You know I was little disappointed in myself yesterday because up until the moment when Simon and Garfunkel appeared on the stage, I didn’t seem to be excited at all. This was strange, but then as they emerged together in a spotlight a long way from where we were sitting in the “upper circle” (which sounds posh, like the royal box at the opera or something, but really is code for “see those little pint sized dots way down there, that’s who you’ve paid to come and see”), I got quite a little bit emotional and choked back a few tears. They started with Old Friends, quickly added the band for some rocking Hazy Shade of Winter and it kept going from there.

Thank goodness for the big screens. Living in the regions (or “the sticks” as some us like to call it) I rarely get to big concerts anymore so hadn’t been to one in the era of the big screen (that I recall). In fact (and here I display my age) the last time I went to the Entertainment Centre was when REM was touring their Monster album. I don’t remember anything about it except that Michael Stipe had a music stand with all the words (which I found surprising) and that when we caught the train home and got off at Toowong, the platform was locked up and we had to wait for some security person to let us out. Misty, water coloured memories.

I digress. So sure, Simon and Garfunkel are getting on and the audience was dominated by so called “baby boomers”. Garfunkel’s voice isn’t as strong in its beautiful top register as it used to be, but that’s to be expected. He made up for it with his light expressive singing of the wonderful Paul Simon lyrics, although he occasionally let fly with a big sound, as in Bridge Over Troubled Water. I’m guessing he’ll have to pace himself and avoid the swine flu to get through all the performances vocal chords intact. Paul Simon’s voice has deterioriated less which meant sometimes the balance in the harmony wasn’t as fabulous as it could have been. But I’m being pernickety here (and that could have been a mixing thing). And goodness me, he can still play that guitar like the finger picking folkie cool cat that he started as.

For me, what the concert was about was the songs themselves which are timeless, poetic, political, humorous and finely crafted. They have stood the test of time and will continue to do so. Highlights were America, Kathy’s Song, The Only Living Boy in New York, Sounds of Silence, The Boxer and a fun and funky finale of Feelin’ Groovy. They also each took a turn at some of their solo work. The absolute highlight here was Paul Simon’s Diamonds on the Soles of her Shoes. The band was tight, and included (joy of joys) an accordion! But I missed At the Zoo, Baby Driver, Punky’s Dilemma, Keep the Customer Satisfied, Richard Cory, Dangling Conversation…and every other song they ever recorded. Yes, I know they couldn’t sing them all. And Bye Bye Love…they chatted about the influence of the Everly Brothers and then sang Gene Vincent’s Be Bop a Luba (not sure on the spelling here).

This was one of the finest moments and made a perfect second last song.

Time passes, but some music returns to us again and again with new nuance and poignancy (as I’m sure this does for them as they sing it many years after its composition).

(oh and you just know I bought a tshirt…and a program)