There goes still rhymin' Paul Simon - concert review

Review: Paul Simon

Birmingham NIA

June 30, 2011

There are no flashy lighting effects when Paul Simon takes to the stage, no lasers or fanfare or dry ice.

Instead the stage lights go up and there is a burst of applause as eight musicians walk out followed, a few beats later, by a small, grey haired man in a T-shirt, jeans and unbuttoned blue shirt. Then the applause becomes much louder, there are cheers, and many people get to their feet.

When you've written some of the world's best-loved songs, you really don't need to try and impress by making a grand entrance. Paul Simon simply ambles out, picks up his guitar and gets to work.

"Hello there, friends," he says after a few songs. "Haven't seen you in a while."

It's a nice introduction because it really is as if we know him. His music has been a part of our lives for almost half a century.

Paul Simon is nearly 70 years old but he doesn't show it. True, he did have to cancel a show earlier this week, but that was because of a bug, not his age. "I couldn't sing," he says, casually.

Someone in the audience shouts up to ask how he's feeling tonight. "I'm better, thank you for asking." And with that we're away.

For two hours Paul Simon plays old favourites and new songs, and leaves several thousand people in no doubt that they are in the presence of greatness. But it's a modest sort of greatness, one that seems genuinely touched by the applause and affection.

And he can move too, happily jigging along to songs including 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover and Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes. People in the audience try to join in, but any attempt to dance in the aisles is stopped, with ruthless efficiency, by the NIA stewards.

But by the end, after encores which include a spellbinding Sounds of Silence, there is no stopping the crowd. The final song, You Can Call Me Al, brings everybody to their feet.

And then Paul Simon introduces each member of his band, waves, and calmly walks away, as quietly and as modestly as he arrived.

By Andrew Owen