On Wednesday night, Paul Simon offered up his second and final benefit performance at Maui, HI’s Maui Arts & Cultural Center’s A&B Amphitheater and Yokouchi Pavilion. All ticket proceeds from the shows went to Simon’s biodiversity conservation initiatives through The Auwahi Forest Restoration Project and Kua‘āina Ulu ‘Auamo (KUA).
The pair of shows marked both Simon’s debut performances in Maui and his first time playing on the Hawaiian Islands since a 1968 Simon & Garfunkel concert in Honolulu. On both Tuesday and Wednesday, Simon welcomed Hawaiian slack-key guitarist Keola Beamer, who lent a helping hand on Paul’s “Seabreeze” and dazzled the crowd with his unique skills on “Honolulu City Lights”.
During the encore on Wednesday night, Simon welcomed former Doobie Brothers member Michael McDonald for a mashup encore of Simon & Garfunkel’s “Cecilia” containing portions of Billy Preston‘s 1973 hit, “Will It Go Round In Circles”. Backed by Paul Simon and his band, McDonald laid down some groovy keyboard licks and handled the vocals for the “Will It Go Round In Circles” segments.
Watch video of Paul Simon’s encore featuring Michael McDonald below:
Paul Simon ft. Michael McDonald – “Cecilia” / ” Will It Go Round In Circles”
[Video: john sipple]
The Maui shows marked Simon’s only live performances of the year aside from a recent headlining set at San Francisco’s Outside Lands Festival. Simon closed the book on the touring side of his career with a final performance in his hometown of Queens, NY last September as the last stop on his Homeward Bound — The Farewell Tour.
[H/T JamBase]