Paul McCartney concert sold out, but you can still find tickets

Paul McCartney was assured a sellout for his first performance in Fresno.

The city’s mayor, Ashley Swearengin, said as much during a news conference at Save Mart Center last month announcing the April 13 show, which kicks off his One on One tour. She was there to proclaim April 13 as Paul McCartney Day in Fresno, underscoring the importance of the visit.

Indeed, news of Sir Paul’s visit was met with an onslaught of excitement from fans, at least one of whom wondered if McCartney was the most iconic musician to ever play Fresno. The most eager fans scurried to procure coveted presale tickets, to the point of borrowing American Express cards from friends or trying to open a new account.

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When tickets went on sale to the general public, they sold out in two hours.

Of course, some of those tickets are still available. A quick search of ticket sites earlier this week showed hundreds of seats available on the secondary market for slightly more than face value. On Vividseats, tickets in the upper sections of the arena were selling for a minimum of $106, or $40 more than face value. A pair of front-row seats ($250 face value) were selling for $3,650 each on the website StubHub, which operates as a kind of eBay for concert tickets.

There is some scarcity at play here, and the extra price may be worth it for some fans.

This is McCartney’s first time playing this market. It’s also one of just nine shows in North America so far, and it is his only California date. For contrast, the 73-year-old musicians’s last tour, 2015’s Out There tour, had 27 shows in 22 cities across the world.

It’s also the kickoff of the tour, and, as such, will be the first chance fans get to see what is promised to be an all-new audio and visual production. Think massive screens, lasers and fireworks. The concert will be like seeing an outdoor stadium show, only indoors, said Save Mart Center General Manager Steve Tadlock during the press conference announcing the show. “That’s the kind of production we’re expecting.”

And given Save Mart Center’s capacity (16,000 for the biggest concerts) and McCartney’s tendency to play stadiums and megafestivals like Lollapalooza (where he performed for a crowd of 100,000 last year), even the worst seat in the arena will feel almost intimate by comparison.

McCartney will be joined by the band he’s played with for 10-plus years: Paul “Wix” Wickens (keyboards), Brian Ray (bass/guitar), Rusty Anderson (guitar) and Abe Laboriel Jr (drums). He will play a nearly three-hour selection of songs spanning his career. That’s good news for fans of his time with Wings or anyone dreaming of singing along to an extended refrain of The Beatles’ “Hey Jude.”

This story was originally published April 7, 2016 at 9:00 PM with the headline "Paul McCartney concert sold out, but you can still find tickets."