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The Province
26-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Province
Concert review: Paul Simon brings A Quiet Celebration to the Orpheum Theatre
Legendary singer Simon plays a trio of Vancouver shows. Here's our review of night one. Iconic singer/songwriter Paul Simon has just announced A Quiet Celebration Tour. The North American tour will stop in Vancouver at the Orpheum Theatre for three shows July 25, 26 and 28. Tickets go on sale Feb. 21 at 10 a.m. at Photo: handout Photo by Rick Diamond / Getty Images North America Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page. Paul Simon brought the A Quiet Celebration tour to the Orpheum for the first of three concerts last night and it wasn't that quiet. The first of many standing ovations came before a single note had been played when the singer strode on stage. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Many more followed in the lengthy set, which packaged the whole of his new album Seven Psalms alongside hits and his selected deep cuts in the second half. The entire evening was a triumphant return to live performance after the combination of hearing loss and severe back pain looked likely to end the 83-year-old music legend's performing career. Instead, Simon released his new record, a critically-acclaimed orchestral song cycle exploring life, love and the eternally shifting nature of faith and took it on the road his way. That is with absolute class. While uneven, the show was a study in respect for musical craft and honesty in presentation. Backed by his truly exceptional 10-piece band with additional vocals from his wife Edie Brickell, Simon explored his latest record and lengthy back catalogue with a sense of adventure and a willingness to face up to the inevitable effects of passing years on his voice. He can still turn a tune with style, but the song choices reflected material that could be reimagined in a more forgiving manner to both his present projection and range. Essential reading for hockey fans who eat, sleep, Canucks, repeat. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Frankly, it was a master class in how to do it right, with a lot the new arrangements bringing elements to past classics that weren't obvious before. A prime example of this was Graceland, which opened the second half of the night. Toning down the song's upbeat groove into a far more Austin City Limits shuffle let guitarists Gyan Riley and Mark Stewart have a blast twanging back and forth. The Late Great Johnny Ace turned into a blues groover that the flute, viola and cello could swing into with sax backing from the two keyboardists. Marimbas, gongs, harmonium, grand piano and glass bells that looked like someone snagged a bunch of clear hair dryers from a sixties beauty parlour packed the stage. Everything was played. The instrumentation was always surprising and perfectly suited to the material This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Having legendary drummer Steve Gadd behind the kit added that little bit extra on 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover. While Miley Cyrus may have made that song her own on the 50th anniversary of Saturday Night Live, having the tune's original drummer driving the beat was a treat. So was the presence of Bakithi Kumalo on bass. The sole surviving member of the original Graceland band held down the bottom end with fluid playing and some sweet vocal percussion along the way. Seven Psalms was clearly the work Simon was more interested in performing, which makes complete sense when you consider how many times he has performed Homeward Bound or America over the decades. The new songs are deeply introspective and so meticulously rendered that Simon was occasionally conducting the band along the way. That made sense. Songs such as Your Forgiveness contain passages where one bar of organ would quickly shift to a flute note, quick pizzicato run on the viola and a sudden percussion explosion. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. It was taut and beautiful and a million miles away from most contemporary digital auto-tuned, computerized live presentations. Doubtless, many were less pleased with the deeper cuts such as Rene and Georgette Magritte With Their Dog After the War and St. Judy's Comet taking up space where Cecilia or Kodachrome could have been. But it's worth considering that his selection of his more non-singalong songs was deliberate to avoid the crowd confusing his hearing. While Simon can obviously play what he wants, The Only Living Boy in New York or the Afterlife would have been better than the fairly weak Spirit Voices or Father and Daughter. To each their own. Either way, everyone got to belt it out for Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard and the Boxer. The closing solo take on the Sound of Silence was a beautiful finish. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. As previously noted, Paul Simon is a class act. Tickets for the two remaining Orpheum concerts are available at Paul Simon A Quiet Celebration set list The legendary singer has been performing the whole new album Seven Psalms as well as a career-spanning set of songs. Here is the set list from night one in Vancouver: Seven Psalms The Lord Love Is Like A Braid My Professional Opinion Your Forgiveness Trail of Volcanoes The Sacred Harp (with Edie Brickell) Wait (with Edie Brickell) Hits and Deep Cuts America (Simon & Garfunkel song) Graceland Slip Slidin' Away Train in the Distance Homeward Bound (Simon & Garfunkel song) (With teases of 'I am a Rock' and 'The Sound of Silence') The Late Great Johnny Ace St. Judy's Comet Under African Skies (with Edie Brickell) Rene and Georgette Magritte With Their Dog After the War Rewrite Spirit Voices Mother and Child Reunion Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard (with Edie Brickell) 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover The Boxer (Simon & Garfunkel song) The Sound of Silence (Simon & Garfunkel song) (solo without band) sderdeyn@ Read More Love concerts, but can't make it to the venue? Stream live shows and events from your couch with VEEPS, a music-first streaming service now operating in Canada. Click here for an introductory offer of 30% off. Explore upcoming concerts and the extensive archive of past performances.
Vancouver Sun
26-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Vancouver Sun
Concert review: Paul Simon brings A Quiet Celebration to the Orpheum Theatre
Paul Simon brought the A Quiet Celebration tour to the Orpheum for the first of three concerts last night and it wasn't that quiet. The first of many standing ovations came before a single note had been played when the singer strode on stage. Many more followed in the lengthy set, which packaged the whole of his new album Seven Psalms alongside hits and his selected deep cuts in the second half. The entire evening was a triumphant return to live performance after the combination of hearing loss and severe back pain looked likely to end the 83-year-old music legend's performing career. Instead, Simon released his new record, a critically-acclaimed orchestral song cycle exploring life, love and the eternally shifting nature of faith and took it on the road his way. Get top headlines and gossip from the world of celebrity and entertainment. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sun Spots will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. That is with absolute class. While uneven, the show was a study in respect for musical craft and honesty in presentation. Backed by his truly exceptional 10-piece band with additional vocals from his wife Edie Brickell, Simon explored his latest record and lengthy back catalogue with a sense of adventure and a willingness to face up to the inevitable effects of passing years on his voice. He can still turn a tune with style, but the song choices reflected material that could be reimagined in a more forgiving manner to both his present projection and range. Frankly, it was a master class in how to do it right, with a lot the new arrangements bringing elements to past classics that weren't obvious before. A prime example of this was Graceland, which opened the second half of the night. Toning down the song's upbeat groove into a far more Austin City Limits shuffle let guitarists Gyan Riley and Mark Stewart have a blast twanging back and forth. The Late Great Johnny Ace turned into a blues groover that the flute, viola and cello could swing into with sax backing from the two keyboardists. Marimbas, gongs, harmonium, grand piano and glass bells that looked like someone snagged a bunch of clear hair dryers from a sixties beauty parlour packed the stage. Everything was played. The instrumentation was always surprising and perfectly suited to the material Having legendary drummer Steve Gadd behind the kit added that little bit extra on 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover. While Miley Cyrus may have made that song her own on the 50th anniversary of Saturday Night Live, having the tune's original drummer driving the beat was a treat. So was the presence of Bakithi Kumalo on bass. The sole surviving member of the original Graceland band held down the bottom end with fluid playing and some sweet vocal percussion along the way. Seven Psalms was clearly the work Simon was more interested in performing, which makes complete sense when you consider how many times he has performed Homeward Bound or America over the decades. The new songs are deeply introspective and so meticulously rendered that Simon was occasionally conducting the band along the way. That made sense. Songs such as Your Forgiveness contain passages where one bar of organ would quickly shift to a flute note, quick pizzicato run on the viola and a sudden percussion explosion. It was taut and beautiful and a million miles away from most contemporary digital auto-tuned, computerized live presentations. Doubtless, many were less pleased with the deeper cuts such as Rene and Georgette Magritte With Their Dog After the War and St. Judy's Comet taking up space where Cecilia or Kodachrome could have been. But it's worth considering that his selection of his more non-singalong songs was deliberate to avoid the crowd confusing his hearing. While Simon can obviously play what he wants, The Only Living Boy in New York or the Afterlife would have been better than the fairly weak Spirit Voices or Father and Daughter. To each their own. Either way, everyone got to belt it out for Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard and the Boxer. The closing solo take on the Sound of Silence was a beautiful finish. As previously noted, Paul Simon is a class act. Tickets for the two remaining Orpheum concerts are available at . The legendary singer has been performing the whole new album Seven Psalms as well as a career-spanning set of songs. Here is the set list from night one in Vancouver: Seven Psalms The Lord Love Is Like A Braid My Professional Opinion Your Forgiveness Trail of Volcanoes The Sacred Harp (with Edie Brickell) Wait (with Edie Brickell) Hits and Deep Cuts America (Simon & Garfunkel song) Graceland Slip Slidin' Away Train in the Distance Homeward Bound (Simon & Garfunkel song) (With teases of 'I am a Rock' and 'The Sound of Silence') The Late Great Johnny Ace St. Judy's Comet Under African Skies (with Edie Brickell) Rene and Georgette Magritte With Their Dog After the War Rewrite Spirit Voices Mother and Child Reunion Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard (with Edie Brickell) 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover The Boxer (Simon & Garfunkel song) The Sound of Silence (Simon & Garfunkel song) (solo without band) sderdeyn@ Love concerts, but can't make it to the venue? Stream live shows and events from your couch with VEEPS, a music-first streaming service now operating in Canada. Click here for an introductory offer of 30% off. Explore upcoming concerts and the extensive archive of past performances.
San Francisco Chronicle
18-07-2025
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
A fan paid Paul Simon $20 to play this song — and it worked
Paul Simon may not take requests, but for $20, he'll make an exception. During the final night of his five-show run at Walt Disney Concert Hall on Wednesday, July 16, the legendary singer-songwriter paused his acoustic set when a fan shouted out a request for 'Kodachrome,' the beloved 1973 track he hadn't performed live since 2019. 'I don't take requests,' Simon quipped from the stage. 'But I'll do some of it for 20 bucks.' The fan, unfettered, produced a $20 bill and offered it up. Simon, 83, walked over, took the cash, and delivered on his promise — strumming through the first verse and chorus of the nostalgic tune to cheers and laughter from the audience. The spontaneous moment was captured by concertgoers and quickly spread across social media. One fan posted, 'Holy smokes I can't believe that just happened,' alongside video of the interaction. The performance marked a lighthearted interlude in a series of otherwise intimate and contemplative shows. Simon's current tour — his first major outing in seven years — follows recent surgery for severe back pain and comes amid ongoing struggles with hearing loss. According to a Los Angeles Times review, his voice, guitar work and lyrical precision remain striking, particularly in performances of material from his 2023 album 'Seven Psalms.' Simon is scheduled to bring his 'A Quiet Celebration' tour to San Francisco's Davies Symphony Hall on July 19 and 21-22, before wrapping the tour in Vancouver and Seattle. The singer rose to fame in the 1960s as co-founder of the folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel, with hits such as 'Mrs. Robinson' and 'The Sound of Silence,' before launching his solo career in the '70s. Simon's recent tour came as a surprise to many, after the musician indicated in 2018 that he was retiring from touring due to hearing loss. A year later, however, he performed a headlining set at San Francisco's Outside Lands festival. To assist with live performances, Simon has worked with his production team and Stanford Initiative to Cure Hearing Loss to adapt his stage setup with moving monitors to ensure optimal acoustics. For those hoping to hear a favorite deep cut, it seems a $20 bill might help. July 16, 2025 Set 1 'The Lord' 'Love Is Like a Braid' 'My Professional Opinion' 'Your Forgiveness' 'Trail of Volcanoes' 'The Sacred Harp' (with Edie Brickell) 'Wait' (with Edie Brickell) Set 2 'Graceland' 'Slip Slidin' Away' 'Train in the Distance' 'Homeward Bound' (Simon & Garfunkel) 'The Late Great Johnny Ace' 'St. Judy's Comet' 'Under African Skies' (with Edie Brickell) 'Rene and Georgette Magritte With Their Dog After the War' 'Rewrite' 'Spirit Voices' 'The Cool, Cool River' 'Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard' (with Edie Brickell) Encore 'Kodachrome' (abridged) 'Father and Daughter' '50 Ways to Leave Your Lover' 'The Boxer' (Simon & Garfunkel)
Los Angeles Times
17-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Paul Simon delivers a commanding incantation at Disney Hall
In 2018, Paul Simon walked onto the Hollywood Bowl stage for what most in the crowd believed to be his last tour stop in Los Angeles, ever. Simon expected that too — he'd billed the event as his 'Homeward Bound — Farewell Tour.' After 50 years of performing, a then-record three Grammy wins for album, a catalog of some of the most sophisticated and inquisitive American songwriting ever put to paper — he'd go out in full garlands. So what a shock and delight when Simon, now 83, announced a few years later that he was not quite done yet. In 2023, he released a new album, 'Seven Psalms,' an elliptical, gracious invocation for the arc of his life, drawing on biblical imagery and intertwined guitar fugues. But even better, Simon would also return to the stage for a new tour, including a five-night run at Disney Concert Hall. For L.A. fans, these shows were one last chance to reconnect with Simon, who now had a profound late-career album to bookend his catalog. Those songs spanned from his years in the Greenwich Village folk scene of the '60s and '70s to a Sabrina Carpenter duet on 'Saturday Night Live's' 50th anniversary special. Wednesday's show — the last of the Disney hall stand — got to all of it, with Simon still in exquisite form in the last light of his performing career. If Simon, seven years ago, had any doubts about his interest or ability to perform live at this exacting level, they must have disappeared the second he got a guitar in his hand at Disney Hall. The set opened with a full run of 'Seven Psalms,' a short yet profound song cycle in which a dense, ornamental acoustic guitar figure recurs over several songs in an intimate valediction. 'Seven Pslams' belongs alongside David Bowie's 'Blackstar' or Johnny Cash's 'American Recordings' albums in the canon of wide-lens looks at the mystery of late life. Simon's music was wise before its time even when he was a young man. But the perspective he has at this vantage, on the backside of 80 with a rejuvenated muse, was especially moving. 'I lived a life of pleasant sorrows, until the real deal came,' he sang on 'Love Is Like a Braid.' 'And in that time of prayer and waiting, where doubt and reason dwell / A jury sat, deliberating. All is lost or all is well.' Simon's band members for this stint — a dozen or so strong, spanning percussion, woodwinds and guitars — were mostly impressionists during this portion, adding distant bells and chamber flourishes to the patina of these songs. While he kicked up his heels a bit on the bluesy 'My Professional Opinion,' there was a trembling power in 'Trail of Volcanoes' and, especially, 'Your Forgiveness,' in which Simon took stock of his time on Earth and whatever lies next. 'Two billion heart beats and out / Waving the flag in the last parade / I have my reasons to doubt,' he sang, followed by a gracious incantation: 'Dip your hand in heaven's waters, god's imagination … All of life's abundance in a drop of condensation.' The hit-heavy back half of the show was a little rowdier. One fan even made a bit of history when he tossed a $20 bill onstage, which was enough for Simon to gamely oblige his request to play a verse of 'Kodachrome.' Simon and his band had looser reins here. 'Graceland' and 'Under African Skies' still radiated curiosity for the world's musical bounty, with the fraught complexity of that album nonetheless paving a stone on the road for African music's current global ascent. (He introduced his bassist, Bakithi Kumalo, as the last surviving member of the original 'Graceland' band.) An elegant 'Slip Slidin' Away' led up to a poignant 'The Late Great Johnny Ace,' which took a tale of rock 'n' roll self-destruction and pinned it to a generational sense of cultural collapse. Simon didn't reference any current events beyond the John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy and John Lennon assassinations, but you could feel a contemporary gravity in the song. Veteran drummer Steve Gadd reprised his jazzy breaks for '50 Ways to Leave Your Lover,' and the fatherhood ballad 'St. Judy's Comet' was a sweet, deep-cut flourish. (That mood continued when Edie Brickell, Simon's wife and vocalist, slipped in from the side stage to whistle the hook on 'Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard.) But the band hit full velocity on a pair of songs from 'The Rhythm of the Saints.' 'Spirit Voices' conjured an ayahuasca reverie with its thicket of guitars and hand percussion, while the sprawling and time-signature-bending 'The Cool, Cool River' showed Simon the musician — not just the poet — still in absolute command. Simon's set never got to 'Bridge Over Troubled Water' or 'You Can Call Me Al,' but the final encore wrapped with just him and a guitar and the eternal hymn of 'The Sound of Silence.' His guitar work retained all its original power in the opening instrumental runs, and Simon looked genuinely grateful that, perhaps even to his own surprise, the stage hadn't lost its promise or potency for him just yet. Who knows whether Wednesday was the last time Angelenos will get to see Simon perform live (this tour wraps next month in Seattle). If it was, then it was a beautiful benediction for one of America's defining songwriters. But if it wasn't, take any chance you get to see him again.
Yahoo
17-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Paul Simon Sparks New Health Fears After Canceling Two Concerts Amid Ongoing Back Issues
Music icon Paul Simon is sparking new fears for his health after axing two upcoming shows due to excruciating back pain – leaving insiders fearing the 'Bridge Over Troubled Waters' singer is headed towards his sad last days. Now sources fear the 83-year-old voice of multiple generations is coming to grips that he's headed to the final curtain of his career — and life — as he is overwhelmed by a growing raft of physical ills. The shocking show cancellations last month came as the aging 83-year-old Graceland maestro must undergo a 'surgical procedure' to relieve 'unmanageable' back agony. As Globe has reported, the condition's the latest in a string of health woes including one that's robbed the 'Sound of Silence' singer of 96 percent of the hearing in his left ear back in 2023. The baffling and still undiagnosed hearing condition struck while Paul was working on his latest album, Seven Psalms, and kept him from touring and playing some of his more famous hits like, 'You Can Call Me Al.' 'Quite suddenly I lost most of the hearing in my left ear, and nobody has an explanation for it,' Paul says. 'My reaction to that was frustration and annoyance — not quite anger yet — because I thought it would pass, it would repair itself.' But sources say that only some of his hearing returned. Sources say the singer, who rocketed to super-stardom on a massive string of mid-1960s hits with his then-partner Art Garfunkel, has become resigned to his approaching final curtain. 'It's just the age we're at,' the musician notes. 'Gordon Lightfoot just passed away, Jeff Beck too. My generation's time is up.' Medical experts tell Globe that Paul's crippling issues are likely to grow worse — and his adoring public should prepare for his retirement. 'At his age, hearing, nerve and joint damage are only likely to increase,' says Dr. Gabe Mirkin, a Florida longevity specialist. 'The older we are, the harder it is to bounce back from such serious ailments.' A music industry source says Paul seems to be having trouble accepting the inevitable, adding: 'It must be total agony for him to come to terms with what is clearly a fast-approaching end.' Solve the daily Crossword
