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September 26, 2006 - Canada
Vancouver - Orpheum Theatre

Setlist

Gumboots
Boy in the Bubble
Outrageous
Slip Slidin´ Away
50 Ways to Leave Your Lover
You´re the One
Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard
How Can you Live in the Northeast
Mrs Robinson
Loves me Like a Rock
That Was Your Mother
Duncan
Graceland
Father and Daughter
Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes
Still Crazy After All These Years
Cecilia

ENCORES:
FIRST
The Only Living Boy in New York
The Boxer
You Call me Al

SECOND
Wartime Prayers
Bridge Over Troubled Water

THIRD
Late in the Evening

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

Amazing Show! I was in the very front row right in front of Paul and got to shake his hand at the end. He played all the songs I wanted to hear. There was also 3 encores which I have never seen!

The Orpheum Theatre was very near full capacity. I sat in the second-last row of seats, very high up, and it was getting hot and sweaty! I was glad I brought binoculars because I couldn´t see much otherwise. I saw quite a few people with them in my area. The show was for 7:30, but Paul came on at 8:15. Needless to say, a lot of people got restless, and there were many times people started to clap and get impatient.

Paul was casually dressed with a black cap. The show was great, and the set list was the same as the previous ones except for the addition of ´50 Ways to Leave Your Lover´! It was played near the beginning. Near the end of that song, someone shouted - ´Don´t need to be tall, Paul!´ No reaction from Paul, but the song ended at that moment. He didn´t talk much, but at one point during the show, he said ´I will not play The Sound of Silence´. Some person in the crowd shouted ´Play Beautiful´ several times.

When the show ended at 10:15, I went outside by the back door where the truck was. There was a small crowd, and one of the employees there said ´When Paul comes out, don´t immediately surround him. He doesn´t like that.´ I didn´t want to stay long to get his autograph, but judging from what he said, it sounded like he was going to appear soon. At 10:25 (that was fast!!!) he came out, shook hands, exchanged a few words with the fans, and signed autographs. I gave him my pen and the ´Sounds of Silence´ booklet to sign. Someone said to Paul, ´oh, I don´t know if you should be signing Simon & Garfunkel´. Paul then mumbled something agreeing with him, but he still signed it of course! I walked away a satisfied customer.

Paul and the band put on a fantastic show at the Orpheum theatre last night. I had good seats in the second row of the dress circle, and it was great to finally see the man perform so many of the songs I grew up with. Paul seemed relaxed and in good spirits, commenting on how much he seemed to be enjoying Vancouver, and aside from a couple of minor technical glitches, the band was tight. For someone who has had problems with his chording hand in the past however, Paul´s fingerwork- and playing in general- was pretty nice. If I have any complaints about the show, and I´ve noticed that this seems to be pretty common with Vancouver crowds, it ´s with the lacklustre response. I was almost ashamed at the lack of energy the crowd was giving back to the performers. The couple next to me sat through the whole show with their arms crossed...
Here we are now, entertain us.
Thanks again for a fantastic show Paul. I loved every bit of it and had a great time.
Without sitting on my hands...

I accurately predicted I would enjoy this show more than the last time I saw Vancouver in 1999, simply because that time he was at GM Place, a hockey arena, and my seat seemed ten kilometers away. The Orpheum is a much smaller, better venue and this time I sat in the 17th row. With binoculars I could almost make out the writing on Paul´s cap. (I later learned that it said ´CCM Classic.´ CCM is a major manufacturer of hockey equipment.)

As mentioned above, the show began quite late. Although my ticket said it was a 7:30 start, there were still people getting their seats at ten to 8, so maybe they knew something I didn´t. All was forgiven when Paul finally appeared. Perhaps the three encores were to make up for it.

Highlights: Gumboots, Outrageous, Loves Me Like a Rock, That Was Your Mother, and Wartime Prayers. (But then I would say that, since those are either new or performed less often.) The harmonies on You´re The One were also wonderful.

Low points: None, although Father & Daughter wasn´t as impressive live as I expected. I couldn´t hear the guitar lick that well.

Other things: The only time Paul spoke other than introducing the band, he said: ´It´s great to be back in Vancouver, one of my favourite cities.´ Pause for applause. ´One of the great cities of North America.´ Another pause for applause. Then he chuckled: ´That´s shameless pandering.´

I was among the delighted fans who got his autograph outside after the show, and exchanged a few words. I told him it was great to hear Outrageous live. ´Oh, you liked it?´ he smiled.

Wish I actually lived in Vancouver, so I could be at tonight´s show as well. Alas, I had to fly home today.

There is a minor mistake in the setlist above: Still Crazy and Only Living Boy should trade places.