A common question that faces performing artists is: "How much new stuff do I play when I know in my heart of hearts that what people paid money to see is the old stuff?" On the second weekend in July, Paul Simon followed his artistic impulses and hit his new stuff hard, Stevie Nicks took a more moderate approach, and Jerry Cantrell kept his to a minimum. Brian Wilson avoided the question by not having any new material.

As the opener for Paul Simon, Brian's set on Friday Night at the Tweeter Center was strictly nostalgia but he pulled it off gloriously. The harmonies on tunes like God only Knows ( which we were reminded is Paul McCartney's favorite song) and the theremin-ariffic Good Vibrations were so sweet I was looking under the stage for one of those sophisticated gadgets that fixes the pitch on sour notes. It was clean. Despite curious stage patter that included such phrases as "Listen for the Lyrics," Brian killed with treats for big fans like Surf's Up and Pet Sounds along with all the essential early and mid-sixties Beach Boys hits.

Paul Simon had a tough act to follow and he was only partially successful. He spent a lot of time with slow to mid-tempo tracks from his latest album "You're the One" that's been ignored by radio programmers and hasn't been flying out of the shops either. The audience responded politely but it was the old stuff he made with Art Garfunkel ( Homeward Bound, I am a Rock, and Sound of Silence along with encores Mrs. Robinson and The Boxer ) that garnered the most enthusiastic reaction. Late in the Evening and Still Crazy after All These Years represented the seventies well and the three drummers had a chance to shine on songs like Graceland, Boy in the Bubble, and You can Call Me Al. The brass section and a guitarist from Cameroon were as talented as the drummers but I would have preferred just Paul and an acoustic guitar. And come on, an accordion player?

Stevie Nicks also brought a big band (ten piece) to the Tweeter Center when she turned up the following night and was able to incorporate songs from her latest release into the set much more effectively than Paul did. In fairness however, the presence of Cheryl Crow made Stevie's job considerably easier. Not only did the pair look fabulous but they were able to feed off each other's energy give the audience the best cross-generational collaboration since Jimmy Page and the Black Crowes last summer. They harmonized on a handful of tunes and Cheryl allowed her mentor to rest her voice while taking center stage for Everyday is a Winding Road and Favorite Mistake. Stevie's musical director and lead guitarist Waddy Wachtel, whose played with Keith Richards as well, also deserves praise. Highlights included Fleetwood Mac nuggets Gold Dust Woman, Rhiannon, and Dreams along with a wicked Edge of Seventeen a surprise encore of Tom Petty's I need to Know.

Jerry Cantrell is the man who played guitar for sludgy Seattlites Alice in Chains and sang backup to Layne Staley. He turned up in Providence on Sunday night for a packed club show at Lupos. Unlike Simon or Nicks, Cantrell got all his new material out of the way early and then unleashed a generous and crowd-pleasing string of A.I.C. ass kickers.

Would, Man in a Box, Angry Chair, Down in a Hole, Rooster and Them Bones proved Cantrell still has his chops and reminded all why Alice in Chains was just as relevant to the nineties as S&G was to the sixties or Fleetwood Mac to the seventies. He and his able band also tapped the acoustic EPs "Sap" and "Jar of Flies" for Got Me Wrong and No Excuses respectively. It was a satisfying conclusion to a busy weekend.     -Eric Holland from 100.7 WZLX