My commentary on a Paul Simon concert I attended last week. In sum, it was about showing reverence for this icon. His voice is weak now, but even that did not detract or distract. His first set consisted of the songs from his last album, Seven Psalms. Even though I was not familiar with that effort — nor, I suspect, were most of those in the audience — I was moved by the intelligence and quiet dignity of those songs. His second set consisted of what he termed “hits” and “deep cuts” from his catalog. He had a full band that met the moment. He finished the show alone. After playing 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover and The Boxer, he received yet another standing ovation. The set lists for previous shows on this tour had him doing Sounds of Silence as his final encore. Instead, moved by the crowd’s embrace of him, he announced he would finish with two songs. “I said I would play one more, but I think I’ll play two.” The crowd roared. Then he began the opening chords of Old Friends from the Bookends album, which I came close to wearing out as a callow youth, a song that, I was later to read, he had not played in concert since 2001. He started singing and he had to stop due to a “frog” in his throat. Took a slug of water and tried again, but his voice failed him again. The crowd sensed the mortality and cheered the effort. Paul said, “I’ll play one more.” He labored a bit on Sounds of Silence, but it did not matter. The brilliance of that song transcended — as did the brilliance of his long career. He raised his arms in exultation and thanks, leaving to a thunderous ovation. We likely will not see the likes of him again. Glad I went.
Amazing wordsmith indeed. First recorded in 1957...Such an amazing body of work.
My commentary on a Paul Simon concert I attended last week. In sum, it was about showing reverence for this icon. His voice is weak now, but even that did not detract or distract.
His first set consisted of the songs from his last album, Seven Psalms. Even though I was not familiar with that effort â nor, I suspect, were most of those in the audience â I was moved by the intelligence and quiet dignity of those songs. His second set consisted of what he termed âhitsâ and âdeep cutsâ from his catalog. He had a full band that met the moment.
He finished the show alone. After playing 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover and The Boxer, he received yet another standing ovation. The set lists for previous shows on this tour had him doing Sounds of Silence as his final encore. Instead, moved by the crowdâs embrace of him, he announced he would finish with two songs. âI said I would play one more, but I think Iâll play two.â The crowd roared. Then he began the opening chords of Old Friends from the Bookends album, which I came close to wearing out as a callow youth, a song that, I was later to read, he had not played in concert since 2001.
He started singing and he had to stop due to a âfrogâ in his throat. Took a slug of water and tried again, but his voice failed him again. The crowd sensed the mortality and cheered the effort. Paul said, âIâll play one more.â He labored a bit on Sounds of Silence, but it did not matter. The brilliance of that song transcended â as did the brilliance of his long career. He raised his arms in exultation and thanks, leaving to a thunderous ovation.
We likely will not see the likes of him again. Glad I went.
He is indeed, a national treasure. Glad you got to see him.
Location: Perched on the precipice of the cauldron of truth
Posted:
Jun 10, 2025 - 6:43pm
My commentary on a Paul Simon concert I attended last week. In sum, it was about showing reverence for this icon. His voice is weak now, but even that did not detract or distract.
His first set consisted of the songs from his last album, Seven Psalms. Even though I was not familiar with that effort â nor, I suspect, were most of those in the audience â I was moved by the intelligence and quiet dignity of those songs. His second set consisted of what he termed âhitsâ and âdeep cutsâ from his catalog. He had a full band that met the moment.
He finished the show alone. After playing 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover and The Boxer, he received yet another standing ovation. The set lists for previous shows on this tour had him doing Sounds of Silence as his final encore. Instead, moved by the crowdâs embrace of him, he announced he would finish with two songs. âI said I would play one more, but I think Iâll play two.â The crowd roared. Then he began the opening chords of Old Friends from the Bookends album, which I came close to wearing out as a callow youth, a song that, I was later to read, he had not played in concert since 2001.
He started singing and he had to stop due to a âfrogâ in his throat. Took a slug of water and tried again, but his voice failed him again. The crowd sensed the mortality and cheered the effort. Paul said, âIâll play one more.â He labored a bit on Sounds of Silence, but it did not matter. The brilliance of that song transcended â as did the brilliance of his long career. He raised his arms in exultation and thanks, leaving to a thunderous ovation.
We likely will not see the likes of him again. Glad I went.
We totally loved our Dalmatian, Astrid, although she was all looks and not much upstairs. As she aged, she became miserable: incontinent, barking at nothing (which makes me think she was anxious and/or blind), and generally not enjoying her life. Putting her down was both horribly sad - but absolutely a reminder that all stories come to an end and sometimes thatâs a good thing all around.
Yeah, just lost our older Dalmatian, Spock. Circumstances were pretty shitty, even though we knew the day was approaching. Had made adjustments like tag-teaming trips overseas so he didn't have to have a dog sitter for more than about a week. He was getting pretty anxious, too. He kind of outlasted his body, though.
From a friend's cowboy mentor, "When you have a dog, there is only one really shitty day and it is goddam worth it."
My condolences, E, to you all. So sorry for the loss of Piper.
Much appreciated. I wish I felt worse about it, if you know what I mean. Nicole and I have had quite a few discussions about adjustments we've had to make in our life to accommodate that pooch, and it's really like a weight has been lifted. She was a cute little thing, though.
hiccup and I are continuing our quest to cram as much live music as possible into our ears...
Last Thursday started rough. Our dog, Piper, had a laundry list of health issues in her short life, but around 3 AM she made it clear that she could not continue to exist. A 7:30 AM trip to the vetâs confirmed this, and our veterinarian confessed that sheâd far outlived what he thought was possible. Iâll miss the little dipshit, but hers was a very complicated life. The five years we got to care for her were peppered with sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes horrifying behaviors that sort of make the relief outweigh the grief. But, we had big plans for the rest of the day.
Much appreciated. I wish I felt worse about it, if you know what I mean. Nicole and I have had quite a few discussions about adjustments we've had to make in our life to accommodate that pooch, and it's really like a weight has been lifted. She was a cute little thing, though.
We totally loved our Dalmatian, Astrid, although she was all looks and not much upstairs. As she aged, she became miserable: incontinent, barking at nothing (which makes me think she was anxious and/or blind), and generally not enjoying her life. Putting her down was both horribly sad - but absolutely a reminder that all stories come to an end and sometimes thatâs a good thing all around.
Location: right behind you. no, over there. Gender:
Posted:
May 6, 2024 - 9:17am
Coaxial wrote:
My condolences, E, to you all. So sorry for the loss of Piper.
Much appreciated. I wish I felt worse about it, if you know what I mean. Nicole and I have had quite a few discussions about adjustments we've had to make in our life to accommodate that pooch, and it's really like a weight has been lifted. She was a cute little thing, though.
Up until Thursday, May 2nd, 2024, I had never seen anyone angry-fiddle before.
hiccup and I are continuing our quest to cram as much live music as possible into our ears.
February brought the punk show to our town. We caught a bill containing Irish band The Scratch, Pennywise and Dropkick Murphys. The Scratch were unusual, with heavily effect-laden acoustic guitars. Fun stuff. This was our third time seeing Pennywise and they always bring the fun. Very loose and loud. I’ve wanted to see Dropkick Murphys for a LONG time and it didn’t disappoint. We were right against the barricade on the floor of the arena and it took a couple of days for my ears to recover. Worth it.
In March, somehow KT Tunstall breezed through one of the local bars. Maybe 40 or 50 folks in the audience and she didn’t seem to care. She plays as a one woman band with a MIDI loop device, which was kind of fascinating. Some of the songs only took 4 bars before she’d gotten enough background noise to get cracking.
Last month brought Old 97s with openers Holler Choir in Laramie, WY. Small theater, front row. Holler Choir are very young, bluegrassy and very good. They said it was their first tour ever and I’d see them again in a heartbeat. I’d seen Rhett Miller solo over 20 years ago opening for Tori Amos, but had never had the opportunity to see the whole band. They were amazing. I forget how much I enjoy Murry’s songs, and Ken’s guitar work is a lot more psycho-surf rock in a live setting. I caught a guitar pick, hiccup snagged a copy of the setlist and with a good photo of the band snapped at the start of the show, we bagged a good collection of souvenirs.
Last Thursday started rough. Our dog, Piper, had a laundry list of health issues in her short life, but around 3 AM she made it clear that she could not continue to exist. A 7:30 AM trip to the vet’s confirmed this, and our veterinarian confessed that she’d far outlived what he thought was possible. I’ll miss the little dipshit, but hers was a very complicated life. The five years we got to care for her were peppered with sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes horrifying behaviors that sort of make the relief outweigh the grief. But, we had big plans for the rest of the day.
We’d bought tickets to Amanda Shires and Jason Isbell back in October(?). A lot went down in the intervening months and what must have been some extraordinarily tight contracts resulted in them STILL sharing the bill months after their divorce. This was great, as I’ve wanted to see her perform for a very long time.
We managed to weasel our way to about 15 feet from center stage. When Amanda took the stage, she made it immediately clear that she was not going to shy away from the divorce. She was openly bitter with quite a few snide remarks, her normally little-girl chirp was often a full-throated roar and sometimes even a shriek. She stopped one song to have the band restart from the top so she could add an extra insult that just popped into her head. She played her fiddle with such intensity that by the end, half of the horsehair was gone. Two members of DeVotchKa joined for a while on violin. It was a spectacle. I honestly hope it was as cathartic for her as it was for me, because I needed that.
Jason Isbell has been one of my favorite musicians and songwriters for over 20 years. I kept missing opportunities to see him live in any capacity until March of 2023, when we got to see him play in a small theater in Billings, MT. I thought it might have been the nature of the venue and the sit-down audience, but… Thursday was just as impeccably played as the performance last year. There were a few added forays into some jaw-dropping guitar interplay between Jason and Sadler Vaden, but he has a sort of woodenness that’s actually a little offputting. Even some of the between-song banter was the same as the show last year. They did close the set with a surprisingly faithful cover of Just Like Heaven, and I finally got to see Decoration Day performed live, which was incredible.
Amanda mopped the floor with him that night, though.
My condolences, E, to you all. So sorry for the loss of Piper.
Up until Thursday, May 2nd, 2024, I had never seen anyone angry-fiddle before.
hiccup and I are continuing our quest to cram as much live music as possible into our ears.
February brought the punk show to our town. We caught a bill containing Irish band The Scratch, Pennywise and Dropkick Murphys. The Scratch were unusual, with heavily effect-laden acoustic guitars. Fun stuff. This was our third time seeing Pennywise and they always bring the fun. Very loose and loud. Iâve wanted to see Dropkick Murphys for a LONG time and it didnât disappoint. We were right against the barricade on the floor of the arena and it took a couple of days for my ears to recover. Worth it.
In March, somehow KT Tunstall breezed through one of the local bars. Maybe 40 or 50 folks in the audience and she didnât seem to care. She plays as a one woman band with a MIDI loop device, which was kind of fascinating. Some of the songs only took 4 bars before sheâd gotten enough background noise to get cracking.
Last month brought Old 97s with openers Holler Choir in Laramie, WY. Small theater, front row. Holler Choir are very young, bluegrassy and very good. They said it was their first tour ever and Iâd see them again in a heartbeat. Iâd seen Rhett Miller solo over 20 years ago opening for Tori Amos, but had never had the opportunity to see the whole band. They were amazing. I forget how much I enjoy Murryâs songs, and Kenâs guitar work is a lot more psycho-surf rock in a live setting. I caught a guitar pick, hiccup snagged a copy of the setlist and with a good photo of the band snapped at the start of the show, we bagged a good collection of souvenirs.
Last Thursday started rough. Our dog, Piper, had a laundry list of health issues in her short life, but around 3 AM she made it clear that she could not continue to exist. A 7:30 AM trip to the vetâs confirmed this, and our veterinarian confessed that sheâd far outlived what he thought was possible. Iâll miss the little dipshit, but hers was a very complicated life. The five years we got to care for her were peppered with sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes horrifying behaviors that sort of make the relief outweigh the grief. But, we had big plans for the rest of the day.
Weâd bought tickets to Amanda Shires and Jason Isbell back in October(?). A lot went down in the intervening months and what must have been some extraordinarily tight contracts resulted in them STILL sharing the bill months after their divorce. This was great, as Iâve wanted to see her perform for a very long time.
We managed to weasel our way to about 15 feet from center stage. When Amanda took the stage, she made it immediately clear that she was not going to shy away from the divorce. She was openly bitter with quite a few snide remarks, her normally little-girl chirp was often a full-throated roar and sometimes even a shriek. She stopped one song to have the band restart from the top so she could add an extra insult that just popped into her head. She played her fiddle with such intensity that by the end, half of the horsehair was gone. Two members of DeVotchKa joined for a while on violin. It was a spectacle. I honestly hope it was as cathartic for her as it was for me, because I needed that.
Jason Isbell has been one of my favorite musicians and songwriters for over 20 years. I kept missing opportunities to see him live in any capacity until March of 2023, when we got to see him play in a small theater in Billings, MT. I thought it might have been the nature of the venue and the sit-down audience, but⦠Thursday was just as impeccably played as the performance last year. There were a few added forays into some jaw-dropping guitar interplay between Jason and Sadler Vaden, but he has a sort of woodenness thatâs actually a little offputting. Even some of the between-song banter was the same as the show last year. They did close the set with a surprisingly faithful cover of Just Like Heaven, and I finally got to see Decoration Day performed live, which was incredible.
Amanda mopped the floor with him that night, though.
Aw, Piper.
We have been planning our Austin Eclipse Vacation since sometime in 2017... I planned to take a couple of weeks and had left it open-ended on the return because you never know, but planned to be home by April 17. Then Old97s announced an April 18th show and I told Justine. We thought about it for a couple of seconds and said at the same time, "We have to drive straight to Billings or we'll never go." Because at the end of a 5000-mile roadtrip, we know better than to say "yeah then the next day let's drive to Billings." Not gonna happen. So we met the kids in Billings and all got to see the Old 97's at the Pub Station for the second time. Rhett told the crowd "it's our first time ever in Billings!" so that was a little uncomfortable. The first time, Philip had stumbled a few days prior and bonked his head on a parking lot concrete block so they were playing with their guitar tech on drums. We talked to Ken after that show and he was pretty rattled by itâthey've been the same 4 guys for decades.
Location: right behind you. no, over there. Gender:
Posted:
May 6, 2024 - 8:26am
Up until Thursday, May 2nd, 2024, I had never seen anyone angry-fiddle before.
hiccup and I are continuing our quest to cram as much live music as possible into our ears.
February brought the punk show to our town. We caught a bill containing Irish band The Scratch, Pennywise and Dropkick Murphys. The Scratch were unusual, with heavily effect-laden acoustic guitars. Fun stuff. This was our third time seeing Pennywise and they always bring the fun. Very loose and loud. Iâve wanted to see Dropkick Murphys for a LONG time and it didnât disappoint. We were right against the barricade on the floor of the arena and it took a couple of days for my ears to recover. Worth it.
In March, somehow KT Tunstall breezed through one of the local bars. Maybe 40 or 50 folks in the audience and she didnât seem to care. She plays as a one woman band with a MIDI loop device, which was kind of fascinating. Some of the songs only took 4 bars before sheâd gotten enough background noise to get cracking.
Last month brought Old 97s with openers Holler Choir in Laramie, WY. Small theater, front row. Holler Choir are very young, bluegrassy and very good. They said it was their first tour ever and Iâd see them again in a heartbeat. Iâd seen Rhett Miller solo over 20 years ago opening for Tori Amos, but had never had the opportunity to see the whole band. They were amazing. I forget how much I enjoy Murryâs songs, and Kenâs guitar work is a lot more psycho-surf rock in a live setting. I caught a guitar pick, hiccup snagged a copy of the setlist and with a good photo of the band snapped at the start of the show, we bagged a good collection of souvenirs.
Last Thursday started rough. Our dog, Piper, had a laundry list of health issues in her short life, but around 3 AM she made it clear that she could not continue to exist. A 7:30 AM trip to the vetâs confirmed this, and our veterinarian confessed that sheâd far outlived what he thought was possible. Iâll miss the little dipshit, but hers was a very complicated life. The five years we got to care for her were peppered with sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes horrifying behaviors that sort of make the relief outweigh the grief. But, we had big plans for the rest of the day.
Weâd bought tickets to Amanda Shires and Jason Isbell back in October(?). A lot went down in the intervening months and what must have been some extraordinarily tight contracts resulted in them STILL sharing the bill months after their divorce. This was great, as Iâve wanted to see her perform for a very long time.
We managed to weasel our way to about 15 feet from center stage. When Amanda took the stage, she made it immediately clear that she was not going to shy away from the divorce. She was openly bitter with quite a few snide remarks, her normally little-girl chirp was often a full-throated roar and sometimes even a shriek. She stopped one song to have the band restart from the top so she could add an extra insult that just popped into her head. She played her fiddle with such intensity that by the end, half of the horsehair was gone. Two members of DeVotchKa joined for a while on violin. It was a spectacle. I honestly hope it was as cathartic for her as it was for me, because I needed that.
Jason Isbell has been one of my favorite musicians and songwriters for over 20 years. I kept missing opportunities to see him live in any capacity until March of 2023, when we got to see him play in a small theater in Billings, MT. I thought it might have been the nature of the venue and the sit-down audience, but⦠Thursday was just as impeccably played as the performance last year. There were a few added forays into some jaw-dropping guitar interplay between Jason and Sadler Vaden, but he has a sort of woodenness thatâs actually a little offputting. Even some of the between-song banter was the same as the show last year. They did close the set with a surprisingly faithful cover of Just Like Heaven, and I finally got to see Decoration Day performed live, which was incredible.
Amanda mopped the floor with him that night, though.
Still sad I couldn't afford to go, as mediocre tickets for Hamburg Arena were 350 Euros each. A crime by the only ticket company in Germany that made it through the Corona period and managed to establish a nationwide monopoly on all tickets including all national sports events, against all German and EU anti-monopoly laws. (They seem to be headed to go global, see eventim.com)
Have been a fan since "Lamb Lies Down On Broadway" (Genesis) and seen Peter solo two times over the decades. Once in 1979, and last was the "Up" tour in 2002 or 2003.
I really wonder what other folks say, who've seen him live in 2023?
Ooh. I like that a lot - will have to do some further listening!
We got to see Peter Gabriel on Monday night. It was overwhelming, really. I've been a Gabriel fan for probably 40 years or so, and to get to hear stuff that's been a huge part of my life for that long was pretty poignant. His voice has lost nothing, and he was very charming and funny. Favorite reference of the night was him bagging on ABBA's "ABBAtars" by saying he chose his avatar as an older, fatter, balder version of his actual self who is "horizontal on a beach somewhere, and indistinguishable from a Greek god".
Location: right behind you. no, over there. Gender:
Posted:
Oct 20, 2023 - 7:07am
ScottFromWyoming wrote:
Opening band Hooveriii (Hoover 3) was good. Kids! Not easy to label; I got glimpses of Alice Cooper and/or Jackson Browne; they jumped on this chance to tour with legends and I think they're happy about it. They were all smiles, and the kid they had on saxophone (JFW said the singer's mom said he could tour instead of going to school if they took their sax-playing brother too) well he got to play on several songs with Mudhoney, sax and/or keyboards. So he got the last laugh...
Ooh. I like that a lot - will have to do some further listening!
We got to see Peter Gabriel on Monday night. It was overwhelming, really. I've been a Gabriel fan for probably 40 years or so, and to get to hear stuff that's been a huge part of my life for that long was pretty poignant. His voice has lost nothing, and he was very charming and funny. Favorite reference of the night was him bagging on ABBA's "ABBAtars" by saying he chose his avatar as an older, fatter, balder version of his actual self who is "horizontal on a beach somewhere, and indistinguishable from a Greek god".
omg. i was just going to message you to ask how it was! i love this.
Opening band Hooveriii (Hoover 3) was good. Kids! Not easy to label; I got glimpses of Alice Cooper and/or Jackson Browne; they jumped on this chance to tour with legends and I think they're happy about it. They were all smiles, and the kid they had on saxophone (JFW said the singer's mom said he could tour instead of going to school if they took their sax-playing brother too) well he got to play on several songs with Mudhoney, sax and/or keyboards. So he got the last laugh...
Mudhoney was last night; weird sort of Sunday night vibe with a too-small crowd (Billings, Montana, hey whattya want?) but they were having fun and smiling a lot, which is a little quirky, to be honest. Absolutely unbelievable that Mark Arm can do *that* voice every night and still have any voice at all.
Biggest laugh of the night was the Merch table:
omg. i was just going to message you to ask how it was! i love this.
Mudhoney was last night; weird sort of Sunday night vibe with a too-small crowd (Billings, Montana, hey whattya want?) but they were having fun and smiling a lot, which is a little quirky, to be honest. Absolutely unbelievable that Mark Arm can do *that* voice every night and still have any voice at all.
Location: Blinding You With Library Science! Gender:
Posted:
Oct 16, 2023 - 10:29am
Euskadita wrote:
Looking forward to see The Cure for the first time. This festival looks spectacular
We're seeing Yard Act next month (they'll be playing day 1 at your show). Heard a couple of songs by them several months ago and, as they sound like the love child of The Fall and Gang of Four, they immediately became a new fave!
