Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Finley Plays Central Park

If you go to YouTube, and type in Paul Simon / Central Park.........

You will get to witness a moment in time that is nothing short of astonishing.

The concert was legendary, and I'm sure many of you recall it, but do you remember the scale of the concert grounds?

Do you really have a mental image of its magnitude?

The opening shot shows a stage from an aerial view.

The stage is set way back in the park, and the camera pans back to reveal that their is an ocean of people, I mean numbers so large, it would be impossible to even speculate the attendance.

About a football field in front of the stage is a jumbo-tron so the people 2 football fields away can get a glimpse of Paul and the band......

And a football field in front of that is yet another jumbo-tron for the people 3 football fields back.

All this technology -

All this attention -

Aimed in the direction on an unassuming little guy wrapped in a charcoal colored sports coat that he might of picked up at the Salvation Army.

Paul strums, sings....and you can feel the pressure mount.

At the 3 minute mark of this video, the camera zooms in as he delivers the line......

"There's a girl from New York City, she calls herself the human trampoline."

When the words "New York" pass his lips, the crowd are already anticipating this.... they pretty much go bat shit crazy.

If you watch real close, Paul smirks quick, and from this point, his countenance changes, a rough edge has worn off.

I think part of this is for no other reason than.......

At this exact moment, Paul Simon found his element.

He found it.....realized it, and then I'm guessing he savored it for a bit.

It is a wonderful image, and I have carried it in my thoughts for years.

Last Sunday afternoon, I witnessed something that was eerily similar.   

Sure, it might not have been on a stage the same size, in fact, the stage I'm talking about was barely big enough to hold 2 people.

What I'm referring to was the book launch of "OUT FOR A LARK", the newest project released by Finley and me.

We threw a party/reading at the SubText Bookstore in Saint Paul, and I gotta tell ya, the intimate space was packed wall to wall.

The counter was lined with graham crackers and boxed wine, it was a class event.

I've been on stages before where the crowds were bigger, but I gotta tell you.......

I've never read-cooked or preformed in front of a group that threw off a more loving vibe.

So many people came out to support us.

I don't say this often, but it is almost hard for me to find words to describe the moment because so much of it was surreal.

To me, the special part of this accomplishment was that I got to do this gig with Finley.

 And much like Paul Simon, there was a moment, maybe for a second or 2 when I saw the same look in Finley's eyes.

He had found his element too......

I hope he finds a way to put that fleeting memory in a bottle......

God that was a good day.

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