Found a review on Arts official site:
Hi all!
We just returned from the concert (1:15am) and it was oh my goodness - outstanding! Words don´t say enough...
The set list, as Bryan mentioned was identical to the last one. AND boy were they incredible.
They looked their age, but their voices were fresh, new and young as ever. When I had my eyes closed, it felt like they were two youngsters singing together for the first time...
Some of the highlights:
. Artie got a standing ovation when he ended ´Bridge...´. It felt like the whole auditorium was shaking. The moment was to die for.
. They sang Artie´s version of the ´sounds of silence´. I mean the part where it goes ´take my arms (in Art´s version)... I may reach out to you´. To me it said, Art and Paul didn´t care anymore about credits, they are having a ball doing this together. It was so neat.
. Oh, you are not going to believe this! This was so cute. Someone in the first row had their cell phone on and was pointing the cell towards Art and Paul so that the person on the line could hear. Know what I am talking about? So anyway, Paul noticed that and requested the phone from them and passed it it to Artie. And darling Artie sang right into it the rest of the song!!!! And then even spoke to them when the song ended. Boy, if it were me on the line, I would have fainted by then! The whole thing was so moving...
. ´Cecilia´ had everyone clapping and on their feet.
. The crowd LOVED ´...Michigan seems like a dream to me now´... and ´... it took me four days to hitch hike from Saginaw´ from ´America´ for obvious reasons!!
. The Everly Brothers were a MEGA hit!
. Certain songs had different endings, which were amazing.
. Totally LOVED the ´Only little boy in New York´.
. They (mostly Artie) spoke to the crowd from time to time and that was so sweet.
There was a lot of chemistry between them. They obviously have come a long way, but were totally embracing all of this. The big screen didn´t catch all of it, but the binox did!
It was a treasure to watch them. A dream come true. What a night! A night to go down in history as one of the most memorable night ever.
Gosh, life is good. Today made it all worthwhile. Truly.
Touched, moved and sleepy...
Deep
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Simon & Garfunkel/ Oct. 18, 2003/ Auburn Hills, Mich. (The Palace of Auburn Hills)
They´re as famous for their conflicts -- squabbles, as Paul Simon calls them -- as they are for their music. But Saturday (Oct. 18), at the first of Simon and Art Garfunkel´s two shows outside of Detroit, all was harmonic, vocally and inter-personally.
On their first concert tour in 20 years, the celebrated duo offered up a warmly nostalgic and artfully rendered two-hour, 27-song set that was carefully sequenced to both move and energize the crowd and leave everybody feelin´, well, groovy.
´This is a long time coming, and I could not be happier,´ Garfunkel noted early in the show, a sentiment that was roundly seconded by those who had snapped up tickets for Saturday´s concert in just 12 minutes, spurring the addition of a second show on Sunday.
The Old Friends tour is, of course, all about the past -- unapologetically so, even -- and Simon & Garfunkel proved worthy guides down memory lane, from the gentle acoustic opening of ´Old Friends,´ which followed a brief film juxtaposing scenes from their history with footage of world events, to the lighthearted final encore of ´The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin´ Groovy).´ The duo was happy to offer up some of their past, too, with an early show guest appearance by their acknowledged ´heroes,´ the Everly Brothers.
The Everlys sang three of their own favorites -- ´Wake Up Little Susie,´ ´All I Have to Do Is Dream´ and ´Let It Be Me´ -- before bringing their hosts back on for a spirited, four-part rendition of ´Bye Bye Love.´
Simon & Garfunkel delivered plenty of highlights on their own from a body of work that´s made the rare transition from pop hits to pieces of the cultural fabric, immortalized in everything from campfire standards to elevator Muzak. ´America´ went over well with the crowd, of course, thanks to its mentions of Michigan and Saginaw. A mid-show set of ´Scarborough Fair/Canticle,´ ´Homeward Bound,´ ´The Sound of Silence´ and ´Mrs. Robinson´ was particularly strong, as were versions of Simon solo hits ´Slip Slidin´ Away´ and ´American Tune,´ which were effectively re-cast as duets.
A versatile seven-piece band helped Simon & Garfunkel craft detailed and nuanced arrangements for the songs, from forceful rockers such as ´Keep the Customer Satisfied,´ ´Cecilia´ and a medley of ´At the Zoo´ and ´Baby Driver´ to rich treatments of ´I Am a Rock,´ ´El Condor Pasa (If I Could)´ and ´The Boxer.´ And ´Bridge Over Troubled Water´ was, not unexpectedly, a showstopper, with Garfunkel´s voice soaring on the song´s final chorus.
If anyone was looking for an on-stage brawl between the famously combative partners, they instead saw two literally old friends who appeared genuinely happy to be on stage together again, singing and delivering some scripted between-song repartee. There were only hints at their past tensions -- such as when Simon introduced ´The Only Living Boy in New York´ as a song he wrote in response to Garfunkel going off to act in the film version of ´Catch-22.´
And they did playfully needle each other at times; early on Garfunkel asked Simon if he needed all the guitar picks that were taped to his microphone stand, to which Simon responded, ´Don´t talk to me while I´m working! You´re distracting me.´
They had some fun with the crowd as well. During ´Mrs. Robinson´ Simon took a cell phone from one fan in the front row and handed it to Garfunkel, who spoke with and sang for the person on the other end. After the song Simon chided another fan who didn´t want to give him her cell phone; ´What´d you think I was gonna do -- call long distance?´ he asked. ´We´ll do it later -- in Cleveland.´
The groovy feeling was still intact as Simon & Garfunkel left the stage, with the former telling the crowd, ´We´ll see you again in 10 or 12 years.´ That´s better than his previous prediction that this would be the last time he and Garfunkel ever toured, but Saturday´s show left us hoping that it would happen even sooner than that. |
Hello All,
I just returned from the Detroit show. I had wonderful tickets and the show was a blast! I may post a more detailed well thought out review later but the quick and dirty particulars are as follows:
The stage was as described before. The lighting rig was made to look like a tree with some internal lights inside (these were not fiber optic I believe).
The band was enthusiastic and I really enjoyed some of the guitar work by the two guitarists. The one guitartist (he had big hair) played a homemade instrument during the two (3?) encore songs made out of a cardboard tube. The keyboardist played a theramin during the boxer that was beautiful and appropriate, albeit unusual.
The crowd was mixture of young and old, mostly older people from what I could see, likely because the ticket prices were very high. The entire 20,000+ seating area of the Palace was occupied--even the seats at the back of the stage. This show was sold out!
It was absolutely wonderful to see Paul and Artie together again. They had an easyness about them that was fun to watch. Paul asked a fan from the first row for a cell phone and then handed it to Artie who talked to whoever was on the other side for quite a while!
The Palace of Auburn Hills does not have a policy banning cameras. They adhere to whatever the artists policy is. There was a no camera policy posted as you went in. Despite this, my friend was able to take some pictures from the second row, where we were sitting. Some of the pictures are a tad blurry since these pictures had to be captured sectetly without the guard at the front of the stage noticing the flash, which had to be used.
If you´d like to see these pictures, they´re at http://www.lunchip.com/sgconcert. Special thanks to Adam for the pictures and Lunchip for providing the webspace, so please check out their main page at http://www.lunchip.com. There´s nothing to buy or any advertising, just some cool articles.
The highlights that had everybody up and rocking were Mrs. Robinson moreso than anything else (it was VERY energetic), Feeling Groovy, and Baby Driver among others including the Everly Brothers songs. The brothers were amazing themselves and the entire ensemble did a great job of Bye Bye Love, where all the fans clapped and stood for the song. They did not sing the alternate ´Rolling by me´ lines in the Boxer, just in case you wanted to know.
Alright, this fan has to get some rest.
Cheers
James
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AFP REVIEW:Tens of thousands turn out for Simon and Garfunkel reunion tour kickoff
AUBURN HILLS, Michigan (AFP) - Legendary US folk duo Simon and Garfunkel kicked off their 36-city ´Old Friends´ concert tour here before a multi-generational crowd of some 30,000 fans.
As the sun set on the Palace of Auburn Hills arena, 40 miles (65 kilometers) outside Detroit, Michigan, parents and their teenaged children picnicked from their SUVs. A four-week-old baby slept on her mother´s shoulder.
And in the cheap seats, a 20-something woman beckoned three generations of relatives to their designated seats. ´Mom! Over here! Grandma! Dad!´
Inspired by the harmonising of the Everly Brothers and the socially relevant lyrics of Bob Dylan (news) and Pete Seeger, Simon and Garfunkel´s six-year collaboration from 1964 to 1970 produced songs that helped define a generation.
Personal differences led to an acrimonious split in 1970, after which the two pursued solo careers, reuniting only rarely -- notably for a concert in New York´s Central Park in 1981.
The duo´s reunion at the Grammy awards ceremony in February -- when they received a lifetime achievement award -- revived a relationship that produced some of the most enduring tunes of the 1960s.
Long-time fans and first-timers turned out Saturday for the chance to hear some of those songs sung live, in keeping with the duo´s promise to stay true to their roots and present all the old standard acoustic sets.
Andy Kelleher, 42, had traveled six hours from central Illinois to attend Saturday´s show. ´It´s not exactly Woodstock, but it is the soundtrack to your life,´ enthused the electrician.
´It´s just like the Beatles,´ said Dominic Astorino, 51, ´Young kids don´t necessarily know who they are or why they´re culturally important, but they love their music.´ His 23-year-old nephew Nick nodded in assent.
The show began with a montage of footage of the duo and events in the United States over the last 50 years -- since the boyhood friends met in 1953.
The two strolled out at the film´s end, Paul Simon with a guitar slung over his shoulder, dressed in a blazer and T-shirt, Art Garfunkel in head-to-toe classic black, his shock of curly hair as shocking as ever, and his tenor voice in top form.
´We´re thrilled to be together,´ enthused Garfunkel, ´and we´re thrilled to be here. This is a long time coming.´
They wasted no time in launching into some of their best-loved standards such as ´I am a Rock´ and ´America.´
The Everly Brothers made a mid-set guest appearance, then Simon and Garfunkel wrapped up the show with a hit parade of their most famous tunes such as ´Scarborough Fair,´ ´Mrs Robinson,´ ´Sounds of Silence,´ and ´Homeward Bound.´
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