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Paul McCartney, Wings documentary ‘One Hand Clapping’ coming to the big screen

Paul McCartney, Wings documentary ‘One Hand Clapping’ coming to the big screen

Part live performance, part audio interviews and intimate footage, “One Hand Clapping” recounts the band’s four-day tenure at Abbey Road Studios that yielded their eponymous studio album. Recorded in 1974, both the documentary and the album pick up the momentum McCartney and Wings had built off of their 1973 album Band on the Run, with the band performing then-new songs like “Jet” and “Bluebird” as well as a handful of older songs and covers, including “Let It Be” and a medley of “The Long and Winding Road” and “Lady Madonna.”

The recordings would sit unreleased for 50 years, spurring the album’s status as one of the most pirated live recordings of all time. McCartney and Wings finally released “One Hand Clapping” this June, and the accompanying documentary will follow suit this weekend.

Starting Thursday, “One Hand Clapping” will receive its first (albeit limited) theatrical release, screening at AMC Boston Common. Alamo Drafthouse Cinema at the Seaportand Cambridge’s Landmark Kendall Square Cinema. The film is also showing in cities such as Lowell, Randolph, Hingham, Danvers, Marblehead, and Framingham, as well as a handful of theaters in New Hampshire and Rhode Island.

For superfans who own the 2010 “Band on the Run” box set, the footage will be familiar; the documentary was originally released as part of a previous reissue. But this weekend’s screenings will add a few more surprises to the experience, including never-before-seen Polaroids, a new pre-recorded introduction to the film by McCartney himself, and footage from the “The Backyard” sessions, a solo acoustic performance by McCartney that has never been presented in full.

(Be sure to listen to the cover of Eddie Cochran’s “Twenty Flight Rock,” the song that brought the Lennon-McCartney duo together when they first met.)

“It’s great to go back to that period and see the little live show we had,” McCartney mused in a statement. “We actually sounded pretty good! It was a great time for the band — we were starting to achieve the long-awaited success with Wings.”


GIG GUIDE

TD Garden is turning into a playground for modern pop stars this week, and it’s a Friday to enjoy Vampire WeekendReviving the indie rock glory of 2008 with the spring album “Only God Was Above Us”, in a time when demand for everything continues “BRAT,” Charlie XCX And Troy Sivan‘s joint “Sweat” tour heats up the place Saturdaythen a Thursday delivery of sweet treats during the singer Sabrina Carpenter‘s “Short N’ Sweet” tour.

Sabrina Carpenter performs on stage during the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards held at UBS Arena in Elmont, NY on September 11. Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for MTV

The Orpheum continues to wake from its summer slumber, hosting a Nashville folk songwriter this week Matt Kearney Open SaturdaySoft rock band from the early 2000s Fight Open Tuesdayand a powerful duo of post-punk bands Psychedelic Furs And Jesus and Mary Chain Open Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Leader Bank Pavilion is closing for the season Tuesday with his visit IN KAYTRANAThe Haitian-Canadian artist’s “TIMELESS” tour supports her June album of the same name. greeted here before “A nice and crowded collage of modern genres.”

Korean-Canadian artist Silo Heading to The Rockwell Sunday To rekindle the sultry R&B spark from her July record “Dreamt that I Was.” Across the street that evening at the Crystal BallroomBrooklyn shoe enthusiasts TNT Helpline Lead the way for an evening of alternative rock with Wisconsin openers Disq.

Roadrunner begins with a series of double-headers Mondayformer Alabama Shakes leader Brittany Howard Collaborates with British singer-songwriter Michael Kiwanuka to showcase a diverse repertoire of folk, funk and every soulful genre in between. Another joint program, Chromeo And Midnightcaptivates guests with wild and retro synth-pop WednesdayNew York electronic duo Sophie Tukker They will be presenting two nights of their album “BREAD” in August Thursday.

Puerto Rican rapper and singer Myke Towers a week Performing at Agganis Arena on ThursdayHis album, “LA PANTERA NEGRA” (“Black Panther” in Spanish), released in August, combines reggaeton, trap and performances by Latin music giants such as Bad Bunny and Peso Pluma.

Myke Towers attended the 2024 Warner Music Group Pre-GRAMMY Party held at Citizen News Hollywood in Los Angeles on February 1.David Livingston/Getty Images

NOW TURNING

Sunflower Beans, “Shake.” Sunflower Bean’s harvest is heavier than ever this year, landing in the arena of soaring riffs plucked from the golden era of New York trio Black Sabbath. The band’s first release since 2022’s Headful of Sugar employs heavy metal guitar tones with a slight sense of experimentation, with Sunflower Bean adding a touch of bleakness to their more standard psychedelics.

On their new EP, “Shake,” New York trio Sunflower Bean step into an arena filled with soaring riffs from Black Sabbath’s heyday.Julia Benitez

Hall Bells, “To Be or Not to Be.” “Who wants some Kool Aid?” says Parlor Bells’ lead wizard Goddamn Glenn on “Dixies,” the second track on the Boston band’s new EP. And when a lead singer asks with that level of menacing sweetness, you grab a Dixie cup and drink from it, even if the next tracks are filled with “Slasher Movie Weather” and UFO-related disappearances. A richly textured blend of new wave, glam rock, and outright shredding, “To Be or Not to Behave” is the local rock scene’s future cult classic.

Boston band Parlor Bells’ future cult classic EP is a richly textured blend of new wave, glam rock, and straight-ahead ballads. Hall Bells

Mark Stepakoff“The Sound of That.” Boston singer-songwriter Mark Stepakoff delivers heartfelt relief with his seventh album, a thoughtful 10-track collection of Americana. Highlights from the rootsy storybook include “I Like the Sound of That,” a toast to life’s oft-overlooked pleasures, and “My Own Wikipedia Page,” a rollicking look at the life of a folk singer presented like Dr. Hook’s “The Cover of ‘Rolling Stone.’”


BONUS TRACK

This Friday and SaturdayThe Boston Jazz Foundation is launching its first Jazz Square celebration, a free, multi-venue event honoring local jazz history at the intersection of Massachusetts and Columbus Avenues. The area used to be home to numerous jazz clubs but is now home only to the historic Wally’s Cafe. The festivities will include a dedication of the square, a jam session at Wally’s, and performances by artists such as saxophonists Noah Preminger And Seba Molnarand pianist/drummer Julius Rodriguez.

Victoria Wasylak can be reached at: [email protected]Follow her on X as @VickiWasylak.