In 2018, Paul Simon bid a triumphant farewell to full-scale touring with his Homeward Bound tour. But apparently, even chronic hearing loss and a retirement announcement can't keep a good troubadour down. Now, at 84, Simon is back with A Quiet Celebration, a show that demands silence and understanding from its audience - a bold ask in an arena, but one that the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool apparently managed to pull off.
Simon's voice has lost some power and range, but he's swapped those for intimacy and authority, delivering a hushed and introspective reinvention rather than a euphoric victory lap. The drums are mostly stroked with brushes, and the singer-songwriting legend, smiling as he addressed a cheering Merseyside crowd for likely the last time, called it a 'humbling experience.' The evening opened with a complete performance of Seven Psalms, the 2023 song cycle that came to him in dreams, featuring quietly haunting musings on life, love, God, and death - including a nod to the refugee crisis via Trail of Volcanoes: 'It seems to me we're all walking down the same road, to wherever it ends.'
What Simon has lost in vocal power, he has gained in intimacy and authority - and this hushed performance makes for an arena concert like no other.