A cause for celebration
POP REVIEW: Edie Brickell and Paul Simon share a few laughs and a duet to raise money for injured actor
12:00 AM CDT on Monday, August 28, 2006
By MICHAEL GRANBERRY / The Dallas Morning News
Edie Brickell and husband Paul Simon had rarely performed together in public. But there they were Saturday night at Fair Park: the tall, willowy brunette from Oak Cliff and the songwriting legend from New York City, sharing the Music Hall stage.
DARNELL RENEE/Special Contributor
Edie Brickell wowed the crowd at Fair Park Music Hall. She organized the show to help out a childhood friend. Ms. Brickell talked about freezing her butt off for 16 New York winters and how she so missed the Texas heat.
´Yeah,´ said Mr. Simon. ´It´s great - if you´re a pizza.´
Edie talked about wanting Paul to be nicer when Mom comes up for a visit, to which he replied, ´There´s only so much Wheel of Fortune a man can watch.´
And then they launched into a perfect opener for a truly special evening, the Conway Twitty-Loretta Lynn classic ´You´re the Reason Our Kids Are Ugly.´ A wry choice for a couple who share three young children, but what a great one.
´That´s the reason I ain´t got no hair to comb,´ sang Mr. Simon.
Humor was good, since the reason for the show could not have been more serious. Ms. Brickell was trying to raise money for childhood friend Robert C. Meadows, 43, a Dallas actor who suffered severe brain injuries last October after being attacked during a robbery in a parking lot near Bachman Lake.
His assailants, who remain at large, left Mr. Meadows unable to walk or communicate and facing more than $1.5 million in medical care and rehabilitation bills.
So, Ms. Brickell enlisted her storied husband to help, and what a choice it was. He delivered big-time, giving the night its most stirring moment singing ´Bridge Over Troubled Water,´ which, of course, he and his wife were trying to be.
But he also sang ´Slip Slidin´ Away,´ ´Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard,´ ´The Boxer´ and ´Wartime Prayers,´ a song from his dazzling new Surprise, which fits the 9/11 era as well as any.
He also seemed to relish the backing of the amazing New Bohemians, who, with Ms. Brickell´s silky voice leading them, graced the crowd with 10 terrific songs. Her ballad ´10,000 Angels´ carried an eloquence that defined the emotion of the show as well as any moment could have.
Hearing Ms. Brickell sing ´Buffalo Ghost´ and ´What I Am´ - and hearing her homies go wild - left just about everybody feeling groovy.
And to have capped it off with the incomparable Mr. Simon singing such a timeless treasure as ´Mrs. Robinson´ - which, incredibly, was written for a movie released almost 40 years ago (The Graduate, 1967) - left us with only one conclusion: How could ´Mrs. Robinson´ not have been nominated for an Oscar? In 1967, the Academy Award for best song went to ´Talk to the Animals´ from Doctor Dolittle.
It´s enough to make a man lose his hair.
To help, go to https://www.robertc>http://https://www.robertc meadowsfund.com, where you can make a donation online. Or make a check payable to Robert C. Meadows Donation Fund and mail it to Robert C. Meadows Donation Fund, 6611 Hillcrest Ave. #404, Dallas, TX 75205.
https://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/ent/stories/DN-simon_0828gl.ART.State.Edition2.3e9c7d2.html>http://https://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/ent/stories/DN-simon_0828gl.ART.State.Edition2.3e9c7d2.html
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