A special show - Simon at The Bitter End

[Wdbedzyk@aol.com]

I know, I am beginning to get typecast. I wrote a review for Simon's 
outstanding show last week at the House of Blues in Boston. My hope then was 
to convince those still undecided to go see him Saturday at The Bitter End in 
New York. After the show last Saturday, I am compelled to write another 
review. I suppose my hope this time is to get you undecided folks to see him 
the next time he performs or at least order his latest CDs, Bare Bodies/Bare 
Assets and Ages.

The show was, in a word, transcending. I have been a fan of Simon's music for 
many years now and he is one of a short list of artists that I will go out of 
my way to see live. Saturday's show was simply THE best show I have ever seen 
him perform. Simon has always been an outstanding performer - highly 
talented, energetic and compasionate with a real stage presence. He was again 
all of these but Saturday night he had a bit more that resulted in a very 
special show.

The Bitter End is a small club that features several acts a night. 
Fortunately, Simon was able to play a longer than average set for The Bitter 
End but overall it was shorter than the previous week's HoB set. In this case 
it worked to his advantage. He started with an electric version of London 
Calling and the high energy continued until the final note of Ecstasy Heaven, 
the last song. Between these songs was one fantastic performance after 
another. It made no difference if it was electric or acoustic or an older 
song or a new song. He simply played out of his heart and out of his mind.

I did not write down the set list but he played all the songs off Ages as 
well as a nice mix from his most recent CDs. Some highlights for me were 
Sweet Sound (an electric version this time - what a great song), First Time 
(a song from Ages), Bare Bodies Bare Assets (real title? this song was just 
composed and should not be confused with the CD of the same name), Somewhere 
Out There, Our Time and Shine Your Light. In no particular order, the 
remaining songs (totalling 90 minutes) were: The Way It Is, When She Sleeps, 
Company, Save Me From Me, Highness, Daughter (dedicated to Eddie), 
Experience, Soul Searching and Comeback. At one point Simon stated that he 
needed to figure out how to end the set. My response was "why?". It could 
have lasted much longer and I probably still would have responded the same 
way!

Simon is truly at a peak in writing and performing right now and these past 
shows and his latest CD are a fine testament to this. I am not aware of 
anyone at the shows that did not buy at least one CD. So, to all of you that 
missed the shows, you can still get an idea where Simon is at by ordering 
Ages (and the other CDs as well) from www.simontownshend.com. Based on 
previous posts and email to me, apparently some of you are too narrowly 
focused to care about such things - what a shame. Give it a try, you will be 
pleasantly surprised!

-Bill