Thoughts About an Aging Songwriter

Back to "A Quiet Celebration." 

This morning after the Paul Simon concert at the Hollywood Bowl, we four were sipping coffee and reflecting on the concert. We all had the sense that this could be the last hurrah for him. The tour looks to be a pretty grueling schedule. He’s mid-eighties, has lost hearing in one ear (though the technology can do anything with challenges like this). 

Personally, I loved the concert. The first thirty-three minutes he and his band performed his entire new album, “Seven Psalms.” A and B sides, no commentary, just the music and the lyrics. They then took a break. 

Back onstage, they performed for another hour and a half. A couple of songs I didn’t know (deep cuts?). Most of them, of course I knew. This music is in my veins. It’s music from my teens, my twenties, my thirties, my forties. The set list represents Paul Simon at his peak, his best music. 

That said, the songs performed on stage weren’t the songs of my youth. Yes, they were the same songs. But they were repurposed, reimagined. Classics made somehow new. 

Likewise, the voice on stage was not the voice from my past. It was a weakened voice, slightly shaky, a bit off tune. The voice was that of an old man singing to (mostly) old people. Like me. 

Nevertheless, the music and the voice were beautiful. Sitting in that quiet arena, listening to the voice I’d grown up with, I admit, I teared up a few times. Maybe it was the cheap wine. 

Near the end of the concert, I noticed my friend Karen had pulled out her phone and was filming. I asked her later to send me the videos she’d recorded. I’m including two of them in the comments (the first didn’t load). Maybe they illustrate what I’m trying to say here. 

The first, “Diamonds on the Soles of her Shoes,” is from his Graceland album. Again, the vocals are fragile. But the accompaniment, the instrumentation? Brilliant, as was that album, his first solo album after the split. Paul Simon, the boy from New York, rediscovering himself. 

The second is his classic, “American Tune.” Among the most beautiful song lyrics (in my opinion) he’s written. 

These clips reveal both Paul Simon’s musical genius and his poetic instincts. But they also reveal something else. Paul Simon is an old man. In his youth, in his prime, when he composed these songs, when he wrote these lyrics, he was an old soul. 

His body has finally caught up.

****

"Diamonds on the Soles of her Shoes"

Video from "A Quiet Celebration"

Hollywood Bowl

June 7, 2026

"American Tune"

Video from "A Quiet Celebration"

Hollywood Bowl

June 7, 2026

A Word About Wine in an Igloo at the Hollywood Bowl

My husband and I went to the Hollywood Bowl this past weekend with another couple. We were there to see Paul Simon on the second night of his two-month 2026 tour he’s called, “A Quiet Celebration.” I didn’t know until after the concert that the tour had this name, but in retrospect, I understand why he chose that name--the evening was both quiet and celebratory. More on that later. But first, a word, about wine. 

Rather than deal with traffic and parking, we took a bus to the event from Lakewood, carrying a couple of ice chests and picnic accoutrements. As we approached the entrance to the Bowl, we noticed a sign informing guests that no wine bottles (or aluminum cans) are allowed inside the venue. We had both. But since we had recently done the same on a previous visit to the Bowl in 2025 to see Joni Mitchell and had passed through inspection without incident then, we weren't overly concerned. If the policy had been in effect, someone had apparently chosen to turn a blind eye and let us through. We assumed the same would be true this time.

Unfortunately, when we got to the inspection tables, our two inexpensive (I won't say "cheap") bottles of Chardonnay were flagged. No blind eye this time. We were given the option of either tossing the bottles or checking them in and picking them up after the concert. We obviously opted to check them in. Why throw away unopened wine bottles, especially when you know someone will take them home after the concert. Free to good home?

We learned later that the Hollywood Bowl’s alcohol policy depends on the type of event you're attending. According to the website, "For LA Phil-presented events, feel free to bring your own wine, beer, and more (glass bottles are permitted). For lease events outside alcohol is not allowed.” Ah, the fine print.

We’re still confused as to why we passed inspection the last time we came to the Hollywood Bowl. The Joni Jam was presumably a lease event. Whoever turned a blind eye at our concealed glass bottles at that event probably lost his job. But for the moment, the only issue at hand was that we had no wine. I felt a bit like Jack Sparrow: “Why is the rum gone?” 

No need to explain why we had carried in our own wine other than to say we had a hunch the wine on site would be ridiculously expensive. Should we overpay and plunk down too much money or go without? Needless to say, the desire to sip wine beneath a starry sky while listening to one of our favorite artists trumped our desire to save money, so, yes, plunk we did, a little over $100 for a couple bottles of the least expensive (cheap) Chardonnay. 

Lesson learned: Read the Hollywood Bowl Lease Events Policy before packing up a picnic. 

Concealed bottle of cheap Chardonnay in Igloo