Paul Simon: 2/7/1991

This show was part of Paul Simon’s “Born at the Right Time” tour. I was pretty psyched to see him, since his songs were definitely a part of the soundtrack of my early years. I even had “Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard” on 45 back in the day.

I went with my then girlfriend, and we had decent seats, even though they were upper level. The Miami Arena was not huge, which was probably why the Heat abandoned it and built a bigger arena, which resulted in the venue being demolished in 2008.

Anyway, back to the concert. Paul Simon was amazing. He sounded great and had a solid backing band comprised of really cool world musicians. He played a nice long show… but I had one complaint. He played “You Can Call Me Al” TWICE, one right after the other. So he played the song, everyone was dancing and singing along, and when they finished, Paul said “Wow! That was great! Let’s do it again.” And they did. OK, they played a shortened version, but still, I felt ever so slightly rooked. I mean, Paul Simon has a ton of great songs, a lot of which he did not play. He could have tossed in “Mrs. Robinson” or “Scarborough Fair” or “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover” instead. Just sayin’.

Besides the repeat, it was a great show. Here’s the setlist. Rock on.

Setlist:

• The Obvious Child
• The Boy in the Bubble
• She Moves On
• Kodachrome
• Born at the Right Time
• Negotiations and Love Songs
• Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard
• Proof
• I Know What I Know
• Bridge Over Troubled Water
• The Cool, Cool River
• Further to Fly
• Cecilia
• Graceland
• You Can Call Me Al
• You Can Call Me Al
• Still Crazy After All These Years
• Late in the Evening
• Hearts and Bones
• Loves Me Like a Rock
• Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes
• American Tune
• The Boxer
• The Sound of Silence