On Wednesday evening, April 23, Paul Simon performed at the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis. A warm night on Hennepin Ave. welcomed crowds into the intimate arena for the two-hour show.
Simon did, in fact, take our Kodachrome away. Multiple signs throughout the venue read ‘NO PHOTO OR VIDEO.’ This decision made me appreciate the ephemeral music more, but disappointed my family group chat.
A few minutes after 8 p.m., Simon walked onstage to a standing ovation. White haired and smiling, he bowed politely. Simon opened the show with a continuous set of seven songs from his 2023 album, “Seven Psalms,” bathed in blue overhead light.
He described the set as “uninterrupted” with “no space” intended between the songs. Its inspiration stems from the Book of Psalms, a section of the Old Testament containing Hebrew hymns. The album’s cover features an illustration of two owls perched on a tree watching the moon, sourced from artist Thomas Moran’s 1917 painting “Two Owls.”
Simon, whose previous spiritual engagements have been few and far between, portrays an all-encompassing view of God, who is embodied by nature and humanity alike. He sings “And the Lord is a virgin forest / The Lord is a forest ranger / The Lord is a meal for the poorest / A welcome door to the stranger.”
Although this album is slower, lyrically abstract and less musically adorned than his previous works, “Seven Psalms” preserves his introspective, poetic lyrics and intricate acoustic fingerpicking style.
On “Wait,” a dulcet duet between Simon and his wife, Edie Brickell, Brickell sings ‘Heaven is beautiful / It’s almost like home’ to which Simon replies ‘I need you here by my side / wait.’ The song captures simultaneous curiosity and resistance towards one’s mortality. “My Professional Opinion,” the third song on the album, is a humorous melody reminiscent of “Paranoia Blues” from Simon’s self-titled 1972 album (the one where he’s wearing a parka).
His performance brought the album to life, filling the concert hall with a dream-like soundscape. Electric and acoustic guitars conversed and chimes replicated the sound of church bells. With gentle hand gestures, Simon directed his accompanists as he sang and played.
In keeping with the norms of its venue, the concert featured an intermission. I was fortunate to sit next to a lovely couple–Penny and Steve. We were seated together in the nosebleeds, but were then upgraded to the pit where we spent the rest of the concert. Steve had seen Simon and Garfunkel play in 1978 in Minneapolis, so this concert was a full-circle moment.
After the intermission, the concert’s second half featured Simon’s classics, including “Mother and Child Reunion,” which led into “Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard” and “50 Ways to Leave your Lover.” He sang with a looser rhythm, giving the songs’ beat an improvisational feel.
My personal favorite of his classics compilation was “Homeward Bound.” His vocal tremors captured the passage of time and his nearly six decades of musical performance. He preserved the golden yearning, nostalgic feeling of this piece and the continuous search for one’s home.
He continued on with “Slip Slidin’ Away,” a tender song that captures the juxtaposition of loss and gain as time passes by; the “nearer your destination / The more you’re slip slidin’ away.”
The set continued with “The Late Great Johnny Ace,” off of Simon’s 1983 album “Hearts and Bones.” He spoke candidly of Ace’s untimely death, comparing it to the losses of President John F. Kennedy and John Lennon. Also from “Hearts and Bones,” Simon played the verbosely titled “René and Georgette Magritte with Their Dog after the War.” A photo of Magritte, a Belgian surrealist artist whom you may be familiar with for pieces such as “Ceci n’est pas une pipe,” inspired the song.
Simon has engaged with the commemorative song genre before, in songs like “So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright,” from the album “Bridge Over Troubled Water.” “He Was My Brother” remembers Michael Schwerner, James Chaney and Andrew Goodman – civil rights activists who were murdered by the KKK in 1964. Although less politically engaged than some of his musical contemporaries, Simon’s music continuously reflects history and memory, in somber and creative ways. Simon also performed “Under African Skies” alongside a member of Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Bakithi Kumalo. Simon said he and Kumalo were the last surviving members of the original Graceland band. “The Boxer” was an especially nostalgic performance to me. As a child, I listened to Simon and Garfunkel on my parents’ first generation iPod in our backseat (nicknamed the cozy corner) and “The Boxer” was especially dear. To chant ‘lai lai lai’ amongst a group of predominantly Boomer attendees made my heart swell. Simon’s encore featured an acoustic solo rendition of “The Sound of Silence.” The audience immediately recognized the iconic opening riff.
Simon’s music, both new and old, makes listeners reflect upon our own search for belonging. May we all be received, in Graceland, or wherever else.
