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

Sting and Paul Simon in concert is a truly special night in the company of legends...

Both are still of fine voice, Sting effortlessly still hits the high register.

Last night the Odyssey hosted a rather unusual coupling of music royalty, one, part of a superstar duo of the New York folk scene, the other a founder of one of the biggest bands of all time, both with solo careers that equal their founding music lives.

It is an odd coupling that on paper doesn’t look like it could work. What middle ground could Sting and Paul Simon possibly have? It transpires that it’s quite a bit. When they both take to the stage, they start with a duet on Sting’s ‘Brand New Day’, then into ‘Boy In The Bubble’ and the sparring match begins, both going toe to toe with hits.

After all, with their respective back catalogues, there is probably a Sting or Simon composition playing on a radio station somewhere in the world.

They each take to the limelight in a solo capacity, with Sting bouncing liberally from album to album, The Police’ ‘So Lonely’ to An Englishman In New York, Fields Of Gold, Driven To Tears, he even does a franky bizarre segue way from covering Simon’s ‘Kathy’s Song’ into ‘Message In A Bottle’ but oddly it works.

During Paul Simon’s time we are treated to ‘Graceland’, ‘50 Ways to Leave Your Lover’ a suitably spritely version of ‘Me And Julio’. You get the idea, this is a pretty exhaustive greatest hits from two performers who have a lot of greatest hits.

The duets by and large work. ‘The Boxer’ is a great Simon and Garfunkel standard and Sting will never be the vocalist that Garfunkel was. Then again, probably Garfunkel isn’t anymore either, so why quibble? But both are still of fine voice, Sting effortlessly still hits the high register.

The stage design is at a deliberate minimal, black backdrop, a laid-back jam-session kind of thing, which is obviously the intention here. A jam session with a tight backing band of over a dozen members, which allows for some pretty loose versions of familiar songs at times.

I could have done without the jazz odyssey version of ‘Roxanne’ though, especially the beer-garden cover of Ain’t No Sunshine that turned what is a great Police single in a pretty weak medley. But Sting seemed to enjoy himself. In fact that appears to be the appeal for both performers. They are having a ball.

Seasoned pros with nothing to prove and worth enough to just go out and enjoy playing the hits. The crowd lap up most of it, even if the second Sting session seemed to drag somewhat and made me wonder if Simon had headed off to the hotel.

But no, back on stage to deliver more of his classics with one of the most distinctive voices of the 20th century.

Standout tracks include ‘Still Crazy After All These Years’ which just sent me..the duets of Every Breath You Take, Cecelia and Bridge Over Troubled Water which make up the encore has the crowd on its feet and in full song.

The final track is a beautiful touch, a cover of The Everly Brothers’ “When Will i Be Loved”, a hark back to the early college band days of Simon and Garfunkel. A truly special night in the company of legends. For three hours. You can’t be bad to that, really!

(c) Belfast Live by Joe Lindsay

Sting & Paul Simon wow Belfast crowd...

Music legends Sting & Paul Simon brought their On Stage Together tour to Belfast’s Odyssey Arena on Thursday night and it was a show that let the music speak for itself.

The two titans needed no support act for their much anticipated show, nor did they need a big introduction as they simply walked on stage together and began performing a host of tunes from both their vast back catalogues.

They started with a few duets of Sting’s Brand New Day and Simon’s The Boy In The Bubble, before a soulful rendition of Fields of Gold. Then as Simon left the stage, Sting had the audience’s attention as he played a number of his classics such as Englishman In New York and Shape Of My Heart.

It was then Paul Simon’s turn to take centre stage as he wowed the crowd with Mr Robinson and 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover.

Not many artists have the capability to make a show in the vast Odyssey Arena seem like an intimate setting, but both performers did just that, each with the help of their wildly talented backing band.

Sting and Simon each took it in turn to appear on stage throughout the three hour concert and no hit was left unturned as favourites such as Desert Rose and Roxanne were played by Sting, while Simon brought the ecstatic crowd The Boxer and Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes.

Each song was performed with such musical delight that the audience would be forgiven if they forgot where they were and imagined they were simply bearing witness to a jam session between the pair, who sporadically performed together throughout the night.

A major moment in the show came when Simon began his classic You Can Call Me Al and the Belfast crowd was suddenly on its feet.

Caution was thrown to the wind and there was dancing in the aisles of the Odyssey as there was a distinct party atmosphere in the arena.

Sting returned to the stage with Simon for the final part of the show which offered the audience the classic hits of Every Breath You Take and Bridge Over Troubled Water.

Seeming genuinely touched by the support of the crowd, Sting and Paul Simon said their final goodbye to rapturous applause as the Belfast audience left satisfied in their night of musical greatness.

(c) UTV by Jackie Bell

Rhymin' Simon and Sting delve into back catalogue for a musical masterclass...

ON paper this might seem like one of music's rougher mixes, preening new wave icon Sting meets up with Rhymin' Simon, the only living boy on the New York folk scene.

But a cursory examination last night revealed not so hidden links as well as differences.

Both stars entered together with Sting's traditional blond locks swapped for dark troubadour's beard.

Simon, by contrast, looked like Danny de Vito, albeit one who could easily trump Sting's opener 'Brand New Day' with a sublime 'Boy In The Bubble', and cheekily steal 'Fields of Gold' from him with a still sweet voice.

Solo segments followed, Sting beefing up his back catalogue with jazzy inflections and Roxy Music-style gypsy violin, with the neglected 'Driven To Tears' starring. Simon followed up a swampy badass 'Mrs Robinson' with the sophistication of 'Fifty Ways To Leave Your Lover', and while you wouldn't accuse him of having something as vulgar as a competitive streak, one couldn't help feeling a songwriting masterclass was being delivered.

What both musicians share is an ability to infect rock's lumpen structures with liberating exotic rhythms, and arguably Sting's best moment of the night was the segue from 'Fragile', via 'America' into 'Message In A Bottle'. And thereby lies one of his summoner's tales. Every time you see Sting you are reminded of what a great singles band the Police were, while Paul Simon can make you forget about his other erstwhile partner by dipping into any track from 'Graceland'.

Enjoyable enough as this musical coalition was, there was no doubting the senior partner.

(c) Belfast Telegraph by Michael Conaghan