After telling Margaret Mullen, no, I wouldn’t go with her, and then changing my mind and discovering the tickets were too expensive (two hundred buck range) maybe two weeks late I checked for a single and picked it up at a hundred bucks. That is tix to see Sting and Paul Simon together at MSG on March 6th, 2014.
A mistake?
More than possibly but I can always leave, right?
Simon and Sting:
Brand New Day – Sting stinker with a rootsy bluesy flavor – C-
Boy in the Bubble – Graceland masterpiece that hasn’t dated, excpt for the millionaires and billionaires line – A+
Fields of Gold – One of Stings better moment, though it sounds enough like Dire Straits to make you wonder if he’s gonna end up in court.
Sting:
Every Little Thing She Does is Magic – Classic Police but the guy is too fancy and the bridge sucks – A-
Englishman in New York – Illigal immigrant without an ounce of insight – D+
I Hung My Head – Man, he oversings – C-
Driven To Tear – You prolly remember it as a goodie right? Well, it aint. – C
Simon and Sting:
Love is the Seventh Wave – Sounds like a Paul Simon rip – B-
Mother and Child reunion – Well, yeah, what do you think? – A
Simon:
Crazy Love – Second tier Graceland – A-
Dazzling Blue – Ist tier 21st century Simon – A-
50 Ways to Leave Your Lover – The actual album wasn’t that great as it happens – A
Me and Julio Down By the Schoolyard – This made him the Woody Allen of rock – A
That Was Your Mother – Zylephone!!! – A-
Simon and Sting:
Fragile – Wow, talk about a mismatch – C-
Sting:
America – Great song, Sting should do a good job with it – A
Message in a Bottle – This is as good as he gets and it still sounds off – B
The Hounds of Winter – A howler, a dog with fleas – D
They Dance Alone – The horror – D-
Roxanne – The most overated song of all time – C+
Desert Rose – Terrible song, Sting by numbers – D
Simon and Sting:
The Boxer – Stands up well just not that well, Why? That “comfort there” turned my stomach – B+
Simon:
The Obvious Child Hearts and Bones/Mystery Train/Wheels – catchy rhythm – B+
Kodachrome/Gone At Last – One of the great songs about nostalgia and its limitations – A
Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes – Maybe not the best but the most perfect matching of cultures ever recorded – A+
You Can Call Me Al – Maybe it was third world, maybe it was his first time around – A+
(Encore)
Simon and Sting:
Every Breath You Take – The one time he got his bridge right – A
Late in the Evening – Not as good as he thinks – B
Bridge Over Troubled Water – One of the greatest ballads ever written – A+