Garfunkel charms audience at Maine Center for the Arts

ORONO – Fueled by the announcement that he and his old partner are teaming up for a reunion tour, Art Garfunkel wowed a sold-out crowd Saturday night at the Maine Center for the Arts.

Garfunkel’s performance at the MCA’s Opening Gala appeared to be his last solo appearance before he and Paul Simon set off on a 30-city tour – the duo’s first in 20 years. The Old Friends: 2003 Concert Tour was announced last week.

Although last year Garfunkel recorded a new solo album featuring six of his own songs, Simon standards dominated his performance Saturday. He opened with “El Condor Pasa,” slid gracefully into “American

Tune,” rocked the house with “Cecelia” and brought the audience to its feet with “Bridge Over Troubled Water.”

Late in the 90-minute show, performed without an intermission, Garfunkel performed two songs off his recent solo CD, “Everything Waits to Be Noticed.” He teased the audience about whether he would sing “Sounds of Silence,” the song that launched his and Simon’s careers in the early ’60s, then performed it with an intensity that underscored that the poignant lyrics are still relevant nearly 40 years after they were written.

Backed by an excellent four-piece band, Garfunkel’s tenor flooded the MCA with a full, rich and, often, stunning sound. At 61, the singer can still hit the high notes that were the hallmark of his years with Simon, he just can’t hold them as long.

That didn’t seem to matter to the eclectic crowd. MCA supporters decked out in tuxedos and cocktail gowns for the after-concert dinner sat next to sandal-clad families who looked like they’d rushed into the show from camp. Some could not resist singing along.

Garfunkel, dressed casually in bluejeans, an untucked long-sleeved green shirt and Beatle boots, joked about his rocky relationship with Simon. Although considered to be the quieter of the two, Garfunkel conversed easily with the audience and even changed the Joe DiMaggio line in “Mrs. Robinson” to ask, “Where have you gone, Edmund Muskie? Our nation turns its lonely eyes to you.”

“This has been one of the greatest nights of my life,” the singer told the audience as he ended the concert with two gentle love songs.

Audience members agreed as they cheered Garfunkel’s performance, then poured out of the MCA, chatting about scoring tickets for Simon and Garfunkel’s tour.