Above photo: Paul Simon by Kevin Mazur
By Anna Addoms
Paul Simon – who if you don’t know his music, you’ll know from his iconic partnership with Art Garfunkel – Mrs. Robinson, anyone? – is currently touring on what he has called his final tour. Not to say that he is no longer making music, he just won’t be going on tour anymore.
While that concept completely breaks my heart, I was lucky enough to see him play at Fiddler’s Green Amphitheater in Denver, CO at the end of May. I have a penchant for live music and addiction to concert tickets and experiences. Paul Simon is one of those artists that has always been on my bucket list and as soon as I saw that he was going on tour, I called my dad (the other big fan in my life) while I was halfway around the world to make sure that he could get the tickets since I was out of the country. That’s how much of a big deal this concert was.
All I can say is that it more than surpassed expectations of amazement. This concert and tour is one of the best live shows I’ve EVER seen. Every person on stage was a virtuoso in their own right, making the music that much more incredible while backing Mr. Simon. But what made it an even better experience was being able to see each of these individuals showcase their mastery and talent through solos and highlights in each song performed.
There were 3 pianos, 2 full drum sets, a large brass section, and at least 6 guitars/basses on stage and everyone was featured at one point or another throughout the evening. Seeing and hearing the live versions of songs like Graceland, You Can Call Me Al, and The Sound of Silence, gave me chills while at the same time I couldn’t stop dancing, moving along to the beat, and in some cases singing along. I’ve included clips of You Can Call Me Al and Graceland here but I was so engrossed in the performances and the stories of each song that pulling out my phone was the last thing on my mind – the mark of a great show.
We enjoyed ourselves so much that my dad flew to MN early on business 10 days later just to see the show again! Now he’s talking about how we should fly to New Orleans later this year for the final leg of the tour and one last show.
You can find tickets and upcoming dates on his website.
