Music to make your soul hurt and your body tingle
Capital Theatres played host this week to what could be the closest thing we can get in 2024 to a live performance from folk music legends, Simon and Garfunkel.
Dan Haynes and Pete Richards bring an outstandingly accurate tribute and celebration of the duo’s lives and music. Through excellent musicianship, sympathetic arrangements and voices that simultaneously lull you to sleep and bring you tears.
When I closed my eyes, I believed I was listening to my mum’s copy of Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme.With careful use of an additional guitarist, violin, viola and cello, the sound from the stage was fully rounded and utterly balanced. Minimalistic lighting and staging let this talented pair rely on their sumptuous tone and let the music do the talking.
That said, where tribute acts often fall down in their audience banter between songs, Haynes and Richards have no troubled waters to traverse. Peppering the audience with interesting nuggets of Paul and Art social history with a perfectly rehearsed ease. What was really nice to see during the second half was that the stories shifted to their own stories of meeting in college and bonding over a mutual love of music while skipping classes. This is a pair perfectly comfortable on the stage and by each others sides and you can believe these two are true friends.
While this show might not have appealed to a younger audience with the average age in the auditorium sitting at mid 50s, I would (as a 32 year old young-ish perspective) urge my peers to experience this show when they can. I only mention this as the gentleman sat beside me actually commented on the fact he didn’t know people my age knew about the artists! While Simon and Garfunkel may have been most popular in the 60s and 70s, this is folk music at its finest that speaks to all ages as the songs were written from Paul and Art from adolescence through the ups and downs of adult life. Truly inspired song construction, lyrics to make your soul hurt and harmonies that send a tingle from scalp to toes. Having only ever been able to listen to the original music recordings before, it was a magical experience to get to enjoy this music live and done so exquisitely.