Paul Simon returned to Forest Hills Stadium last night for a rain-soaked, nostalgic performance that swung the audience through his storied career. The second and final night at the venue, and potentially the singer-songwriter’s last U.S. performance ever after his recent retirement talk, the show was delayed by a massive rain storm that swarmed the area just at show time. While the scary tornado warning for the New York area never came to fruition, and just after huge double rainbow emerged over the stadium, the skies opened up in a huge way, and the rain didn’t stop for 90 minutes. Fans ran for covered areas, and the audience was told to hold tight while they were peppered with huge rain drops. Finally, just before 9:00pm, Simon took the stage, bringing his incredible band along for an unforgettable walk through his varied catalog.
Opening with “Proof” and “The Boy in the Bubble,” the wet audience didn’t wake up until the third song, “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover.” Simon’s band brought the song to life with a thumping beat, while Simon scatted his way through the song, playing with the lyrics just enough while staying within the form of the song. After the horrible rain to open the show, the crowd’s excitement was palpable, as you could hear them singing the song’s refrain of “you don’t need to discuss much” into the sky like an energetic howl, echoing across Forest Hills.
After playing songs like “Dazzling Blue,” “That Was Your Mother,” “Rewrite,” and a cover of Bill Doggett‘s “Honky Tonk”, the show picked back up in it’s middle section, featuring a trio of classics in “Slip Slidin’ Away,” which was an obvious reference to the soaked crowd, “Mother and Child Reunion,” and “Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard.” Simon took time after “Me and Julio” to shout out his home of Corona, Queens, asking if anyone in the audience was actually from there, and then telling them to “get out of there!”
Next up was “Spirit Voices,” which Simon proceeded with a story of the song’s origin.. Simon is a famous world explorer, and his travels took him to The Amazon, where he came across a local “healer” who was said to heal you physically or mentally. In actuality, the healer was brewing the famous psychedelic Ayahuasca concoction. The healer told Simon to drink the drink, and to ignore the giant snake he would inevitably see as a result. Simon drank the drink, and “a couple of days later” wrote this song about his experience on the potent drug.
The set continued with two more fan favorites in “The Obvious Child” and “Homeward Bound.” As Art Garfunkel wasn’t there to harmonize on the latter track, the crowd picked up the pieces with an impressive effort, singing along with gusto as Paul Simon performed the track in his home city and borough. Simon and his band followed that up with another Simon & Garfunkel track, “El Condor Pasa (If I Could).”
Following a duo of songs from his new album Stranger to Stranger, Simon’s long-time rhythm guitar player, Vincent Nguini of Cameroon, came to the microphone to tell a story about the origins of the next song, “Cool, Cool River,” and its history as a traditional African tribal initiation song. The song was in 9/8, and sounded like Umphrey’s McGee with it’s wild tempo and aggressive playing from the band.
Simon closed out the set with his two biggest solo songs, “Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes” and “You Can Call Me Al,” both of which got the crowd up on their feet and dancing, as they had finally forgotten the rain that had dampened their evening just one hour earlier. Both songs were performed with high energy, and the world-music-influence of Simon’s band was on full display for the excited crowd. The rain picked back up during these two songs, and the crowd seemed to love it.
With the rain delay, it was unclear whether the band would continue playing, or give in to the 10:00pm curfew at the venue. While the rain started to pick back up, tons of fans got up and left during the encore break, thinking the show was over or just simply escaping another drenching. Well, the lucky ones who stayed were treated an extended curfew that allowed for eight more songs over two encores. “Wristband,” “Graceland,” “Late in the Evening,” and “Still Crazy After All These Years” comprised the first encore. However, it was the second encore that really blew fans away. After a cover of “That’s All Right” by Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup, Simon closed his show with a trio of beloved Simon & Garfunkel songs, in “The Boxer”, “Sounds of Silence”, and “Bridge Over Troubled Water.
The lucky audience certainly left the show soaked, but everyone was all smiles as Simon closed out his show and his tour with an incredible array of hit songs, fun stories, and incredible playing from his diverse band. If this is truly Paul Simon’s final U.S. show, it was a great one (even with the rain), as he was able to showcase his entire varied career throughout the night. Hopefully Simon has it in him to keep playing, so fans can continue to see him and his band, along with the unique positive energy that they create.
See below for a few videos from the performance, as well as a full setlist.
“Mother And Child Reunion” + “Me & Julio Down by the Schoolyard”, courtesy of YouTube user Alan Friedman
“Bridge Over Troubled Water”, courtesy of YouTube user angela450nyc