Legendary Paul Simon and Sting have been doing concerts together for years and never fail to please the crowd. This past Sunday they performed at Hersheypark Stadium in Hershey, PA. Pennlive recently had their writer pick out 5 of the best moments of the concert and here are his top picks.
1. Sting claims to have always wanted to write a country song. The story of murder and shame told in “I hung My Head” owes something to the fellow who shot a man in Reno just to watch him die. And, Sting explained to the crowd that he wrote this song for Johnny Cash who recorded it near the end of his life. But Sting’s version mixes up the rhythm without losing the cathartic motion of the tune. Just beautiful.
2. The shtick. Having been on tour for a while now, Sting and Paul Simon have developed a Borscht Belt repertoire. The highlight was Simon’s self-effacing rap about sharing a stage with Sting:
“By the time we get to the end of this tour which is about a week from now I think the merging of personalities and everything will have been completed. And I will become very much like an Adonis and be able to have sex for days. It is just the change that I’ve learned from Sting. And, Sting, the changes you have learned from me…possibly? Okay, and, I’ll see you in a little while.”
Fourteen musicians on the stage with all those instruments and no one hits a rim shot for that?
3. Simon’s latest studio effort “So Beautiful or So What” did not get near the attention the quality music deserved. Simon plucked one gem from that disc “Dazzling Blue” which proved a perfect showcase for his skilled musicians to knock off some polyrhythms that ended with a wonderful transition into “Graceland.”
4. Sting kept Simon off stage when he offered a gentle, heartfelt and moving acoustic reading of the former’s “America” that ended with a quick switch to an electric bass for a hard driving version of “Message in a Bottle.” Another standout moment was a massive reading of “Desert Rose” that milked every dramatic pop moment from the music’s multicultural ménage.
5. With Sting’s high range and both musicians on stage you knew it had to happen and the comparisons are inevitable. After hearing the two nail “The Boxer” my verdict: Art who?
The Hershey Stadium hosts many celebrities; One Direction boy band, Bruno Mars, Fallout Boy & Paramore and Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. Visit the Hersheypark Stadium website to see all of their shows that are coming up and don’t miss another awesome show at the chocolate capital of America !
