Old Friends

About five years ago, I was given two tickets to see a Simon and Garfunkel concert. I have loved their music since my pre-teen years, but for reasons I won't go into here, I seriously considered not attending. After a week or two of weighing my interest in seeing their performance against the minor, moral stand I could have taken, I decided to ask my cousin, and good friend Marcy to join me. We went out for dinner and then hit the Air Canada Centre in Toronto.

The two-hour show was fantastic. Paul Simon's voice hadn't wavered a bit over the decades and Art Garfunkel harmonized as beautifully as ever. The show started with a video which depicted the last fifty years in America - the period of time the duo had known each other. They made their entrance dressed pretty much as they did back in the sixties and seventies, and though they looked older (particularly Simon) and a bit chunkier (especially Garfunkel), they were clearly every bit the same duo I had always known and loved. They opened with Old Friends, and it sounded wonderful.

They lacked the ease of communication with their audience, though. Garfunkel was a tad more outgoing, smiling from time to time. Any jokes they attempted, felt staged and rigid. They did poke fun at themselves a bit, and their tendency to argue. Simon seemed uncomfortable with their dialogue but their awkwardness melted away when they sang. They continued with Hazy Shade of Winter, I Am a Rock, At the Zoo, and others.

They reminisced about their first performance together at age fourteen, when they were known as Tom and Jerry. They indicated that they had been heavily influenced by the Everly Brothers, who promptly entered the stage and performed four songs of their own. Simon and Garfunkel joined them for their final song - Bye Bye Love.

The Everly Brothers exited, and our star duo sang beautiful renditions of Scarborough Fair and Homeward Bound. The latter was altered dramatically, and used to showcase the other musicians' talents. They rattled off many other hits - among them The Sound of Silence, Slip Sliding Away, El Condor Pasa, Keep the Customer Satisfied, American Tune, My Little Town and ended the set with Bridge Over Troubled Water - performed better than I'd ever heard it before or since. Art was in particularly fine form for that one.

Encore!

After a short wait, they returned on stage with Cecilia and The Boxer. One more exit. One final return to stage for a performance of Leaves That Are Green and The 59th Street Bridge Song.

All was groovy.

Below are a few recent photos which illustrate some of the above-mentioned song lyrics. A description follows the musical snippets. Please remember to click each photo to enlarge.

Can you imagine us years from today,
Sharing a park bench quietly? ~ Old Friends - Paul Simon

After dark, with just a dusting of snow, this park bench still looked inviting. (please click to enlarge)

But look around, leaves are brown now
And the sky is a hazy shade of winter ~ Hazy Shade of Winter - Paul Simon

After a cold week, the pond froze over almost completely, and the tree branches are all but bare. (please click to enlarge)

I am a rock, I am an island. ~ I Am A Rock - Paul Simon

Some flotsam caught up on a rock in the center of the creek's swift current. (please click to enlarge)

Something tells me its all happening at the zoo. The monkeys stand for honesty, Giraffes are insincere. ~ At The Zoo - Paul Simon

This fallen branch caught my eye as we were walking past. I thought it looked like a giraffe having a nap on a bed of leaves. (please click to enlarge)

I'm through with romance. I'm through with love. I'm through with counting the stars above ~ Bye Bye Love - Felice & Boudleaux Bryant

A fiery sunset scorches the sky behind the tree tops. (please click to enlarge)

Tell her to make me a cambric shirt (On the side of a hill in the deep forest green) Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme ~ Scarborough Fair - Paul Simon

Here's a photo that didn't turn out too well, so I played around with it in Photoshop and came up with this painting-like effect. (please click to enlarge)

And every strangers face I see reminds me that I long to be homeward bound ~ Homeward Bound - Paul Simon

Despite the cold days and below-freezing nights, we saw this heron at three different points along the creek. He was skittish, and wouldn't allow us to get too close. This was the last time I saw him, as he took off to hunt unknown shores. (please click to enlarge)

When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light that split the night And touched the sound of silence. ~ The Sound of Silence - Paul Simon

While we were driving back to Frank's late one afternoon, we saw this unusual sight in the sky. Though the setting sun was clearly shining brightly, we could see a sort of stunted rainbow just off to its left. I've only ever seen arc rainbows appear opposite the sun - never beside it before. (please click to enlarge)

And I know a man. He came from my hometown. He wore his passion for his woman like a thorny crown ~ Slip Sliding Away - Paul Simon

A cluster of burrs make a striking silhouette against the darkening sky. (please click to enlarge)

I'd rather be a forest than a street. Yes I would. If I could, I surely would. ~ El Condor Pasa - Paul Simon/Jorge Milchberg

Looking back toward Frank's place as we exit the cedar grove on our evening walk. (please click to enlarge)

Gee but its great to be back home. Home is where I want to be. ~ Keep the Customer Satisfied - Paul Simon

One of many cheerful Cardinals which seem to congregate in large numbers now that winter has returned. I'm glad that they consider my home to be theirs too. (please click to enlarge)

I don't know a soul who's not been battered. I don't have a friend who feels at ease. I don't know a dream that's not been shattered. Or driven to its knees Oh, but its alright, its alright. For we lived so well so long ~ American Tune - Paul Simon

A lone, suriviving Queen Anne's Lace silhouetted against the setting sun. (please click to enlarge)

And after it rains theres a rainbow And all of the colors are black Its not that the colors arent there Its just imagination they lack ~ My Little Town - Paul Simon

Here's a closer view of that unusual rainbow, peeking from behind the trees - taken through the open window of a moving vehicle. (please click to enlarge)

I'm on your side. when times get rough And friends just can't be found, Like a bridge over troubled water I will lay me down. ~ Bridge Over Troubled Water - Paul Simon

This photo was taken last year but I couldn't resist how well it suited this song. (please click to enlarge)

After changes upon changes we are more or less the same. After changes we are more or less the same ~ The Boxer - Paul Simon

Just another dead flower taken against the dusky sky. (please click to enlarge)

I threw a pebble in a brook. And watched the ripples run away. And they never made a sound. And the leaves that are green turned to brown. ~ Leaves That Are Green - Paul Simon

Almost dark, the creek looks beautiful with the deep nighttime colours which surround it. (please click to enlarge)

Let the morning time drop all its petals on me.
Life, I love you, all is groovy! ~ The 59th Street Bridge Song - Paul Simon

A view of the creek through the trees, early one morning. (please click to enlarge)