Paul Simon at the Hammersmith Apollo

Before starting to write this review, I was doing some Googling trying to find images from last night’s gig (to no avail, so far).  In that process, I came across this very good review by David Cheal from The Arts Desk which is the review of a seasoned Simon fan and previous Simon gig attendee.  This was my first Paul Simon gig and so I feel that my reaction is quite different in places — and that’s not to do down anything Cheal says by any stretch.  I just had no preconceptions going in, with the result that I was bowled over by the whole show, whereas his experience of course tempered his reaction.

Firstly, where Cheal felt that the band limbered up quite slowly over the course of the first couple of songs, I felt they were just building up a head of steam — a nice distinction, I know, but a real one — and, by “50 Ways”, the third song of the set, they were flying.  Simon wasn’t holding back, a fear I’d had given that the show was rescheduled from the previous night due to doctors’ orders; he was in fine voice, though understandably careful higher in his register.  I also felt there was little difference in energy and crispness of execution between Simon’s older material and the songs off the new album (of which I thought there were surprisingly many — I like them, but still thought the balance unusual).  At times, particularly on “So Beautiful Or So What”, the band reminded me of the unstoppable groove that I associate with Dylan’s live band (high praise!), which got me thinking about going to see these elder statesmen of American music, expensive as their shows are — Bob, Simon and Brian Wilson all have unimpeachable bands who will, if nothing else, put on one hell of a professional show.  Whereas Sir Paul “I’m made of money” McCartney uses horrible manky synths.  Draw what conclusions you will.

As well as being totally professional, it was also clear that the musicians were having a ball, really enjoying the vibrato on the guitar in “Mother and Child Reunion” or doing a bizarre unison solo (if you see what I mean) of guitar and clarinet in “Crazy Love Vol II”.  This particularly came to the fore with ”That Was Your Mother”.  The BF, a music graduate, often listens to things on the radio and comments on musical jokes that make him smile or laugh in the music; I practically never find these remotely amusing, and have commented in the past on the crapness of the term “musical joke”.  However, this show and especially this soong educated me in how music — not lyrics, but the music itself — can be hilarious, accordion solo giving way to a heart-stoppingly loud sax solo, drum break segueing into totally unexpected washboard break.  Completely unbelievable, and I laughed throughout.

I would agree with Cheal, though, that the band built up similar steam over other sections of the show, only to launch into a slower ballad or simply a gear-changing song in a way that was detrimental to the overall mood.  The worst instance of this was, to my mind, not finishing on “Diamonds” for the main set — the audience reaction to that one was so overwhelming that anything afterwards was going to be a let-down, no matter how well done, and that was the case for “Gumboots”, which was otherwise great.  Similarly, I didn’t exactly miss more Simon and Garfunkel material, and nor should I have expected more, but S&G is the period of Simon’s career I know best, and another nod or two to that era would have been greatly appreciated.

But I feel that that would be real nit-picking; I’m unlikely to see Simon live again, and I wanted to be pleased, and I certainly waas.  The overall show was extremely strong, but particular highlights included “The Only Living Boy”, “Peace Like a River”, ”So Beautiful Or So What”, “Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes” (for the audience reaction to it), “Here Comes the Sun” and, far and away the best song of the night, a mesmerising “Slip Slidin’ Away”.  It would materially improve the quality of my life if I could have Simon et al just follow me around day-to-day, playing that.

See comments for setlist