Hi Gang,
Sorry for the delay, it was a very busy workday for me!
32 songs, and neither Sting nor Paul missed a note or broke a sweat. 32. I am still in awe of the performance last night.
It was my first time at the Giant Center in Hershey, PA, and I was very impressed: not a bad seat in the house,
as the rows were high enough apart so that no one had an obstructed view.
They had two jumbo screens on either side of the stage, and the camera work was excellent.
David Sancious was as fabulous as ever, playing accordion (!) much of the night, as was Peter Tickell, who played the most frenetic (and talented!) electric fiddle ever.
Jo Lawry was in good voice, although, personally, I could really have done without her howls on Hounds of Winter.
I know Sting enjoys that, and he growled a bit at the end, but it didn't add anything.
Vinnie Colaiuta, on the other hand, did indeed break a sweat. I can only hope that he had as much fun on the rest of the tour as he seemed to have last night.
He looks fantastic -- they all did -- but he was a wild man on the drums, playing with gusto, abandon... and joy!
They shared a horn section, three very talented guys. Paul's drummer also played guitar, and his guitarist also played bass saxophone. A very talented bunch!
My husband Thom is a longtime fan of Paul Simon's bass player, Bakithi Kumalo, who played the incredible bass line on You Can Call Me Al, and seeing it live was impressive!
It was an inspiring performance: these two legends have earned their status. It lasted about 3 hours, and they went from one song right into the next.
Sting would leave the stage and Paul would come on and start right up, then Paul would leave and Sting would come back and start right up.
You could barely recover from one incredible performance before the next one began!
With the exception of I Hung My Head, which I can barely tolerate, the rest of the show was... impressive? Inspiring? Phenomenal?
Pick a complimentary adjective or two or six, and apply here. These two performers are among the very few whose music was
transformative for me. The first time I heard Paul Simon's Scarborough Fair, I was 12. My uncle had given me the Simon and Garfunkel album for my birthday,
and I almost missed my party, as I sat in my room and played that song over and over on my little red Webcor record player.
I just sat there in awe at the beauty of that song. The rest of the album was also fantastic, but that song was the one that got me.
Later I would hear Joni Mitchell's iconic "Song to a Seagull" album and have a similar reaction.
The first time I heard Crosby, Stills, and Nash's "Critical Mass: To The Last Whale", I was practically in shock. I remember thinking how glad I was to be alive when that song was released.
Emerson, Lake, and Palmer's first album that featured Keith Emerson's masterful keyboard artistry... well, you get the picture.
So forgive me if my praise of these two is effusive. It's not often you get to see two of your musical heroes in the same place at the same time.
And the performances were amazing! Wonderful! Fantastic! OK, I'll stop now.
The chemistry and friendship between the two of them was so obvious, even the carefully rehearsed "snappy patter" between them was endearing.
And when they hugged each other at the end of the show, well... let's just say it was as adorable as anything you've ever seen on I Can Has Cheezburger.
True respect and obvious affection; who could ask for anything better?
Here's the setlist. I hope many of you got to see the show. I hope there's a recording of it somewhere!! I would order mine right now!
Have a great week, everyone!
Holly
Setlist:
Brand New Day - Acoustic duet