Paul Simon’s victorious return tour hits Disney Hall: Concert Review

Here Comes Rimein ‘Simon. This is not a phrase we must have imagined to say again, in the context of a concert tour, later Paul Simon Seven years ago, he wrapped his official farewell tour. The reason for assuming it was that they had a valid reason to mark that their actual goodwill for the road show, not as fake retirement, who cash and then re -prepare it. But he has found a solution to issues that probably kept them on stage. By the time he kicked the five-night stand Walt Disney Concert Hall This week, Simon had a full 40 shows in his 2025 “cool festival” outings. And he felt … yes, soft (as promised in the tour title!) But, in fact, unmarried. We have never had a better reason that a person went back to his word.

You can see and ask “a cool festive journey”, as your first question: ok, how excess Calm? And the answer is: Not much. You should not make this mistake for an all-essential tour, although this is the tone taken before the show, when Simon and his band performed their most recent album, playing back to the “Seven Bhajan” of 2023, did a lot of back, suite-style perfection, mostly serious and without tempo or electricity. But then, in the other Acts and Encourse, you get 15 catalog selections, including some tunes that are counted as Rabbal-Rowers by Simon standards. The evening turns into a party, despite its best intentions to keep it down.

There is a subtlety to make this tour so successful that actually has something to do with the volume, or its appearance. Simon has more than 11 players on stage at a time, and during classics, they are all playing more or less in the same busy parts that they must have played earlier, a “grancland” or “Cool, Cool River” or even “Me and even down by Julio Schoolyard”. Nevertheless, the arrangements have been calibrated so that the most loud songs are sometimes dialing down, almost inconsistent, may be slightly different for the frontman around this time. No meaning of this will come as a complete surprise for the audience, as Simon is open about his hearing issues, which said that only through a wide, advanced system of stage monitor, he felt that he could again make a reasonable tour. There is also a matter of his voice, which is a bit soft with age. This is such that everything is fine to allow Simon to act on his age (which is 83), without any kind of stenting on a rich and competent performance.

The performance of “Seven Bhajan” is referred to by Simon as “The First Half”, however, according to the actual volume, it is well under it. It is safe to guess that most viewers come to become unfamiliar with the record, and this is where the booking of fine-arts like Disney Hall comes in handy, as even the attendees have not come to see the symphony, still it is very easily that the venue lends for a kind of fate and some focus skills. Folki “Seven Bhajan” is very much present at the attention of his spectrum, impressive and spiritual end – with the exception of “my professional forgiveness”, which comes in the middle of the suite and land with a playful blues. It is struggling with Simon with the concept of God and discovery of unattainable relationships in later chapters, and it is not easily understood when heard first. But the performance on this tour may be inspiring too many people to see one of the most incorrectly ignored albums of 2023, there is an ambition and personal meaning that you will expect from a great artist who has no desire to go to that auspicious night costing.

The seven song titles of this album appeared helping on an overhead screen, as their number came, as a gauche to offer a signal without infection, prevent music for applause as actually as gauche. But the album is actually more than seven numbers, as the early songs, “The Lord”, the suit courses become many unbearable replaces. That song alone, in many of its recurrence, is counted as a major letter-day Simon work, as he includes both Christian and most irreversible possible imagination, from Shepherd to the debris ball from Shepherd to the ball. As long as he is sung through all this, you will not know at all whether the singer is a believer or harsh doubt, but you will know that Simon, mysterious poet and baseball nut have covered all the bases.

His wife, Eddy bricelThe last two parts of the song cycle, “The Sacred Harp” and “Wait” came to the guest, as he apparently on a tour every night. She stands in the opposite direction of the stage from Simon, to sing its parts, but in the spirit of music, at least, they are close as two owls simultaneously on the “Seven Bhajan” album cover. A concept album that starts to be all about God, finally something else is worth knowing in this life – relationship with another person – and when they sing “Amen” in harmony to end the cycle, it seems that it has to face eternity with Simon. And With a divine seal on your and Bricel’s permanent love affair.

And then the longest second “half” rewards fans for any patience, which is with a set with a set that hits all Simon Fandum Anand Centers. He hits the almost clear greatest hit (although “no bridge on disturbed water” or “you can call me”) and make some deep cuts (eg “St. Judies Comat”, “There was a 50 -year -old track from” there Goose Rimin Simon “that was clearly not even a dozen times before the tour).

The band received a lot of exercise on some of these olds, compared to the more minimal and hypnotized “seven bhajan” materials. The presence of two experienced sides in Simon’s artists was specially made for memorable and even touching moments. Bass player, Bakithi Kumalo was introduced as the last living member of Simon’s original South African “Grackland” band, and his link for Frontman’s (of course) was invaluable with some fleeting signature vocal. Meanwhile, Steve Gad, one of the three drummers or percussions, came back in a contingent of artists, in the early 70s, which could be counted as the most famous Sanere drum part of pop music to play, “509 he to leave her lover.” And if it is not worth the price of entry …

Horns and strings were replaced – most later, Viola player with Kaleb Burhans and cellist Eugene F this several times there managed to sound like a full chronos quartet. (Entering the instrumental of the frozen with Simon’s acoustic guitar during a stripped-down portion of “Slip Slidin ‘Ae” was a cute example.) Nothing was originally rearranged, although you can see that the “Homeword Bound” was changed more in a country’s song, which was replaced more in the song of a country, which were drums and mick-rich in the song of a country. Is between sound.

In this half, the screen was used to portray topical photos instead of the title of the song of the previous act: if you ever wanted to see the actual photos, which after the war with your dog “inspired René and Georgette Magrate,” you had there. And “The Late Great Johnny Ace”, which was an introduction spoken by Simon in an unusually expanded, which shoulders to shoulder on the big screen with Johnny Ace, JFK and John Lennon, reached the climax as a caption under his name with “Johnny Ace” with each of them.

Brickel made a comeback appearance, in which entered “Me and Julio Down the School Yard” to play a whistle to enter with wings. On this song, which served as a climax for the main set, it was such that the evening was a concert of the evening “Benjamin button” – looking at The Great Beyond in his advanced years with Simon, and ending with him as a school student.

But Denument again increased, Simon finally brought things back to an original point in a different way with the closing of “The Sound of Silence” on stage alone with his acoustic guitar for the company. The way we were all born in dust and we will return to dust, so it is with silence, perhaps for any of us, but especially for a Paul Simon, which (with Garfankal) (with Garfankal) was 60 years ago as his Fluki First No.1 Smash as his Fluki First No.1 Smash as a hymn of that existence.

To return to a burning question, or at least one who was on the minds of fans before the start of this tour: what Is Simon’s voice right now – his singing voice, especially? When he recently appeared on the “SNL 50” special, there was some alarm that he did not look as young, well, his couple partner Sabarina Carpenter. Or, to give more credit to Scofers, it is as strong as he did on his first 21st century tour, retirement. The answer should be a conviction, which no one has yet caught the tour and is thinking about scoring a resale ticket before all of this is over. The best way to describe this is that, perhaps for the first 60 seconds of the show, you may look a bit more delicate at this age … and then after that brief period of adjustment, you forget about it. It is rare to notice many high notes that have reduced to age, and you never need to worry about it. (And they did not spoil in any way, who were only performing back surgery for pain, who had earlier forced them to cancel a couple … The only reference to being under the knife was an acknowledgment at the top of the show was that he was the “most week”.)

So, in other words, in the best way, he looks like an 83 -year -old singer. How lucky are we unexpectedly to re -share our sanctuary?

Setalist for Paul Simon in Walt Disney Concert Hall, July 9, 2025:

Set 1: Seven Bhajan
“God”
“Love is like a braid”
“My professional opinion”
“Your forgiveness”
“Volcanic sign”
“Holy Veena”
“wait”

Set 2:
“Grancland”
“Slip slidine ‘away”
“Train in distance”
“homeward Bound”
“The Late Great Johnny Ace”
“St. Judy Commat”
“Under the African sky”
“Rene with your dog after war and georgette magrates”
“rewrite the”
“Spirit Voice”
“Quiet, cool river”
“Me and Julio below school garden”

Encores:
“50 ways to leave your lover”
“Boxer”
“Silence voice”

Paul Simon’s remaining dates on 2025 tour:
12 July Disney Hall, Los Angeles, CA
14 July Disney Hall, Los Angeles, CA
16 July Disney Hall, Los Angeles, CA
July 19 Davis Simmpony Hall, San Francisco, CA
July 21 Davis Simmpony Hall, San Francisco, CA
July 22 Davis Symphony Hall, San Francisco, CA
25 July Orphium, Vancouver BC
26 July The Orphium, Vancouver BC
28 July The Orphium, Vancouver BC
July 31 Banaroya Hall, Seattle, WA
2 August Banaroya Hall, Seattle, WA
3 August Banaroya Hall, Seattle, WA