Paul McCartney may be an old rocker, but that doesn't mean he's not hip to the latest technology.
In collaboration with Jaunt, McCartney just released a new app where users can watch him perform "Live and Let Die" as if you were right onstage with him. The app gives you an up-close-and-personal, 360-degree viewing of the performance filmed at Candlestick Park in San Francisco during the venue's last concert ever on Aug. 14, 2014.
The app is Jaunt's first publicly released cinematic virtual reality experience, and the performance was filmed with stereoscopic 3-D cameras and 3-D sound-field microphone, according to Rolling Stone. This allows users to watch McCartney's performance as if they were in the audience, onstage, backstage or sitting right next to him at the piano.
The app sounds amazing for fans of Macca, music or just new technological experiences. However, right now it's only available through Google Play for Android users or those who have mastered Google Cardboard, the company's open source virtual reality project. Jaunt is working on making the app available for Samsung's Gear VR and the Oculus Rift as well. The rest of us will just have to gawk at the screenshots of the app for now.
It's unfortunate that the app isn't more widely accessible, but if you are able to download and use the app, it certainly looks well worth your time. McCartney's performance at Candlestick Park earlier this year was not only a major historical milestone for the park but also for the musician who performed there almost 48 years to the day with The Beatles for the group's last official concert. If you didn't get to see McCartney's performance in real life, this might be the next best way to get in on that little piece of history for yourself. As someone who has seen McCartney perform "Live and Let Die" live before, let me tell you that it is something to experience.
Move over U2, because McCartney is actually the musical artist making waves in the tech industry. McCartney also created music for the online first-person shooter game Destiny, released on Sept. 9, 2014. Unfortunately, when the song from the game "Hope for the Future" was released, critics seemed to think it didn't really live up to McCartney's talent. Maybe he should just stick to creating new tech experiences around his own music from now on.
