Paul McCartney Plays Surprise Concert in Times Square

Proof that you are never too old to master social media—or have someone do it for you—71-year-old Paul McCartney took to Twitter earlier today to announce a surprise pop-up show in New York's Times Square. Beginning at 1pm, Macca performed a four-song set from inside an open big-rig truck. The show was simulcast on EarthCam's Times Square cam, a webcam where, at other times, you can presumably watch tourists wait on line at TKTS and argue the merits of “America's Largest TGIF's.” 

Despite the last-minute notice, hundreds of people turned up on the corner of 46th and Broadway to hear McCartney perform new songs "New," "Save Us," "Everybody Out There" and "Queenie Eye" from New, his 16th solo album out next Tuesday. For those not directly up front, McCartney's voice battled with policemen trying to keep pedestrian flow moving, though the thrill of seeing a Beatle up-moderately-close and personal trumped any distractions.

McCartney has been unusually interactive and ingenuous with the release of New. On Wednesday, the former Beatle performed a 13-song surprise set at Tony Bennett Concert Hall at the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts in Astoria, Queens for the school's students, accompanied by a Q&A.

According to New York Times, McCartney primarily fielded career-centered questions from the students, including the effect of fame on his own career progression. "The thing that fame does is it gives you freedom," said McCartney. "So you start off doing stuff that you think other people want to hear and you end up thinking, 'Well, that’s O.K., but I could give them something they don’t know they want to hear just yet.'"

Last week, McCartney held an impromptu Q&A on Twitter, where the singer revealed his desire to record with Bob Dylan and recent purchases of Kanye West and Jay Z albums. And with that, we leave you with the image of a 71-year-old British man walking into his local Best Buy to ask for Yeezus.