Based on recent comments, Friday night may have been the last show on U.S. soil for Paul Simon.
Not that anything is set in stone, but Simon has said that he wants to try retirement as show business no longer holds any interest for him. He does have dates coming up for Europe but no further shows for North America.
Compared to the previous night’s show at Forest Hills, Simon seemed to wrapping up his career in one neat package. Thursday saw only two Simon & Garfunkel songs (not counting the instrumental part of El Condor Pasa which led into Duncan) while the final night included four, including the final three songs of the night with a run of The Boxer, The Sounds of Silence and Bridge Over Troubled Waters.
Three songs came from his brand new album, Stranger to Stranger, and two from his previous set, So Beautiful or So What, but it was the two world music albums, Graceland (1986) and Rhythm of the Saints (1990) that received the most attention with nine songs between the two.
Word is that Simon was buoyant and happy throughout the show, indicating that, even with his “no interest” statement, he still enjoys performing. Perhaps it won’t be the last we’ll see of one of America’s greatest songwriters.
Main set Proof (from The Rhythm of the Saints, 1990) The Boy in the Bubble (from Graceland, 1986) 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover (from Still Crazy After All These Years, 1975) Dazzling Blue (from So Beautiful or So What, 2011) That Was Your Mother (from Graceland, 1986) Rewrite (from So Beautiful or So What, 2011) Honky Tonk (Bill Doggett cover) Slip Slidin’ Away (from Still Crazy After All These Years, 1975) Mother and Child Reunion (from Paul Simon, 1972) Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard (from Paul Simon, 1972) Spirit Voices (from The Rhythm of the Saints, 1990) The Obvious Child (from The Rhythm of the Saints, 1990) Stranger to Stranger (from Stranger to Stranger, 2016) Homeward Bound (from Simon & Garfunkel’s Parsley, Sage, Rosemary & Thyme, 1966) El Condor Pasa (from Simon & Garfunkel’s Bridge Over Troubled Waters, 1970) > Duncan (from Paul Simon, 1972) The Warewolf (from Stranger to Stranger, 2016) The Cool, Cool River (from The Rhythm of the Saints, 1990) Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes (from Graceland, 1986) You Can Call Me Al (from Graceland, 1986)
Encore 1 Wristband (from Stranger to Stranger, 2016) I Know What I Know (from Graceland, 1986) Still Crazy After All These Years (from Still Crazy After All These Years, 1975)
Encore 2 That’s All Right (Elvis Presley cover) Late in the Evening (from One Trick Pony, 1980) The Boxer (from Simon & Garfunkel’s Bridge Over Troubled Waters, 1970) The Sound of Silence (from Simon & Garfunkel’s Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M., 1964 and Sounds of Silence, 1966) Bridge Over Troubled Waters (from Simon & Garfunkel’s Bridge Over Troubled Waters, 1970)
