Review: Paul Simon

Photos by Allison Long/The Star

This show was an odyssey in more ways than one. For two hours Tuesday night, Paul Simon took his audience inside the sold-out Midland Theater on a journey through a song catalog that goes back more than 40 years and that visits the music of several continents.

And from the jaunty fanfare of accordion and drums that announced the first song, “The Boy in the Bubble,” through the final note of his closer, the bittersweet “Still Crazy After All These Years,” Simon showcased his uncanny knack for fusing rhythm, groove, melody and lyrics into songs that have become as timeless and eternal as any over the past 50 years.

This was not a show for the greatest-hits crowd. He played some of those: “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover,” “Kodachrome,” “The Sound of Silence” and “Still Crazy.” And he delved deepest into “Graceland,” his most popular album: six songs. But he stayed away from standards like “Me and Julio,” “The Boxer” and “You Can Call Me Al” in favor of songs like “Peace Like a River” (one of the loveliest moments of the night), “Hearts and Bones” and the mournful “The Only Living Boy in New York.” And he also played three tracks from his latest record, “So Beautiful or So What.” They all flowed together seamlessly, each bearing the stellar musical traits and lyrical techniques of the guy who wrote them.

Simon has always surrounded himself with world-class musicians; Tuesday night was no different. His eight-piece band laid down an array of sounds and accompaniment, from jaunty, syncpated rhythms and other percussive dressings on songs like “That Was Your Mother” and “The Obvious Child” to delicate guitar stylings on tracks like “Rewrite,” one from the new record, and lush harmonies on songs like “Only Living Boy,” “Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes” and the twilit cover of the Beatles’ “Here Comes the Sun.”

Simon turned 70 last month, but his voice is still what it has always been: light, agile and servicible to the kinds of songs he writes. A few times it sounded stretched to its limits, but otherwise he sounded in fit form (and, as I recall, maybe even better than it did his last time through Kansas City 10 years ago). All night he displayed a warm sense of informality and ease, like a guy throwing a barbecue party in his own backyard. He joked about the raucous thunderstorm that greeted him here Monday night: “You have loud skies here.” The crowd of nearly 2,400 paid him fond respect all night, singing-along when appropriate, listening when needed. The cathedral hush that descended upon the room as he started “The Sound of Silence” gave the song a deeper, soul-stirring resonance. (And the sound in the Midland Tuesday nighty was as good as I’ve heard it.)

The setlist comprised more than two dozen songs, including three covers: “Sun,”and two that paid homage to his roots: Junior Parker’s soulful and bluesy “Mystery Train” and Bo Diddley’s “Pretty Thing.” It was all good, but some moments outshone others. The effervescent tunes like “Gone At Last” and “Gumboots” ignited lots of movement and dance. His knack for blending American pop and global rhythms is unsurpassed.

Simon is at his best when he fills a rapturous melody and groove with penetrating lyrics, as in “Graceland,” a sweet and funky tune filled with trenchant lines like “Losing love is like a window in your heart / Everybody sees you’re blown apart / Everybody feels the wind blow”; and as in “Slip Slidin’ Away,” another song whose somber lyrics betray its gorgeous melody: “A good day ain’t got no rain / A bad day’s when I lie in bed and think of things that might have been.”

“Still Crazy” would be his valediction, as apt a closer as any. It’s a guy looking back at his life and his ways, with resignment, some fear but few regrets: “I never worry / Why should I? / It’s all gonna fade.” If he has a theme song, I suppose it’s this one, though it doesn’t necessarily describe his life or his world. The only thing not quite normal or sane about Paul Simon is the uncommon length and luster of his storied career.

Setlist: The Boy in the Bubble; Dazzling Blue; 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover; The Afterlife; Mother and Child Reunion; That Was Your Mother; Hearts and Bones; Mystery Train; Slip Slidin’ Away; Rewrite; Peace Like a River; The Obvious Child; The Only Living Boy in New York; Love is Eternal Sacred Light; Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes; Gumboots. Encore: The Sound of Silence; Kodachrome; Gone At Last; Here Comes the Sun; Crazy Love, Vol. II; Late in the Evening; Graceland; Pretty Thing; Still Crazy After All These Years.

The openers: The Punch Brothers, led by Chris Thile of Nickel Creek, made a nice pairing with Simon's music. They mixed old-time blugrass with some contemporary stylings -- music as clean as it is lively. Their cover of Roger Miller's "Kansas City Star" was a highlight of their set.

|Timothy Finn, The Star

Comments

[onthemark]

Great show last night, loved every minute of it! Very cool to hear them work in the Chet Atkins' song 'Wheels' along with 'Mystery Train'.

One minor correction: His comment re the thunderstorm was "You have LOUD skies here"!

Also appreciated Paul busting out some dance moves. A very good night indeed!

[tim finn]

tks otm, i'll fix

[Douglas Thompson]

:) Lovely review, thank you (again)

[fiddler]

thanks for the review tim. he's definitely one of the best there's ever been. wish i coulda been there.

[kcmom]

Nice review, Tim--thanks!

Yes, the dance moves were fun! It was a great show. He is definitely one of a kind. The variety of percussion instruments was just incredible.

[tjackowski1]

Best comment of the night was when my wife turned to me and said "Feels like a revival meeting". Paul Simon had everyone's attention and we were all wrapped up in his musical genius.

[JP]

Fantastic concert! Didn't want the evening to end!

[Hear this show live Sunday night]

I just read that you can hear this show streaming this Sunday night, try this link

http://wxrt.radio.com/2011/11/09/paul-simon-live-sunday-night-concert-broadcast/

[reminder]

^^reminder about the streaming online concert tonight^^

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[TrueFan]

Wonderful show...accurate review. Another one crossed off my concert bucket list.

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