New York (AFP) – Paul Simon, who has hinted he may hang up his guitar after more than six decades in the music business, performs what could be his last major gig on US soil Friday, in New York where he grew up.
He played to a sellout crowd Thursday at the Forest Hills Stadium in Queens and follows suit with another concert Friday after telling The New York Times in an interview published this week that he was ready to quit.
With his 75th birthday around the corner and a monthlong European tour scheduled to end in Dublin on November 21, he told the newspaper that he felt his career was coming to an end.
The Forest Hills Stadium is just across the park from where he grew up in one of a row of almost identical brick homes on a tree-lined suburban street.
Inge Newdorf, current owner of Simon’s childhood home, says she met the “little short guy” back in 1974 when she came to view the house when Simon happened to be visiting his parents.
“My children were very excited. I asked them ‘who is he?’” she told AFP.
“The mother had, going up in the stairs, she had all these gold records. I told her ‘you can leave them,’” she joked.
On Thursday, Simon wasted no time on nostalgia or goodbyes, not once mentioning retirement. To fans watching, any question that he may quit seemed unlikely.
He showed no fatigue as he performed 25 tracks with a voice almost unchanged by the passing of years — so much so that those closing their eyes might imagine being transported back 30 years in time.
“I can’t believe how good his voice still is,” enthused fan Caitlyn Brazill at the end of the gig.
He played classics such as “Slip Slidin’ Away,” “You Can Call me Al,” “The Obvious Child” and “Still Crazy After All These Years” along with excerpts from his new album, “Stranger to Stranger,” which came out in June.
– Hometown delight –
Other than versions of “El Condor Pasa” and “The Boxer,” he left alone the world-famous repertoire of his musical relationship with Art Garfunkel, with whom he is now estranged. The pair met at school in Queens.
He was in full command of his band of nine musicians, directing them with the flick of a finger or mere glance, showing that he has lost none of his exactitude, despite being in his mid-70s.
Simon’s music for years has been heavily influenced by the blues and sounds from overseas, particularly music from Brazil and West Africa.
Along with Peter Gabriel and Sting, he has been one of the top Western musicians to pioneer “world music” and incorporate it into his own music making.
At the slightest reference to New York, the home crowd broke into a frenzy such as his lyric about the Statue of Liberty in “American Tune” or Queens neighborhood Corona in “Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard.”
Simon appeared to be enjoying himself on stage, indulging in a few dance steps and little bit of mischief to amuse the crowd.
He finished by whipping off his jacket to play debut Elvis Presley hit “That’s All Right” mimicking the King’s voice by way of an encore.
“Thank you my friends,” he said when it was over, walking off stage.
Fans said they respect his decision on calling his career to a close but will follow him to the end.
“He’s always inventing new things musically and lyrically so if he continues I’ll listen,” said Diane Simon, whose shared last name is a coincidence.
“But I understand from his perspective he wants to let it go a little bit… His lyrics are timeless.”
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