Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *
It is within the sound of silence that the deafening roar of appreciation can be felt, that the music of arguably the greatest Folk duo to ever come out of America can, even in the splendour of the grand and majestic, gain the type of standing ovation which would normally only be reserved for the gods and the honest bounty hunter bringing home the distinguished and the well known.
That roar of appreciation was felt keenly by The Simon and Garfunkel Revival Band as they played out to the most admiring of audiences inside St. George’s Hall who sat beautifully poised in quiet contemplation throughout until the time for unstinting applause was upon them, then with sheepish grins etched upon their faces, the band took that applause with the good grace intended for the beautiful evening they had provided.
Such appreciation is normally confined to a bigger venue, perhaps even an audience which has had to fight for breath as they get sucked into the night’s musical outpourings; this though was a night where the standing ovation was comfortable, unhindered but emotionally captivating and in keeping with what the group had provided inside the opulent surroundings of St. George’s Hall.
Musically the group were on the ball all evening, the two sided set filled with the music of Simon and Garfunkel and Paul’s more alluring solo hits, and whilst the Empire Theatre had hosted a similar evening at the start of the year, this was more rounded, more playful; this was a night when being essentially a covers band was not to be seen as something awkward but actually to be revelled in with pride, for who else but Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel could generate such passion?
The two set evening comprised songs such as The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin’ Groovy), The Boxer, I Am A Rock, the fabulous America, If I Could, Cecilia, Scarborough Fair, Diamonds On The Souls Of Her Shoes, You Can Call Me Al and 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover. It was a set that beautifully encapsulated exactly what Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel stood for; it was a night in which the emotionally cool were able to shed a tear of forgiveness for ay trespasses made and in which the expressive and full hearted were able to proudly clutch the souls tight to their loved ones.
Some nights are magnificent, some just defy explanation, in The Simon and Garfunkel Revival Band, the music was just glorious, a real pleasure.
Ian D. Hall