Paul Simon at The Marquee June 21st 2011
Paul Simon and his band consisting of seven incredibly talented multi-instrumentalists put on a lively, colourful show to suit the carnival surrounds of the Marquee in Cork. The band took to the stage at 8pm without a support act and launched into a setlist that had something for everyone. Nearly all of Simon’s solo albums were covered, including his most recent release, So Beautiful or So What. He also threw in three cover songs and a couple of tunes from his Simon & Garfunkel days.
The show kicked off with The Boy in the Bubble, the opening track from his most commercially successful album, Graceland. Its strong beat and nice groove was a great way to get the crowd moving from the off. This was followed up with Dazzling Blue and then a good version of 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover which got a big cheer from the crowd. An early highlight of the concert was a cover version of Vietnam by Reggae pioneer Jimmy Cliff which the band rolled into Mother and Child Reunion, the first track off Simon’s self-titled solo debut.
Simon and band did another cover when they segued from Hearts and Bones into Mystery Train, most famously recorded by Elvis. A sing along then ensued when the band did Slip Slidin’ Away, a great track that never made it onto a studio album. The last few songs up to the encore contained several crowd pleasers including Peace Like a River, Diamonds on the Soles of her Shoes and the first Simon & Garfunkel track of the evening, The Only Living Boy in New York.
The most conspicuous encore call I’ve witnessed at a gig came after Gumboots, another track off Graceland. Simon and band walked off stage and immediately roadies came on and began tuning instruments for more playing. Paul Simon then came back on by himself and did an amazing solo acoustic version of The Sound of Silence. This was the highlight of the concert for me. It brought everything down to a whisper; everyone was quiet and sang along with him. It was a level of intimacy I couldn’t have envisioned at the outset when I first saw the stage packed with musical instruments. It would be wonderful to hear Paul Simon play more solo acoustic songs in his set but he seems to enjoy playing with his band.
After The Sound of Silence the band came back on and normal service resumed with Kodachrome before they launched into a version of The Beatles’ Here Comes the Sun. Following this first encore the band again left the stage. They came back out again and the second encore was a triumphant finish to the show. Crazy Love Volume II drew huge cheers from the crowd from the guitar intro alone. The penultimate track, Late in the Evening was also well received. But Simon and the band had a great finish with Still Crazy After All these Years which brought the house down.
To sum up: this was a great gig. The setlist was good and while classics like Call Me Al, Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard and American Tune were omitted, Paul Simon’s back catalogue is so rich, and the performance so engaging that it was hard to complain about any missing songs. The quality of musicianship throughout was of the highest level. His backing band of seven multi-instrumentalists is an unbelievably talented group and I was blown away several times by the sheer quality of their playing. These guys are absolute virtuosos. Great gig overall.
5 Stars