Oh oh, what a night.
May 9, 2011 4:40 PM   Subscribe

At a Toronto show on May 7, Paul Simon offered his guitar to a fan, inviting her onstage to sing.

According to CBC, "Rayna Ford called out to the legendary singer-songwriter to play the song Duncan – saying it was the first song she learned to play on guitar. He heard her, and motioned for her to step on the stage and play it.

An astonished Ford took him up on his offer."
posted by futureisunwritten (84 comments total) 29 users marked this as a favorite
 
given the graceland 25 year look back thread were lots of folks said Paul Simon wasn't a very nice person ... previously..
posted by k5.user at 4:45 PM on May 9, 2011 [1 favorite]


Wow, internet you just brightened my day. Neat!
posted by Doug Stewart at 4:45 PM on May 9, 2011 [1 favorite]


He's bound to win a prize.
posted by Bromius at 4:51 PM on May 9, 2011 [2 favorites]


I saw U2 do this once, at the Boston Garden back around 1987. They brought a fan up on stage to play People Get Ready. There will always be a certain percentage of people who are convinced things like this are just a plant in the audience, proving that cynicism predates the internet by a few years.
posted by bondcliff at 4:52 PM on May 9, 2011


That's pretty awesome.
posted by kdar at 4:52 PM on May 9, 2011


*pictures Garfunkel at the back of the bleachers, crying
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 4:53 PM on May 9, 2011 [34 favorites]


She totally chuffed when I listened to her this evening on As It Happens.
posted by Kitteh at 4:54 PM on May 9, 2011 [1 favorite]


*heh* Reminds me of the U2 show I went to in Honolulu, where the "pull the random fan from the crowd" moment which they do pretty regularly became this moment. The guy they pulled up out of the crowd made Bono take out his ear monitors in order to tell him that he'd spent the past month practicing "Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses", a song which U2 hardly ever performs live, and Bono escorted him over to Edge's keyboard stack.

And this random person then led the band through this song that none of them except maybe Larry knew how to play. Edge was struggling for chords, Adam was futzing around on bass, Bono had NO idea what the words were.

But they finally made it through. And at the end of it, the guy went back down to the edge of where he'd been pulled up from and did a huge Mary Tyler Moore style leap in the air with a victorious fist raised, and then vanished into the sea of humanity.

Even just typing this gives me goosebumps. One of the truly amazing rock-n-roll moments I've witnessed. Love this kind of thing.

Good on Paul Simon for being responsive to this kind of thing. Maybe he's dropping a bit of his protectionist pretension after all these years. (Which would mean he's not still crazy....)
posted by hippybear at 4:55 PM on May 9, 2011 [17 favorites]


Pretty cool,happened recently at a Michael Buble concert.
posted by Ad hominem at 4:55 PM on May 9, 2011 [1 favorite]


Awesome. Maybe there's a chance The Darkness will one day ask me to get up on stage and play "Get Your Hands Off My Woman, Motherfucker." Of course, I would need to go to a Darkness concert...and I would need to learn to play that song...and become a castrato. But still, there is a chance.
posted by etc. at 4:57 PM on May 9, 2011 [2 favorites]


Just wonderful. The awestruck, joyous look on her face as she's playing is priceless. Isn't this basically every fan's dream? Reminds me of the guy who got pulled out of the crowd to drum for the Who when Keith Moon passed out.

I'm going to shout for this at the next Motörhead show. Maybe Lemme will bring me up.
posted by stargell at 4:59 PM on May 9, 2011 [1 favorite]


I could sooo do that with Radiohead's Lucky. Sigh...
posted by dbiedny at 4:59 PM on May 9, 2011


That was absolutely lovely. Good for her, I can't say I'd have had the guts to do the same. She was charming.
posted by arcticwoman at 5:00 PM on May 9, 2011 [3 favorites]


This made me tear up. Wonderful.
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 5:00 PM on May 9, 2011 [2 favorites]


I did this once, at Phantom of the Opera. It was great. Couldn't sing a note, but they didn't know that when they ushered me up. PUNKED!
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 5:01 PM on May 9, 2011 [4 favorites]


Me too, ma'am. Fits, actually, with the Graceland thread - Simon's aesthetic is contextually derived, I think.
posted by mwhybark at 5:03 PM on May 9, 2011


Oops, the 'ma'am' in question is St. Alia.
posted by mwhybark at 5:03 PM on May 9, 2011


How exactly does one practice a particular U2 song? Just play their one song over and over and give it a particular name? Incomprehensibly moan the lyrics "of" that song while playing it?
posted by DU at 5:05 PM on May 9, 2011 [2 favorites]


Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day seems to have a habit of inviting fans up on stage to rock Jesus of Suburbia.
posted by Pirate-Bartender-Zombie-Monkey at 5:06 PM on May 9, 2011 [1 favorite]


Is this it, hippybear? Parts one and two.
posted by MrFTBN at 5:09 PM on May 9, 2011 [1 favorite]


Actually I saw Green Day pull audience members out of the crowd when they headlined the Reading Festival in 2001 (maybe it was 2002?). They gradually switched their instruments off until there was a new band on stage playing a new song of GD's, at which point Billie Joe sang.

Even as a non-fan, that was pretty damn cool.
posted by mannequito at 5:09 PM on May 9, 2011 [3 favorites]


I know Metafilter is anti-Train, but in January my 12 year old daughter was pulled up on stage to join the ranks of inducted Trainettes with 5 or so other pre-teen girls. They sang and danced (quite badly) but the crowd went mad, cheering and clapping. I bawled my eyes out.

My daughter was so completely and utterly thrilled to be so close to her favourite band, it took her days to come back down to earth. And then we found a clip on Youtube. And then she was interviewed by the local newspaper. She's quite the local celebrity now.

I think it's such a sweet memorable thing for a band/singer to do.

I cried watching this, too. Lovely warm'n'fuzzy post. Thanks, futureisunwritten.
posted by malibustacey9999 at 5:14 PM on May 9, 2011 [4 favorites]


I once saw Billy Joel pull audience members out of the crowd. He never gave them back. That was the only cool thing Billy Joel ever did.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 5:14 PM on May 9, 2011 [5 favorites]


Did Paul Simon then steal a song from her?
posted by Astro Zombie at 5:16 PM on May 9, 2011 [13 favorites]


He drank her blood, and stold her youth.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 5:17 PM on May 9, 2011


Wait - That was Emily. Just don't try to find her.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 5:18 PM on May 9, 2011 [1 favorite]


A friend of mine went up on stage at a Street Dogs show, threw his arm around Mike McColgan and started singing along to Not Without a Purpose but he got hit with a bass and tossed off the stage by security.
posted by Ad hominem at 5:19 PM on May 9, 2011 [1 favorite]


My best friend in college and I got asked to leave a Showbiz Pizza for trying to jam with the Rock-A-Fire Explosion.

Ok, not quite the same...
posted by pupdog at 5:21 PM on May 9, 2011 [10 favorites]


Oh, yeah, a "friend of yours," eh, Ad hominem?
posted by clockzero at 5:21 PM on May 9, 2011


Art with a sniper rifle, wearing a black chapeau.
posted by clavdivs at 5:22 PM on May 9, 2011 [2 favorites]


Okay, I'm just going to be the jerk here: a friend of mine back in college was the anonymous person brought on stage for a U2 show in LA in '87, and he was most certainly chosen ahead of time. He didn't rehearse with the band or anything, but it was no eenie meenie miny moe selection from the audience. Maybe it was just because it was LA?
posted by queensissy at 5:24 PM on May 9, 2011


MrFTBN: that's exactly it. I was at that show. Stunning night. Pearl Jam opened. I have the poster on my wall. Truly a night to remember forever, as far as I'm concerned.
posted by hippybear at 5:25 PM on May 9, 2011


Steve Martin & Paul Simon
posted by clavdivs at 5:25 PM on May 9, 2011


Oh, yeah, a "friend of yours," eh, Ad hominem

I wear glasses, Anytime I am at a show like that I stand in the back. I've had my glasses knocked off too many times. I also don't like getting covered with beer.
posted by Ad hominem at 5:25 PM on May 9, 2011


When Bob Log III does this there is nudity and booze, often combined into a single glass.
posted by mkb at 5:26 PM on May 9, 2011 [5 favorites]


My wife and her friend got to go backstage and meet U2 before a show in Osaka, and then they picked her friend out of the audience to come onstage and play guitar.

Hippybear, I've seen that performance online here
posted by planetkyoto at 5:26 PM on May 9, 2011


I was at the Satan's Night Out concert. You know the one. No mortal was meant to know such wonder. One look in the mirror told me so.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 5:28 PM on May 9, 2011


planetkyoto: I have a really excellent 3-camera plus soundboard fan-created video of that entire concert. I also have a pretty good bootleg video of the Pearl Jam warm-up set (which didn't get very deep into their catalog at all, but they were a warm-up band -- what do you expect?). I continue to search for a full-set recording of the FIRST of the three bands that night, which was Rocko Reedy (U2's stage manager) and a band of roadies he put together. I remember they did a cover of Don Henley's Dirty Laundry with lyrics adapted to their life as a touring road crew.

There really aren't many concerts I'd fly a good portion of the way across the Pacific Ocean to see, especially on the same weekend as the anniversary of the Pearl Harbor bombing AND the same weekend as the Honolulu Marathon..... but seeing Pearl Jam and U2 in the same night in an intimate venue with 80,000 of my closest friends? Oh, fuck yeah.
posted by hippybear at 5:36 PM on May 9, 2011


I. dig. this.
posted by Glinn at 5:36 PM on May 9, 2011


I saw this happen at a Replacements gig at The Channel in Boston. "Replace a Replacement", it was called. I believe excessive alcohol, and a pissed off crowd, had something to do with its being needed.
posted by R. Mutt at 5:39 PM on May 9, 2011


I went back and checked the Green Day clips listed checking for a friend who got pulled up during the first American Idiot tour - she's not there, but for her at least, there was no pre-arrangement, they just asked for someone to play guitar and the friends she was with picked her up and pushed her towards the stage. As a bonus, she got to keep the guitar, and the band all signed it.
posted by pupdog at 5:40 PM on May 9, 2011


I saw U2 do this once, at the Boston Garden back around 1987.

U2 does it all the time. I have a seen it a few times in person with People Get Ready, and Knockin' On Heaven's Door. My two personal favourites:
Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses? (it was actually the second time it happened to this guy)
Out of Control (the women are part of a U2 cover band called Exit)

Always one of my favourite things to see at a show.
posted by dry white toast at 5:47 PM on May 9, 2011


Neil Finn had a whole group of people come up on stage at one his solo shows at the Roseland (Portland, OR). This would have been '02 or '03. I can't quite recall which song it was, but there were three or four people on one mic and a woman singing lead on Neil's mic. They actually did really well; I was impressed by them not royally screwing it up, and I fell in love with Neil just a little bit more for being such a cool guy.
posted by i feel possessed at 5:48 PM on May 9, 2011


THIS JUST IN: LOS LOBOS STILL PISSED.
posted by punkfloyd at 5:54 PM on May 9, 2011 [6 favorites]


Closest I have ever come to this:

(1) getting up on stage with the Dismemberment Plan to be one of the Pips
(2) drinking out of a bottle of Jameson that Ted Leo opened and then started passing around the club
(3) throwing a lighter at Redman when he asked for one.

Oh and (4) getting kissed on the mouth by some opening act that was ripping off Har Mar Superstar. Can't remember their name.
posted by penduluum at 5:54 PM on May 9, 2011


It wasn't spontaneous, but the Wrens had a whole 5th Wren thing going for a while.
posted by FelliniBlank at 5:57 PM on May 9, 2011 [1 favorite]


That was very sweet. I was grinning right along with her. Thanks for sharing.
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 6:00 PM on May 9, 2011


Har Mar Superstar has become big enough that someone can rip him off?
posted by RustyBrooks at 6:00 PM on May 9, 2011


A friend of mine had a front row seat for a Bruce Springsteen concert in Toronto one night about eleven years ago. Bruce tossed his guitar to the guy next to him. The guy played a few chords and handed it back. My friend was just green with envy, said if he'd been the one to get the guitar he would have jumped up on stage right beside Bruce for the best two minutes of his life.
posted by orange swan at 6:04 PM on May 9, 2011


Also, Iron Maiden likes to bring fans on stage to headbang and fist-pump
posted by stargell at 6:06 PM on May 9, 2011


Was kinda hoping this this could derail into a bit of a discussion about Simon's latest album, So Beautiful or So What.
posted by spock at 6:12 PM on May 9, 2011


Oh, Paul Simon, why don't you just let me hate you like a decent human being?
posted by Joey Michaels at 6:14 PM on May 9, 2011 [2 favorites]


When did Paul Simon turn into Chico Marx?
posted by crunchland at 6:21 PM on May 9, 2011 [1 favorite]


Yep, that look on her face is pretty much how I felt every time I DJ'd, but I think I hid it better than her. Getting up in front of thousands of (probably intoxicated) people who want to be entertained is a terrifying and intense experience-- because it can go so badly so quickly. And if they like you, it's like no other feeling on earth. I cried the first time I played for a big crowd and got a good reaction, but I don't think anybody could tell with all the lights and smoke, etc..
posted by empath at 6:22 PM on May 9, 2011 [2 favorites]


I was a pretty lonesome kid who spent a lot of time playing various instruments along with They Might Be Giants records. They were my absolute favorite band and I would have loved to have seen them live, which was easy since their hometown of NY was a short train ride away.

But I was so shy that I lived in mortal terror that at a show the bass player would drop dead and one of the John's would say "oh dear, does anyone know how to play bass to all of our songs?" and being the honest kid I was, I would have had to say yes. This is why I only saw them once as a kid and it was one of the most terrifying things I had experienced. /patheticgeekstory
posted by munchingzombie at 6:29 PM on May 9, 2011 [17 favorites]


For years, whenever Southern Culture on the Skids would come to town, they'd always pick my pal Marty to act out the role of Los Santos when they played "Viva Los Santos!" a song vaguely about a Mexican wrestler. I'm sure it was due to the fact that Marty was 6'6", 400 lbs, and willing to wear a wrestling mask and strip down to his underwear. They stopped inviting him up after the time he refused to give Rick the mic back and kept yelling "VIVA LOS SANTOS!" long after the band had quit playing.

Marty liked bourbon, but bourbon didn't like him.
posted by BitterOldPunk at 6:50 PM on May 9, 2011 [4 favorites]


That's some pure, raw joy right there.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 6:56 PM on May 9, 2011


Does giving the Drive-By Truckers a little more moonshine than is recommended, so they had to postpone the start of their Halloween show for a while, count for anything?
posted by notsnot at 7:18 PM on May 9, 2011


But I was so shy that I lived in mortal terror that at a show the bass player would drop dead and one of the John's would say "oh dear, does anyone know how to play bass to all of our songs?" and being the honest kid I was, I would have had to say yes.

You probably would have done it and rocked the fuck out. Almost every musician I've ever met is super shy IRL. You have to be, to want to spend all that time alone by yourself practicing.
posted by empath at 7:34 PM on May 9, 2011


For a fun twist on this, check out Kidrockers, a live series where "artists perform original (not specifically made for children) songs in a manner that is both authentic and kid-friendly." There are a bunch of live videos (of varying quality) on YouTube.
posted by yaymukund at 7:55 PM on May 9, 2011


Does giving the Drive-By Truckers a little more moonshine than is recommended, so they had to postpone the start of their Halloween show for a while, count for anything?

Absolutely! Because I have seen them many times, and I have NEVER seen them too drunk to play. (Usually they are juuuuuuust drunk enough.)
posted by BitterOldPunk at 8:00 PM on May 9, 2011 [1 favorite]


Was kinda hoping this this could derail into a bit of a discussion about Simon's latest album, So Beautiful or So What.

And well you should! It's a great album. As much as I loved Surprise!, So Beautiful Or So What is much more a Paul Simon album all around. I highly recommend it.
posted by hippybear at 8:23 PM on May 9, 2011


When I was young, I heard an AM Radio DJ introduce 'Duncan' by saying that it was bought in a "flute and vegetable store". (You can't make this kind of thing up).

Also, Rayna does a pretty nice interpretation of this song.
posted by ovvl at 9:02 PM on May 9, 2011


So, this new Paul Simon album, I'm interested but I'm skeptical because I didn't like Surprise! much at all. Is it, like, Paul Simon Paul Simon? Or Capeman Paul Simon? Or Graceland Paul Simon or Still Crazy Paul Simon? Just what kind of Paul Simon album are we talking about here?
posted by No-sword at 9:08 PM on May 9, 2011 [1 favorite]


Maybe he's dropping a bit of his protectionist pretension

This actually seems perfectly in keeping with his public/reported persona. From what I can tell, he's relatively laid-back and playful in live shows, or at least has been so in recent years (cf. the 2008 BAM residency). It's in the studio where he's a control freak, putative plagiarist, etc.
posted by staggernation at 9:20 PM on May 9, 2011


It's Paul Simon with a bit of a Graceland tinge. He's not working with Eno at all this time around. It's really great, and if you like Paul Simon, I recommend it.

Lyrically... well, he's getting old. Older. Something. And he's contemplating all that.

Here is the title track So Beautiful Or So What, and also another track The Afterlife. And also Getting Ready For Christmas Day. And also Love Is Eternal Sacred Light, live from Jimmy Fallon.
posted by hippybear at 9:24 PM on May 9, 2011


Oops. that last link seems to be dead. Fucking NBC and their inability to let videos actually remain online.
posted by hippybear at 9:28 PM on May 9, 2011


Absolutely wonderful!
posted by ericb at 9:29 PM on May 9, 2011


Here we go. Love Is Eternal Sacred Light. Apparently there's some way to download the stems and do your own remix, although I haven't really dug into that too deeply.
posted by hippybear at 9:31 PM on May 9, 2011


Thanks hippybear! Okay, that does look better than Surprise!

If you watch the related videos on YouTube where he's just talking, he's starting to sound scarily like one of the Voices of Old People from Bookends.
posted by No-sword at 9:33 PM on May 9, 2011


No-sword: I really love Surprise!, but I have a soft spot for Brian Eno all around, and his flavor is all over that album even on the tracks he didn't really participate in. Wartime Prayers is a bit predictable and maudlin, but still beautiful and very much Simon from beginning to end. But for me, the track that keeps me coming back is Once Upon A Time There Was An Ocean. That track stopped me dead in my tracks the first time I heard it, and I still haven't fully recovered. Genius.

I do wonder when he's going to start getting his due as far as being on of the Big American Songwriters Of All Time goes... Seems he's never really quite broken through into the full Legend status that he so richly deserves. I'm afraid that if he doesn't get it before he dies, he'll end up like Cole Porter and will only end up being lauded as the genius he is many decades after his death.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to listen to Bookends yet again.
posted by hippybear at 9:39 PM on May 9, 2011


Wait, so Courtney Cox wasn't randomly pulled from the crowd? Oh, wow.
posted by maxwelton at 9:59 PM on May 9, 2011


I've seen Less Than Jake in Tokyo three times now, and the second time I got invited up on stage and danced, on stage, like an idiot, for the whole song. I'll be damned if I can remember the song they were singing, but being on stage with one of my favorite bands, while they were playing a song I love (I remember that much) is up there with top experiences in my life.

It was even more incredible in that it was one of the few times none of my friends could make it to the show. I usually go to concerts with other people, but this one time, and the memory is all mine. Of course, this also means I've got no proof, but I'm going with the Plastic Cup is half full thing here.
posted by Ghidorah at 10:05 PM on May 9, 2011


Oh Dear...
posted by AndrewKemendo at 2:16 AM on May 10, 2011


There is a possibly apocryphal tale about the Foo Fighters that goes like this: Early 200's they're playing some E3 after party thing. Some guy in the audience keeps shouting out the names of Nirvana songs. Dave Grohl gets angry and says something to the effect of "Oh yeah, why don't you come up here and play". The guy does ne it turns out he's some wicked guitar genius. I've heard it told several times. dunno if it's true.

But here is a true story: The Hold Steady, St Louis, 2007. They're closing out the show with "Killer Parties..." and Tad is running along high fiving people in the front. I go in for a high five and he pulls me up on stage, hands me his guitar and tells me the chords. I sheepishly reply, "I don't play any guitar" and he says "This is the last time I try and do this, it didn't work last night, either". I awkardly make the most of the moment and, thank god, some other people also climb up on stage and there's a little party. CRaig hands his guitar to my wife, but Tad just says "Be careful, he's drunk! We have to stop giving these guitars away" and, anyway, after that I learned to play some guitar
posted by GilloD at 3:14 AM on May 10, 2011 [1 favorite]


I think Weezer used to also bring the occasional fan onstage to play guitar before upping the ante with a small tour of audience participation "Hootenannies".
posted by DiscountDeity at 3:46 AM on May 10, 2011 [1 favorite]


I wonder if Rockbitch used to do this type of thing too, instead of just the um, afterparty.
posted by mkb at 6:31 AM on May 10, 2011


I saw Damien Rice do this at a gig once... he even sung BV's for the guy... it was a sweet moment...
posted by mattr at 9:47 AM on May 10, 2011


I saw Bryan Adams do this at a concert a few years ago... He pulled a random girl out of the crowd to sing Mel C's part in "When You're Gone" - he obviously just picked the hottest girl he could see up at the front of the crowd, and sweet jesus she could NOT sing. Didn't even know the song. It was painful.

However, I saw Green Day to the same thing at... Edge Fest? Summersault? One of those big touring concert festivals back in the late 90's or early 2000's, up at Molson Park in Barrie. Billie Joe was hilarious, when he asked for somebody from the crowd to come up and play, he was all "You had damn well better know how to play the guitar, and you better know " - if you don't, I'm going to kick you in the nuts. Dude that finally went up managed to avoid the sacking, even if he didn't play it all that well. :)
posted by antifuse at 10:01 AM on May 10, 2011


According to Greil Marcus, this is the soul of punk. Sort of.
posted by Football Bat at 11:31 AM on May 10, 2011


mattr, that reminds me of the one time I saw Damien Rice. Minneapolis, around Labor Day 2007. IIRC, he pulled a girl up on stage to sing Purple Rain and she couldn't hack it. A fellow from the crowd shouted "I'll do it!" and ran to the stage, in a suit. He belted it like nobody expected him to. He brought the house down like no professional that I've ever seen has. It was magical.
posted by knile at 11:51 AM on May 10, 2011 [1 favorite]


Was at a George Thorogood concert and he hands his guitar down into the audience. "Hold this for me, will ya?" he says. A string is hit and a note sounds. "Hey, I said hold it, not play it!" says George and motions to get his axe back pronto. It was returned quickly.
posted by bonefish at 1:40 AM on May 11, 2011


Great moment, thanks! I came in here to post some of the same U2 links that have already been mentioned. So instead, please enjoy three minutes of sheer joy from a Weezer gig in Japan in 2005: jump to 39:17.
posted by shannonm at 10:54 AM on May 12, 2011


Also, for dry white toast and anyone else who might be interested, EXIT started as a U2 cover band but have been writing and performing original music for several years. Though their guitarist Courtney does sometimes jam with other bands, like when she played 'Revelate' with The Frames last year.
posted by shannonm at 12:01 PM on May 12, 2011


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