Even the most jaded listener would have found troubadour Paul Simon’s Oct. 3 concert at The Embarcadero Marina a rewarding experience. With nearly four decades of hits to choose from, Simon would not have been faulted for performing a “best of” type show. Exceeding expectations, he instead offered his audience a taste of his latest CD, “Surprise,” album cuts and, yes, a healthy selection of hits.
The audience was clearly on his side from the first note, on their feet for much of the performance, and even eliciting a positive comment from Simon about the dancing in the aisles. Unlike many major touring acts, Simon’s between-song comments didn’t seem scripted, with his humorous comments about St. Louis and San Diego being in the playoffs eliciting some of the night’s biggest responses. But it was the music that had the crowd enthusiastic from start to finish. Backed by a seven-piece band, including two drummers, Simon offered up new, updated versions of some of his older tunes. Now sounding closer to his work on the 1986 album “Graceland,” the set was a cohesive rhythmic wonder.
Not all of the new arrangements worked, with some of the quieter mid-’70s tunes such as “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover,” and “Slip Slidin’ Away,” suffering a little from the reinterpretations. The Simon and Garfunkel classic “Mrs. Robinson” also seemed perfunctory, with the new version halfway through the first verse before much of the crowd even figured out what it was. But those are minor quibbles.
High points included gospel tinged ’70s hit “Loves Me Like A Rock,” and a sing-a-long on 1969’s “Cecilia,” but the crowd responded to each song like a long-lost friend.
Whereas the performance of unknown material at many shows can elicit an exodus to the food vendors or restrooms, the intensity of new songs such as “How Can You Live In The Northeast?” garnered a big response. Still tackling social injustice alongside personal introspection, it’s clear that Simon has lost none of his gift for melody and lyrical play.
For many of the concertgoers, this seemed to be the party of the year. Simon himself seemed taken with the crowd massed in front of the stage. Once the set proper finished, they refused to budge and continued to chant his name until he returned for an impressive three encores, adding such evergreens as “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” “Still Crazy After All These Years,” The Boxer,” and “You Can Call Me Al” to a set that already included an embarrassment of riches.
While it would have been impossible for Simon to play all of his best known songs, the audience was more than pleased with the show they did get, happy to know that they had seen a major artist who after nearly five decades, is still in his prime.