Simon and Garfunkel: Through the Years at the Redgrave Theatre in Bristol
Posted on: 2016-09-16
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Within minutes of singer and guitarist Dan Haynes and Pete Richards - collectively known as Bookends - strolling on the stage, it was indubitably evident this was going to be a very special evening.
The timeless music of folk rock duo, Simon and Garfunkel, was brought to stunning, evocative life at the Redgrave Theatre in Bristol on Saturday 10 September 2016.
Now I'm no stranger to the multifarious delights and dangers of a tribute band, having seen many of varying, occasionally dubious, quality, performance and sonic accuracy. No such worries here though, for within minutes of singer and guitarist Dan Haynes and Pete Richards - collectively known as Bookends (itself the title of the fourth studio album by Simon and Garfunkel) - strolling on the stage, it was indubitably evident this was going to be a very special evening.
The original Simon and Garfunkel themselves require scant introduction, made up of Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel, and becoming two of the most popular, revered and epoch-defining recording artists in the 1960s. The voice of the counter-culture revolution with their songs the mouthpiece for a generation inspired by social change, along with the likes of the Beach Boys, the Beatles and Bob Dylan, the power, relevance and poignancy of their songs still resonate strongly today.
Flanked by a large screen projecting images, biographical notes and concert performances, Haynes and Richards' musical recreations were faultless. And the hits kept coming. The Sound of Silence, Mrs Robinson, The Boxer, At The Zoo and Feelin' Groovy possessed all the emotional, aural richness of the originals, infused with a love, affection and passion of two performers who transcended simply putting on a tribute act to become something more dedicated, beautiful and authentic than any show that doffs its cap reverentially to it heroes.
Of course, Simon and Garfunkel's heated riffs, fractious temperaments and creative differences are well-chronicled and they were appropriately - being a concert that spanned their whole career - touched upon. They split in 1970 but have reunited several times, perhaps the most famous being their Concert in Central Park in 1981 which saw more than 500,000 fans congregate to see the legends play once again.
Finishing the gig with encores of I am Rock and Cecilia (the latter of which the audience had absolutely no hesitation in accepting the offer to join in and sing along), Simon and Garfunkel: Through the Years was a sublime treat, a show performed with total reverence and respect for the original material, nuanced, detailed and often indistinguishable from the 60s icons themselves.
A marvelous, nostalgic, poetic journey through some of the finest songs ever written by two folk rock titans of the industry.
5/5
Article by:
Jamie is a writer, blogger, journalist, critic, film fan, soundtrack nerd and all-round Bristolian good egg. He loves the music of Philip Glass, the art of Salvador Dali, the writings of Charles Bukowksi and Hunter S Thompson, the irreverence of Harry Hill, and the timeless, straw-chomping exuberance of The Wurzels. You can sometimes find him railing against a surging tide of passing cyclists, or gorging himself senseless on the Oriental delights of a Cosmos all-you-can-eat buffet.
