Hi Michelle,
Wow! I just traveled 90 miles; you win! ;)
I seem to be alone on the "I Hung My Head" debate. I just feel like it's a genre he clearly isn't comfortable with -- he said as much on stage -- and since I am no fan of country music, it has no appeal for me.
As far as the logo, I thought that was hilarious: when you have two superstars performing together, who gets top billing? So the fans who were predominantly there to see Paul bought the t-shirt where his name was first; Sting fans bought the other one (as did I, although Paul was my first (musical) love!). And the reversible program, where one side was Sting first and the other side Paul first... I just chuckled. I guess it was the fairest way to do things, although I have NO DOUBT that, at the end of the tour, they'll add up the numbers and see whose t-shirt sold better!!! 
In the interview in the program, it says that he and Paul decided to do "hits", although I wouldn't call Hounds of Winter, Dazzling Blue, or the aforementioned I Hung My Head, hits! I think they did songs they enjoy doing, and that they knew would get a response from the audience. The Last Ship, which I think is marvelous, is not mainstream enough to get the energetic feedback from the audience that they were clearly looking for. So it was a considered decision. I saw Back to Bass, and it was indeed similar, but the addition of Paul's band did change it up somewhat. And I can't say enough about Peter Tickell's magnificent electric fiddling and Vinnie's ecstatic drumming. Both made the experience that much better.
Best concert ever? I'll have to think about that! But it's certainly in the top 2!!
Holly


On Tue, Mar 11, 2014 at 9:49 AM, Michele Piumini <michelepiumini2@gmail.com> wrote:
I was at the Madison Square Garden on March 4 with my friend James Norman (Andrea and Fred, it was great to meet you!), and I have to say I agree both with Ross - in that I love I Hung My Head too! - and Holly, in the gig being one of the most inspiring and unforgettable musical experiences of my life: Sting is of course my top songwriter, Paul Simon is # 3 (# 2 being Paul McCartney), so the very idea of seing them together on stage was more than enough for me to fly all the way from Italy and spend a fabulous week in NY that was capped by the show.

I personally think that Sting fitted into Paul's songs better than Paul did into Sting's: the highlights for me were America and Bridge Over Troubled Water, but I also loved how they took turns in singing the verses of songs such as Brand New Day, The Boy in the Bubble and Late in the Evening (the crowd went nuts at Sting's gesture while singing "smoked myself a j").

And yet, I do have some criticism to make.

1) 10 duets out of 32 songs doesn't seem much to me for a show that promised "Paul Simon & Sting TOGETHER on Stage". (By the way, did you notice how the tour's logo switched from Paul Simon & Sting to Sting & Paul Simon? To be honest, that didn't seem fair to me.) The highlights were obviously the "together" moments, so, as a fan who has already seen both of them on stage way more than once, I wished there had been more of that.

2) Except for Brand New Day, Walking on the Moon and They Dance Alone, Sting played the same songs (with the same arrangements) he has been playing for years with the Back to Bass Tour. With a repertoire like his, why not pick some more forgotten gems (I think The Lazarus Heart would have made a perfect duet with Paul, for one)?

3) Sting didn't play a single song from The Last Ship: why? I understand it may be because of the musical's US premiere next fall, but to me it just doesn't seem enough to justify such a decision. The Last Ship is the "folkiest" album he's ever done, and as such the closest to Paul Simon's music: just think of August Winds and all the other acoustic or classical guitar-driven numbers. I would have loved to see Sting and Paul dueting on a few of those songs, and in this respect I was kind of disappointed.

All in all, though, that didn't spoil my excitement in the least: it was, and will always be, one of the most memorable moments in my life as a music fan.

Cheers,
Michele

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