OAKLAND — In all reality, Paul McCartney didn’t need any literal fireworks at his performance at Oakland Arena on Friday night—the first of a two-show stand in a city where he hasn’t played in 20 years. The man, the songs and the occasion were special enough. So when someone pressed a button and unleashed an entire Metallica concert’s worth of pyrotechnics all during Wings hit “Live and Let Die,” there were no more boxes for McCartney to check for the concert to be any more special.

And yet, the very next song was “Hey Jude,” which incited one of the most massive singalongs of the night. And that was followed by an encore of “I’ve Got a Feeling,” which included McCartney dueting with a recording of John Lennon, “Birthday,” a fiery “Helter Skelter,” and the now signature Abbey Road medley of “Golden Slumbers,” “Carry That Weight” and “The End.”

Paul McCartney’s “Got Back” tour packed all the punches in Oakland. Explosive songs, timeless classics, nostalgia, a few new tunes from his latest album, III, and, yes, literal firepower—multiple rows of jets of flames, forward shooting diagonally across the stage, sparklers and explosions. It was understandable when McCartney covered his ears and hunched over for the final humongous blast.

This tour is significant not only because Paul McCartney is playing in places for the first time in a long time, but because he’s pushing 80 years old. The pandemic had put rock’s elder statesman’s future in jeopardy. But true to his word, McCartney “got back” out there.

“The funnest time we’ve ever had together as a band was 20 years ago right here in this place,” he said at one point.

And not only did he have some songs to play live for the first time, but some of his classics with The Beatles are again in the public consciousness, thanks to Peter Jackson’s docuseries “Get Back.” McCartney recalled the project several times. That duet with Lennon in the encore? That was possible because Jackson offered to isolate Lennon’s voice from the film footage. McCartney would sing his parts then turn toward a giant screen at the back of the stage: a moment that felt genuinely touching. More of the film footage played during the rendition of “Get Back” itself (also a highlight).

Speaking of giant video screens, there were numerous. McCartney’s production was high. The show was preceded with video of a never-ending tower that was McCartney’s life and music career. As it climbed higher and higher into the heavens, anticipation built. At the end of that, the house lights came on as the Beatle walked out in a purple blazer and black pants and took in the sea of waving arms.

His longtime band kicked into the still-rollicking “Can’t Buy Me Love” and Wings’ “Junior’s Farm.” He was flanked by his two guitarists.

“We’ll play some new songs, some old songs and some in-between songs,” he said, and the show was pretty evenly split between his Beatles, Wings and solo material.

Occasionally he’d pause and look out into the crowd, such as following the nearly six-minute-long blues rock Wings jam, “Letting Go.”

“I want to take a moment to drink it in,” he said.

Many of the songs had a bluesy swagger to them, thanks to a three-member brass section, like the exuberant “Come On to Me,” from Egypt Station. Others featured the signature psychedelic rock the Beatles made famous, such as on “Got to Get You Into My Life.”

Many of the songs came with stories—nothing fans don’t already know, but still a treat to hear told directly by the man himself.

There was a partly acoustic mini-set partway through, which included much of the storytelling. Performing in front of a projection of a house in the country, with changing day and night backgrounds, McCartney spoke of the Beatles’ precursor band, The Quarrymen, recording their first record for £5 and then taking turns sharing the record because the one copy was all they could afford. The story led into the country- and blues-sounding “In Spite of All the Danger.”

He spoke of the fledgling Beatles recording “Love Me Do” and how his voice quivered while recording it before performing that song. He recapped the Beatles’ first time in America and Beatlemania—”the girls started screaming,” to screams from the Oakland crowd—before leading “Dance Tonight” on a mandolin, while drummer Abraham Laboriel, Jr. danced the Macarena and the sprinkler.

Then, for “Blackbird,” a song McCartney explained was inspired by America’s Civil Rights Movement of the ’60s, a platform at the front of the stage raised him a solid 30 feet in the air. He performed the song solo, as the platform, also adorned with a giant video board, showed a bird flying about.

The acoustic set came to a close with the somber and downcast “Here Today,” which McCartney explained is a song he wrote after Lennon’s death as a letter he never got to send his friend. There was also a tribute to George Harrison on “Something,” which McCartney began on a ukulele that Harrison had gifted him. He switched to an acoustic guitar halfway through as the pace picked up.

McCartney spent much of the show splitting duties on his bass, a couple of guitars, and two pianos: a grand at the back corner and an upright that was wheeled onto the stage a couple times. The upright was adorned with its own video screen.

Interestingly enough, the newer material fit perfectly among the classics. In fact, McCartney’s huskier lower register suited these new songs, like “Women and Wives,” better. The upbeat “New,” from 2013’s album of the same name, had all the touchstone of classic Wings.

The Wings material also fit perfectly into the set. The instantly recognizable piano riff of “Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five” got people moving after a ballad breather, “My Valentine,” was dedicated to his wife, Nancy, who was in the building. That was followed by “Maybe I’m Amazed” and Beatles hit, “We Can Work It Out,” on which McCartney was nearly drowned out by the crowd.

Along the way, the band included the funky “Lady Madonna,” psychedelic “Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!,” the powerful “Let It Be” and Wings’ “Band on the Run.” The uplifting “Fuh You,” from Egypt Station, sounded much better live than on record. Even the sillier songs like “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” hit hard.

The main set concluded with “Hey Jude,” with dozens of fans raining “NA-NA” signs in unison and the massive singalong sweeping the arena. McCartney and his band began the encore by walking onto the stage and waving the flags of Ukraine, the U.S., California and England, as well as the rainbow flag.