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The neck of my Guitar

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July 05, 2008 - United Kingdom
Charlbury - Cornbury Music Festival

Setlist

Gumboots
Boy In The Bubble
Outrageous
Mrs Robinson
Slip Slidin Away
How Can You
Duncan
You´re The One
Me & Julio Down By The Schoolyard
Sound of Silence
Cool Cool River
The Only Living Boy in New York
Graceland
Father & Daughter
Diamonds on the Soles of her shoes

encore:
You Can Call Me Al



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

Vincent Nguini - Guitar
Bakithi Kumalo - Bass
Mark Stewart - Guitars, Cello, Saxophone, selfmade instruments
Tony Cedras - Accordeon, Keyboard, Guitars
Andy Snitzer - Saxophone, Synthesizer
Jamey Haddad - Percussion
Charley Drayton - Drums




Fans who attended this show

 
Matthew Semple





Review by:
Matthew Semple

Paul came on stage at about 9.40pm and performed a reduced setlist.

Massive crowd (loads of people came to the festival just for Paul Simon and turned up just before his set) Everyone was dancing and singing along and when he did the less well-known songs, people listened without chatting.

All in all, an excellent high-energy performance. Paul danced, girated, did his hand movemnets and looked like he was ejoying every minute.

When he came back for the encore he said - ´We´ve got time for one more song. Well actually we can do loads of songs but you have a curfew so we can only do one more!´ Then he did ´You Can Call Me Al´

He didn´t say much apart from the above but said ´Thank-you´ a lot and ´It´s a pleasure´ just before the encore.

It was a shame he didn´t do more songs but this was beyond his control. I am sure the Liverpool concert will be a full set.

After the concert he left by the steps to the side of the stage, which were dried with white towels by a stage hand before he used them. He got into a Mercedes that had arrived during You Can Cal Me Al - then he sped off! Rock and Roll!

Review by:
Roger Lai

I don´t even know where to start. Paul said something on his iTunes Originals session about his new interpretations on his songs, and how he accepts that it appeals to a smaller audience than his previous work. I say BRING BACK THE OLD PAUL SIMON!

Not that I think Paul should pander to the desires of the mass audience -- if he did that, we´d have to suffer through his old songs at every show and never hear any of his truely good songs. Still, I expect Paul to be a far better entertainer -- to really wow us like he did on the You´re The One tour.

It was clear that the audience was made up of some hardcore Paul Simon fans, and that everyone was looking for a great show. Personally, I was disappointed. Paul and the band simply never really got going. All those key places in songs that normally take you to the next level -- where the music makes a transition to get your body moving or really connect emotionally... all those places in Paul´s songs had been changed. Instead of the songs that take you on a journey and move you along, Paul and the band managed to play those same songs in a way that just sits in one place. There just wasn´t enough energy.

I´ve been to a lot of Paul Simon shows, and have always enjoyed the journey that Paul would take us on. I don´t know what happened this time. I don´t know if Paul´s getting old, or if his new band is taking him in dull new directions... or maybe they had an off night. Maybe I just expected too much.

Review by:
David Strong

Cornbury Music Festival. Oxford

It rained, and rained. But who cares.. Paul Simon was on stage in a couple of hours...
The Bangles were fun.. Beverley Knight so vivacious, so hyper..

Paul was twenty minutes late on´¦ there was slow handclapping.. whistles and ´˜come on Paul´ calls from the impatient few.. I couldn´t help wonder what had gone wrong..

We were about three back in the crowd and were very close to the stage, only a few metres from the front of it. It was a very uncomfortable crush. When Paul came on you could see he was stressed out. The first few songs were fine, the band set up impressive, percussions, drums, keyboard and two brilliant guitarists.. and Paul Simon. Wow!

The performance got better as it went on. Graceland, Gumboots, Mrs Robinson, Me and Julio. I can´t remember the setlist it all went so quick. Cool River was the only one I did not know really well. In the end the band seemed to be really enjoying themselves; but it took time to get there.

There were a small group of kids in front of us, enjoying themselves. After each one of the first six or seven songs they irritatingly called out loudly.. ´˜America´¦play America´.. Paul eventually looked down and said out of microphone but clearly enough for us (and them) to hear ´˜ I will play what I want to play..´
That shut them up.

I´m so used to hearing Duncan on vinyl. I knew all the words so well. But to see it performed by Paul as a storyteller tells a story was awesome.

It wasn´t the greatest Show on earth. And the cold, damp evening did not help. And Paul was not at his best. He was on stage for a bit less than an hour and a half.
But his songs stand for themselves as a work of genius. And it was a live performance. And that is always so special.
I looked forward to the encore. When I saw Paul at the Wembley Arena (you needed a telescope to see him) he did three or even four encores.. we just would not let him go..
This time he did just one. And said (almost apologetically) that was all he had been allowed. He left stage at 11.15pm. 15 minutes later than the pre-published time.
It was raining again as we trudged in the dark to the car park.