Concert review: Paul Simon and Sting, Vector Arena

Sting (left) and Paul Simon had a ball entertaining the crowd at Vector Arena last night. Photo / Nick Reed

Double act weave an intoxicating musical mix for fans.

Paul Simon and Sting may sound like a somewhat unlikely pairing. At 73 and 63 respectively, they're from opposite sides of the Atlantic, and found fame in different decades with different genres.

But more than 40 years on, their musical ideas seem to be easy bedfellows, and sharing their bands, and songs, as part of their On Stage Together tour brought many wide smiles to Vector Arena last night.

As the two stars took to the instrument-laden stage - including three drum kits! - there was a warm, enthusiastic curiosity in the crowd, and they were delightfully rewarded with the pair sharing the stage for more than a third of the nearly three hour set, duet-ting, adding solos, and generally having a ball.

Both Sting (who was rocking an impressive beard) and Simon (in his signature trilby) have explored many musical cultures in their careers, so there was a dynamic element of experimentation throughout the evening.

Simon joked that the tour had forced them to bring "two disparate bands together in one cacophonous unit", but the blended 15-piece seemed smooth and wholehearted in their collaboration, and added everything from cello to African percussion, French horn, and tuba, saxophone and accordion to the tracks.

It might seem indulgent to tour with that many musicians, but every one of them earned their spot on that stage. Simon's long time band mates enriched the tracks with their signature Latin and African rhythms, and Sting's ensemble brought in the reggae and heavier rock, with ample opportunity throughout the evening for the world class instrumentalists to shine in their own right.

Sting's drummer Vinnie Colaiuta in particular brought something special to Sting's early solo bracket which included So Lonely, Seven Days and Walking On The Moon, while Simon's long time percussionist Jamey Haddad continues to be a rhythmical force of nature.

It wasn't all about being polished and safe in their arrangements either - there was a lovely sense of electricity between them as Sting tackled some husky new harmonies and Simon brought a cooler, clearer vocal quality to various tunes. They were trying things out.

Having opened with three collaborative numbers - Brand New Day, a terrific Boy in The Bubble, and a sweetly vulnerable Field's of Gold, the next opportunity for the pair to perform together (after Sting's first solo bracket) was on a stonking version of Mother and Child Reunion.

It turned out to be one of the collaborative highlights of the evening, with the enhanced horn section really coming into play, and reggae and Latin grooves combining inventively.

Simon continued to have plenty of ladies cat-calling him as he swung through several other joyous favourites - 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover, Graceland, Still Crazy, and Me And Julio Down By The Schoolyard which showed once again just how good he is at playing with vocal rhythms, and making complex patterns seem natural.

He intercut these hits with the beautiful contemplative Dazzling Blue, and low-key versions of Chet Atkins' Mystery Train and Wheels, before Sting returned.

Together they delivered a duet version of Fragile, Simon imbuing the vocals with a different kind of vulnerability, before Sting stood on his own to present a rather powerful version of Simon's America.

From there Sting stormed through some of his more muscular numbers, Message In A Bottle and Roxanne being two clear crowd favourites, with Roxanne briefly morphing into Ain't No Sunshine during a reggae jam section.

And he was game to try out a Garfunkel vocal harmony when Simon returned to perform The Boxer with him, complete with a haunting cornet solo, and strident crowd singing.

Simon then finished things off, picking high-energy crowd pleasers from The Rhythm of the Saints and Graceland albums, which included some outstanding accordion playing, and an excellent washboard display, as well as the beloved backwards bass solo in You Can Call Me Al, by Simon's original Graceland bass player Bakithi Kumalo.

All 17 artists returned to the stage for the encore, and though there were some slightly ropey moments as they fluffed a couple of lines in Bridge Over Troubled Water, and got the opening strains of Cecilia a little confused, the collaborations had a special sense of occasion about them, and the level of jubilation in the room was palpable.

It was a night where the whole, and the parts, all added up to one great sum, and it's clear these two veteran performers are having a grand old time making this great cacophony.

* Paul Simon and Sting also perform tonight in New Plymouth at the Bowl of Brooklands.

Paul Simon and Sting
Where: Vector Arena, Auckland
When: Friday, January 30