For Paul Simon and Joan Baez, Farewells Reckon With Past and Present

My brother and I attended Paul Simon's Thursday night concert at MSG. I have seen Simon six times in concert, starting with his Live Rhymin' tour in '73 at Nassau Coliseum. I'm not much of a concertgoer but have always been a loyal fan of this incredibly gifted 20th/21st century troubadour. In a span of over half a century he has created a body of work almost unparalleled in content and quality. From the early Simon and Garfunkel years with his lilting folk tunes and pop ballads, to catchy, irresistible songs such as 'Mrs. Robinson', then on to a solo career offering ever more challenging music weighted with intelligent, often mystical, piquant lyrics, often set to music adapted with a panoramic eye for other cultures, Paul Simon has emerged on the shortlist of the past century's greatest songwriters such as Jerome Kern, George Gershwin, Rodgers and Hammerstein and Stephen Sondheim. Although he is deeply imbedded in the rock era of his youth, his lyrics and music are timeless:' 'Bridge Over Troubled Water', "The Boxer','American Tune', Hearts and Bones', 'Graceland', "The Obvious Child' : just a few of the masterpieces this man has penned. His touring days may be over but I hope he continues to give the world the gift of his songwriting.

Funny how things work. I am sixty nine years old. Starting I believe when I was ten, I gave my heart--my soul--my love to classical music. My piano teacher told me, she would be giving a recital. Playing what, I asked? So she sat down out the keyboard. And struck out the opening allegro in Beethoven's "Farewell" Sonata. Never had I dreamt there could be such glorious sounds. I choke up whenever I hear that music. AND YET. . .. . . .Paul Simon Seventy six, you said. And Joan Baez. Seventy seven, you said. And all these other names. Names of the sixties--those irrecoverably lost sixties. That started with what? The Kennedy-Nixon debates. When we were all so prim, so buttoned up. And ended with--Woodstock! As if not just one decade but a whole gaggle of decades had gone whizzing past. And my goodness! We were YOUNG in the sixties. We entered our TEEN years in the sixties. And there was the Vietnam War--student takeovers of academic buildings--oh! and there was flower power--and the march on the Pentagon--and there were hippies--and LBJ--and. . .and. . . .. assassinations. . . .violence. . . .. street riots . . . . . And these guys--Ms. Baez. . . .Mr. Simon. . . . . .. giving VOICE to all this. Speaking for us young people, so to speak. Flinging out their tuneful defiance to "the establishment"--gosh! the very word brings back memories. Whatever you guys do--wherever you go-- --blessings on you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

I was fortunate to see Paul perform in Houston this past June. He has long been my favorite musical artist. I love the range and adventurousness of his music but, mostly, I love his poetry, which can make me smile one moment and feel like my heart broke in two the next. Reflecting on my relationship with his music after seeing him for the last time, it dawned on me that he truly has been a presence in my entire life and, to a large extent, has written and performed the soundtrack of my life. The first time I saw him in concert was his reunion concert with Art in Central park in 1981. I was 18 years old and just beginning my freshman year at NYU. The last time I saw him in concert was 2,100 miles away from that first concert, on my 55th birthday, as I was getting ready to send my son off for his freshman year of college. Paul's music has spoken to my relationships in good times and bad, captured the overwhelming joy and awe of becoming a father ("I watch you sleeping in the hospital bed The baby curled up in a ball. Winter sunlight hits the family tree, And everything else becomes nothing at all"), and affected me like no other artist. Sorry for the ramble.

Paul Simon's final concert was amazing as far as I can tell.But it begs the question, what about the biggest most famous band of all, The Rolling Stones? It appears that they will not stop at all. merely roll on till death. No farewell tour just grinding rhythm and blues and a song list that makes almost everyone look like a amateur! I think that when they do pass on, the 60's are truly over, and it will be a sure sign of the passing of the guard. I am of the opinion, shared by some that we are living in a musical wasteland now, with nothing approaching the Fecund music of 1960-1990. I guess I was lucky to hear so much amazing music growing up! Love ya Paul!

I was fortunate to be in Joan Baez's audience on Saturday night after sharing a ride on the LIRR with friends headed to see Paul Simon. And with Bill and Hillary Clinton's presence at Baez's concert, it was truly a throwback night to remember!

I attended Paul Simon’s Farewell Tour in Boston. I was ecstatic to see multigenerational fans. At the concert’s midpoint, when Simon introduced his rarely performed “Rene and Georgette Magritte with Their Dog After the War,” the young man sitting next to me (a total stranger) turned to me and excitedly said:”Oh, this is my favorite song” and spontaneously put his head on my 71 year old shoulder. I patted it in total agreement.

"Still crazy after all these years." We had the great good fortune to attend Mr. Simon's Friday night show at MSG. It was everything promised and more. The sold-out crowd was ecstatic and the blend of new and old had people weeping and dancing.

My husband and I were in the "field where it happened" at the Paul Simon concert Saturday night in Corona Park. What an experience! A full catalog of the work of extraordinary talented singer/musician/composer. We're still crazy after all these years!

As addressed to Ms Baez and Mr Simon, as written by Neil Young, "Long May You Run".

No one's work is ever finished, but it doesn't mean that it should never end. If only this was true in the political word as in the world of music!