Paul Simon night at One Trick Pony: West Michigan pays tribute to a songwriting icon

More than 30 Grand Rapids-area musicians are lined up to perform songs spanning Simon’s long career tonight, one day after his 72nd birthday.

 

Paul Simon Birthday Sessions
WHEN: 7:30 P.M. Monday
WHERE: One Trick Pony, 136 E. Fulton St., Grand Rapids
COST: Free, call 235-7669 for reservations.

 

Paul Simon won’t be in the house at Grand Rapids’ One Trick Pony to celebrate his birthday tonight (Monday).

But a passel of West Michigan musicians influenced by this iconic songwriter – half of the legendary folk-rock duo Simon & Garfunkel – will do their best to make his presence felt at the “Paul Simon Birthday Sessions,” taking turns delivering some of the renowned artist’s most beloved tunes.

And they’ll do it a day after Simon’s 72nd birthday in a venue that shares the name of Simon’s fifth solo album and first for Warner Bros. Records, “One-Trick Pony.”

Not surprisingly, One Trick owner and acoustic music guru Dan Verhil is a huge fan of Simon, calling him “a terrific songwriter.”

That was actually the impetus for finally assembling the tribute show, with singer Mark VandenBerge serving as its chief organizer, lining up 18 local acts and more than 30 musicians for an evening of Simon that covers the breadth of his career – from 1967’s “The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin’ Groovy)” recorded with Art Garfunkel to “Love Is Eternal Sacred Light,” which appeared on Simon’s latest album, 2011’s “So Beautiful or So What.”

VandenBerge, of course, is no stranger to tribute shows, having assembled ambitious, broad-ranging Van Morrison concerts in the past, with the singer tackling classics from Morrison’s vast catalog.

“The fact that it’s Paul Simon’s birthday, the muse of One Trick Pony, is really just more of an excuse for all the veteran musicians to throw Dan party,” says VandenBerge, who insists Verhil “deserves a lifetime achievement award” for being “the patron saint” of Grand Rapids’ acoustic music scene.

“The idea for the show apparently has been spinning around Dan’s head for a while, and he and I on occasion would think about it out loud over the past year or two. … The concept may have come initially from (musician and sound guy) Michael Packer, but Dan, who saw my Van Morrison show, thought maybe I would be the one crazy enough to pull it off.

“Still Crazy After All These Years,” perhaps?

WEST MICHIGAN’S MUSIC COMMUNITY EAGER TO TOAST THE SONGS OF SIMON

In any case, VandenBerge says he had little trouble convincing a who’s who roster of West Michigan musicians to pitch in, all for free: J. Oscar Bittinger, Michael Crittenden, Karisa Wilson, Mark Swanson, Josh Rose, Ken Bierschbach,
Mary Rademacher, Tom Hagen, Cherie Lynn, David Molinari, Mark Kahny, Jay Round, Tom DeVries, Tom Good, Pete Bardolph, Martin & Lamm and more. And he expects a solid start-of-the-week turnout of fans at a venue that used to host Hat Trick concerts on Monday nights for many years.

Attendees can expect to hear faves such as “Kodachrome,” “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover,” “The Boxer” and “Slip Slidin’ Away.”

For VandenBerge, it’s a way to share the music of one of his earliest influences.

“For my part, one of the first songs I learned on the guitar in junior high was ‘Feelin’ Groovy.’ I was just a beginner and my ear gravitated toward the simple chord structure there, along with the captivating vocal harmonies,” he says.

“Artistically, I have also been studying Paul Simon over the past year after being turned on to his last album release, ‘So Beautiful or So What.’ … There are a couple of tunes that I had just really wanted to perform, because poetically and sonically, they felt similar to the Van Morrison stuff I had done.”

And when the lion’s share of performers belts out “Cecilia” in a final jam at the end of the night, VandenBerge figures it will wrap up “one of those magical evenings that the Grand Rapids community of musicians have become famous for.”

The show begins about 7:25 p.m.; call 235-7669 for reservations.

Email John Sinkevics at jsinkevics@gmail.com.
Copyright 2013, Spins on Music