REVIEW: Paul Simon’s Intimate Orpheum concert

A promotional photo of American singer-songwriter Paul Simon.

Paul Simon gave a low-key but stirring performance on Easter at the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis. I was especially excited to see him in concert since cancer treatments prevented me from attending his farewell tour in 2018. Still dealing with cancer, but on a treatment break, it was worth the wait to get another chance to see Simon. Having seen him sing on the Saturday Night Live 50-year reunion show this year, I was concerned about his ability to pull off a full concert with his weaker voice. However, it soon became obvious that he had chosen material that worked well with his vocal limitations, and provided a compelling concert for his fans.

Older fans like me probably made up most of the attendees – but I was amazed at the large number of fans who looked as though they were in their 20s–40s. The performance was greatly enhanced by the subtle lighting of Simon and his band during the show.

This intimate concert experience lived up to its billing, and started with an uninterrupted run of the songs from Simon’s *Seven Psalms* album.

Simon started the concert with playing the seven songs on his 2023 Seven Psalms album. He cautioned the audience that he was playing all seven songs without a break, with only screen captions to show the titles of each song. He treated these songs about faith, life, and death with sincere reverence. At times, the songs seemed like an old man looking back at peace with his life. Simon’s wife, Edie Brickell, joined him in a duet on one of the songs and their voices meshed well together. Brickell’s strong voice never overpowered Simon’s weaker voice. Because I had not heard Simon’s Seven Psalms album before the concert, I purchased a copy of the album on my way out of the Orpheum so that I can repeatedly savor his songs, as I often did as a teenager .

After the intermission, Simon returned to play his music from the previous century with an 11-member band. This half opened with songs from his classic Graceland album, including “Graceland” and “Under African Skies”. Brickell joined Simon on the “Skies” song in a touching duet.

Simon’s voice held up in a soft fashion on several of his other hits, including sentimental favorites “Fifty Ways to Leave Your Lover”, “Mother and Child Reunion”, and “The Boxer”. I remember Simon once saying he wrote “American Tune” when he was in despair about the country during President Nixon’s administration, and I was disappointed it was not part of his set given the current political situation. But Simon more than made up for that with his gripping and timely version of “Sounds of Silence” to close his concert. Simon connected with his audience with an intimacy that did not occur the previous two times I saw him perform. This concert was definitely one for my memory book.

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Bev Wolfe

Bev Wolfe is a Staff Reviewer at the Twin Cities Arts Reader. She is an attorney and avid theatre fan who has written theatre reviews for local publications since 2008. She was also an Ivey Awards evaluator.