Sunday, June 28, 2009

Old Friends - Simon and Garfunkel

Band: Simon and Garfunkel
Venue: Rod Laver Arena
Date: 26th June 2009
Reviewed By: Espylyn

Tonight Old Friends gather for a memorable evening of hit songs from the 70's and 80's. Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel bring all their hits to a sold out show at Rod Laver and they do not disappoint. The two have been friends since school days and recorded their first record in 1957 and over the years have broken up a few times. In February 2009 Simon had Garfunkel appear as a special guest for an encore at Simon's show and a joint tour soon followed.
Tonight started with a quick video presentation of their life from school, to recording, to their hit songs then the video ended at Rod Laver Arena, a great capture of their life in the spotlight.
Hazy Shade of Winter was the first song of the night and I could feel the love in the arena for this duo. I am a Rock soon followed and their 10 piece band were on a roll tonight joining the duo performing song after song. Scaffolding which were placed in a tree formation hit the roof and the arms of the tree reached out over the stage - the scaffolding had lights and speakers attached to them and this look really suited the style of the performance tonight.
Scarborough Fair showed off more of their talented voices and Homeward Bound delivered an acoustic set from Simon. Old movies displayed throughout the show, showing good times and old times. Mrs Robinson was the crowd pleaser and Bright Eyes was delivered by Garfunkel with such beauty in his voice. Diamonds on the Soles of her Shoes was a great song live and got many people up and dancing, followed by Bridge Over Troubled Water (Garfunkle wrote for Simon) which recieved a standing ovation. Encore followed by The Boxer and the night was ended on the song Cecilia. Introductions of all 10 band members and big thanks for coming tonight. I leave the venue knowing I've seen a bit of history.

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