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Saw Art at the beginning of a short UK tour at Manchester's wonderful Bridgewater Hall last night (5-sept 14)

always loved his unique voice , and was apprehensive that we might have a sad spectacle of someone way past his best .

However , i'm glad to report that , at nearly 73 and after few years of vocal problems, that gift of a voice is back. Beautiful stuff accompanied just by an acoustic guitar

Examples:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RCKt5C ... iniQi6JAJw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tu36rU- ... iniQi6JAJw

Glad to read from your report that Art is back on form. I have seen him twice in recent years (funnily enough, both time at the Bridgewater Hall) and both times I have been underwhelmed, to put it politely, by his performance. I have a ticket to see him in Birmingham tomorrow night and am looking forward to it somewhat more now than I was!

Wendy

Hi wendy

I hope you enjoy .It won't be a late night .The manchester concert was over by 9.20 - but it started on time at 7.30 with no support and no intermission. Quite a few people seemed to arrive late - perhaps they thought there would be a support act !
It was a great relief when from the start it was apparent his voice is in very good shape. When his vocal problems began ,and given his age i would not have imagined such a recovery was possible! It's also good that he's given up 'the wig' and seems happy to ' come out' as being ' follicly challenged'.

There are several audio recordings on my you tube channel- conenadmirer1. A very strict ' no photo' policy was in place !

This very fair blog gives a good account. http://toomanyblogs.co.uk/2014/09/06/ar ... er-050914/

As far as i can remember the setlist was
And So It Goes
April Come She Will
The Boxer
Perfect Moment
A Heart in New York
All I Know
A Poem on the Underground Wall
Scarborough Fair/Canticle
The Side of a Hill (paul simons anti war song which sadly is ever appropriate)
Bright Eyes
Real Emotional Girl
Homeward Bound
99 Miles From L.A.
Corcovado (Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars)
(Antonio Carlos Jobim cover)
For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her
The Sound of Silence
Kathy's Song
Bridge Over Troubled Water

Plenty of prose poetry reading between songs and a Q&A session at the end (house lights up , audience invited to put up their hands to ask any questions - a brave thing for an artist to do!) --worked well IMHO (though im sure many would have just wanted more songs)

David

and a year later - sept 15 saw Art perform again and can report that his unique voice has further improved .In addition he brought on his son James , who is also an astonishingly good singer .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPKvZqh-h4A
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c040dw0y1Yc

Saw Art Garfunkel in Oxford on Saturday. Really enjoyed it, although the voice seemed a bit uncomfortable at times. But considering what he's been through, all credit to him for the strength and discipline it must have taken to get back to this level of performance. And the voice of Garfunkel Jnr - amazing. But they cut the finale of Bridge about half way through - anyone know why?

Last night I had a wonderful evening watching Art Garfunkel perform at the Royal Albert Hall. He was relaxed and in good form. I have to admit I wasn’t expecting the vocals to be as they once were, considering the problems he’s had with his vocal chords, but I was pleasantly surprised. Yes his voice has changed (he is 73) and he’s changed some of the songs to fit his vocal range but it didn’t detract from the enjoyment. He joked and told stories and introduced us to his son who sang 'Smile', and in my opinion has the voice of an angel! Art got three or four standing ovations and finished with a shortened version of ‘Bridge over Troubled Water’. Overall it was a very relaxed and enjoyable evening, in a very beautiful venue…

James (Arthur) Garfunkel singing Smile
https://youtu.be/YEOt7-h2MaI

Next trip to the Royal Albert Hall will be to see Bob Dylan...