the audience to give his guitar pick to someone who had brought a sign asking for it. Earlier in the show, he joked that the many audience-made signs distracted him from remembering lyrics as he tried to read them while singing. Reading the one that asked for his pick, McCartney quipped, "No, it's mine." Guess he changed his mind.

In a testament to the enormity of each Beatles song, almost every one seemed like it could be the climactic show closer. Hours later, a medley that kicked off with 'Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)' became the actual punctuation mark. At the very beginning of the night, McCartney promised to "rock the roof off tonight." If by "roof" he meant "desert sky," then OK, Macca -- we're with you.