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October 16, 2006 - USA / Illinoise
Rosemont - Rosemont Theater

Setlist

1. GUMBOOTS
2. BOY IN THE BUBBLE
3. OUTRAGEOUS
4. FIFTY WAYS TO LEAVE YOUR LOVER
5. SLIP SLIDIN´ AWAY
6. YOU´RE THE ONE
7. ME AND JULIO
8. TRAIN IN THE DISTANCE
9. HOW CAN YOU LIVE IN THE NORTHEAST
10. LOVE ME LIKE A ROCK
11. THAT WAS YOUR MOTHER
12. DUNCAN
13. GRACELAND
14. FATHER AND DAUGHTER
15. CECILIA

1. ONLY LIVING BOY IN NY
2. DIAMONDS ON THE SOLES OF HER SHOES
ENCORES
3. CALL ME AL
4. STILL CRAZY
5. MRS. ROBINSON
6. WARTIME PRAYERS
7. BRIDGE OVER TROUBLED WATERS
8. LATE IN THE EVENING
9. THE BOXER W/ JERRY DOUGLAS

The band (not all members are present at all shows)

Vincent Nguini - Guitar
Bakithi Kumalo - Bass
Steve Gadd - Drums
Mark Stewart - Guitars, Cello, Saxophone, selfmade instruments
Robin diMaggio - Drums, percussion
Tony Cedras - Accordeon, Keyboard, Guitars
Andy Snitzer - Saxophone, Synthesizer
Harper Simon - Guitar
Adrian Simon - Keyboards

Fans who attended this show

Great Show....played mostly ´hits´ with new and fresh arrangements. Made it almost impossible to sing along which was a shrewd move, forced people to listen to him instead of drowning him out. Band was top notch and seemed to be into it.
Highlights: An amazing ´Mrs. Robinson´, by far the best of show. ´Only Living Boy in New York´, ´Duncan´ and 4, count em, 4 encores. One thing that struck me was the lack of ´young´ fans. Made me wonder what will happen to Paul once he and his fan base ´go´. How will he be remembered and by who?

I saw Paul a couple times back in 91´and consider that to be the ultimate display of the greatness that is the Paul Simon catalog. For those of you who were witness to that show you know the monster world sound that he presented (go buy the Live in central park cd set if you dont own it already). The sound is a MONSTER!!!

** Disclaimer*** - Rosemont Theatre has just about the BEST SOUND of any theater in the entire world. Amazing quality!!!!

That being said, I was extremely psyched to see him 15 years later, and I was NOT dissapointed. While his music style continues to evolve (as well it should given his amazing talents), I find myself all that much more hooked by his ability to reinvent his own persona....I shall elaborate.

The setlist was typical of those posted in earlier shows, so there aren´t too many surprises during a Simon show. I´m okay with this..if I want a different setlist I´ll go to a Rat-Dog show.

The set opened with a good ´warm-up´ tune; Gumboots I think. Nothing fancy just losening up the fingers all around.

Post that - The show tightened up with solid,crisp and impressive versions of his new material. These were sandwiched in between well arranged renditions of some of Paul´s ol chestnuts´ dusted off and and served on a clean plate.

The sound that Paul´s band bings to the stage pays homage to his past sound, and infuses his new style with great effectiveness. There is a definite ´rock´ sound to this new tour. It effectively breaths new life into songs that have been masterfully played in previous tours.

I was extremely pleased that the whole show was not a repeat of the last tour I was witness to. Not that I would have complained...Just new material for the money.

Highlights:
Cecilia (rocking good fun!)

The Boxer (encore) (accompanied by Jerry Douglas on slide guitar..a serious treat!!!!)

Father and Daughter - tight!

Duncan - Just a cool song, brilliant live.

Wartime Prayer - Brilliant acoustics in the Rosemont.

Its unfair to exclude anything played, but these stick out right now. (did I mention Train in The Distance was outstanding?)


Being a huge fan of Pauls guitar playing, I found this show especially ´great´ due to the ability to hear every single note he played.

I held on to a fantasy that he was gonna dust of Anji...but since it wasnt in the cards (see earlier comment about no surprises), I was happy knowing that Paul still sounds great and puts on a show that is impressive ´after all these years´.

Paul went on stage at about 8:35 p.m. and finished around 10:55. That´s a two hour, twenty minute set. How many people can play an outstanding set of that length without a letdown? Paul definitely still can.

The first two songs were fine, but it seemed that the audio was being sorted out as the bass dominated and the vocals were a bit too far under the tune. At that point, a fan yelled out ´Turn up the vocals´ to which the audience cheered and Paul responded by saying, ´Okay. Now the sound of the show for the whole audience might be being dictated by someone who could very possibly be hearing impaired.´ There was much laughter and the sound did seem to be more in balance from that point on - so thanks to the person that did the shouting! Sadly, there wasn´t much more conversation from Paul, though he was right with the audience with the performance.

What impressed me the most was the variations on the well known songs. Often, when an artist tries a variation on a hit song, the audience can be left feeling disappointed that they missed one of their favorite tunes. In this case, Paul reinvented many of his songs, but somehow managed to do it while maintaining enough of a familiar quality to satisfy on all accounts.

The highlights for me were Slip Slidin´ Away, Mrs. Robinson, Train in the Distance...and many more. Perhaps the most surprising song was ´Wartime Prayers´ which, I think, fell in the first encore and had the audience riveted to it´s intimacy.

This is definitely a great band that is playing with Paul as well. There are a lot of diverse songs in the list and they are all covered tremendously by the eight piece unit. It´s unusual to see guitar players suddenly grab a horn and take on a completely different role, but there was no drop off in the sound throughout.

So, great job guys! Keep it rolling and please make through the Chicago area again!

I saw Mr. Simon play in Rosemont ILLINOIS (spell it right people you don´t pronounce the ´S´) and he was amazing! I was so glad he ended with the boxer. I would be very sad if he didn´t becuase that is my all time favorite song. I really wish I could have gone up there and played it on my guitar and sing it, but it´s not easy to play without looking at your strumming hand. Keep up the good work Mr. Simon! I think it would be nice if you could get together with Mr. Garfunkel and play at Ravinia again, since the name Simon and Garfunkel didn´t ring a bell, although I heard some of your songs when I was younger. You rule Mr. Simon, and if you ever need a back up singer let me know.

Charlie