Paul Simon and Sting: On Stage Together: 2014/2015

"Roxanne" vs. "Cecilia" - Sting & Paul Simon wowed in Vienna...

When two apartment neighbours meet, one says, "Shall we go on a tour together?", the other says, "Why not?" What sounds like a joke without a punchline caused a sensation in the US last year. Yesterday, Wednesday, this pop hybrid by Sting and Paul Simon was shown in Vienna – a 180-minute showcase of performances, saturated with the finest playing, high quality, and top-notch songs.

For 20 years, Sting and Paul Simon lived in the same Manhattan house; they occasionally met in the elevator, borrowed milk or sugar, and sometimes played each other their music. In 2013, the two were booked for a charity gala, and they quickly decided to join forces on the occasion. It worked so well that they embarked on a tour – 21 concerts in the USA last year with a continuation Down Under, and since March they have been on the European agenda.

The question arises: How can the art-folk architect and the new wave pioneer fit together? Quite simply: Because Sting (63, full beard, receding brow) has completely dispensed with post-punk influences in his solo oeuvre, and Paul Simon (73, shaved, wearing a hat to prevent anything from getting lost underneath) has also penned compositions that are far removed from campfire romance, including the first wet kisses made difficult by braces, a number of musical-mathematical operations yield a reasonable equation. The converse is their access to world music and their unmistakable penchant for reggae, both of which provide the basis for more common ground than one might suspect at first glance. Let's not even mention that both staged a musical and fell flat on their faces.

So: no limited points of contact, but a multiply intertwined performance. The first glance into the hall suggested that a lot of work would be done this evening. Like the finale of a district-wide music school competition, the stage was packed with instruments of all categories. Both gentlemen had their entourage (16 musicians) with them – open doors and gates for an unprecedented flow of synergy. The modest lighting setup, which later gave rise to a rich lighting atmosphere, was intended as a rejection of any distraction caused by high-tech effects, thus making clear what is needed for a brilliant concert evening: good songs.

And there were 33 of them. The tour is called "On Stage Together." And that's to be taken quite literally. They opened the high-quality retro party with a four-piece appetizer – "Brand New Day," "Boy In The Bubble" (with a bumpy start), "Fields Of Gold," and "Mother And Child Reunion," offering a glimpse of what was to come. Two short solo sets each, interspersed with duets where one band sang each other's songs, and vice versa. The first "soloist" was Sting, who, suddenly left alone, certainly not by chance, performed "So Lonely", enhanced with a fantastic tuba-singing dialogue.

Simon, as expected, scored most highly with his "Graceland" hits "Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes" and "You Can Call Me Al." He also demonstrated his genius as a songwriter, especially with less prominent songs like "Hearts And Bones" and "That Was Your Mother." While the evening's stars shone on the stage ramp, the two bands in the background made you scream with joy—in your mind, of course. This is probably one of the reasons why there was so much standing, dancing, and jumping during the fully seated concert.

Who has to thank whom for the packed venues is anyone's guess. The Sting and Simon fan groups were in each other's arms in no time. While "Mrs. Robinson," "Fragile," and "Bridge Over Troubled Water" as a duet can be quite eye-catching, the opposite was true. The differences between the two legends in terms of provenance, musical background, height, and age could be reduced to a headline-like "Roxanne vs. Cecilia." But that would be wrong, because the "vs." should be replaced with an "&" in keeping with the evening's motto, "Together." And isn't it true that behind two successful men there are always two women? Thus, the two ladies are responsible for this true concert highlight, which certainly opens up possibilities for a possible future joint venture: Art Garfunkel & The Police.

(c) Tiroler Tageszeitung