Paul McCartney’s previous New York-area performance took place three years ago at MetLife Stadium, capacity 82,500. His surprise show Tuesday night at the Bowery Ballroom fit, at most, 575. It was probably less than that since McCartney’s sound board and gear — too much to fit backstage — occupied a portion of the floor space at the venerable downtown theater.

Paul McCartney, 82, hosted a surprise show at the Bowery Ballroom in New York City on Tuesday night, after announcing the pop-up concert just hours earlier.

Music icon Paul McCartney treated a lucky crowd of 500 to a two-hour set that spanned 60-years of hits — for just $50 a ticket!

"We had a blast-and you were the blasters!," Paul McCartney told the crowd at the end of his surprise Tuesday show at New York City. McCartney played a spontaneous gig at the Bowery Ballroom, a beloved rock bar on the Lower East Side that holds only 575 people.

During his surprise show in New York City at the Bowery Ballroom, Paul McCartney played songs from his Beatles, Wings, and solo discography throughout the setlist. However, one song particularly stood out.

Starting promptly at 6:30pm, McCartney and his band rocked The Bowery Ballroom for two straight hours. Paul McCartney Rips Through Intimate Club Show at Bowery Ballroom in NYC

Seeing a rising artist in a small venue is magical—but watching a global icon like Paul McCartney perform an intimate concert? Once in a lifetime. That’s exactly what happened last night in New York City when the legendary Beatle shocked fans with a surprise show at The Bowery Ballroom.

While in New York for an appearance on Sunday at the Saturday Night Live 50th anniversary episode, Paul McCartney tuned up during a surprise show at the 575-capacity Bowery Ballroom tonight (Feb. 11), dazzling lucky ticket holders with a 21-song, nearly two-hour set.

The Beatles' songwriting duo of John Lennon and Paul McCartney is one of the most famous and successful in music history - but it wasn't always plain sailing