Engagement party
Pleasing the crowd by playing dozens of his greatest tunes still isn't enough for McCartney. He invited onto the stage a couple whose sign said "Marry us, Sir Paul," and then discovered that they weren't even engaged -- so he presided over an impromptu engagement ceremony before a cheering arena. He's like the Rockin' Senior Emissary of Love. Simon chats and jokes less. But he dances, waves his arms and gestures along with his lyrics. Toward the end of the show, he upped the house lights and pointed out an unbelievably bouncy, skippy, tween-looking girl in a purple dress who seemed like the single most excited person in the whole room. "I love the way she dances," he smiled, and thousands agreed. The concert became a community.All Paul-itics is local
In a serious upset that has the pundits sputtering, the Internet "Paul poll" that we ran in April produced the result never expected. We asked, "Who do ya love? Pick your preferred Paul." My assumption was that the cute Beatle would easily outdistance the lonely Boxer. I was wrong. Serious Simon ("He's my Bridge Over Troubled Water") got 32 votes, or 55 percent; and merry McCartney ("He never runs out of Silly Love Songs") got 26 votes, or 45 percent. Either there was a groundswell of popular support for the assumed underdog or some pledged superdelegate was determined to put Simon over the top, and one-person-one-vote be damned.No shame in short
One sensitive Simon lover scolded me for calling her man "the little dude from New York City" in that April story. She was insulted on his behalf. I had hoped it was overwhelmingly clear that I love both Pauls deeply -- and soberly. I pulled no punches about McCartney's fairly erratic career (many precious gems, many duds too) and concluded that Simon has been more consistently excellent across the decades. So let's fact-check this alleged dig. Paul Simon grew up in Flushing, Queens. (NYC, check.) He often covers his thinning canopy with a stylish fedora, and at the Schnitz he was sporting one snazzy suit jacket. (Dude, check.) And, according to several online sources, he stands a whopping 5-foot-3. When he and his fabulous band locked arms for their bows, you couldn't help noticing which guy was the petite one. (Little, check.) I stand by my statement. Paul Simon is, in fact, a little dude from New York City. Love him like a rock.Off Beat lets members of The Columbian news team step back from our newspaper beats to write the story behind the story, fill in the story or just tell a story.