It would have seemed so unlikely just a month ago.

But there we were last Thursday night at the Wachovia Arena in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., at the kickoff concert of Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel’s Old Friends 2003 tour.

We joined more than 9,000 other lucky people, singing, clapping to the rhythm, dancing and constantly having our mood changed from mournful or pensive to playful to joyful.

It was the ticket of a lifetime.

My wife and I have been longtime fans of the duo, and, as a guitar player, I have struggled to play some of Simon’s tunes, with “America” and “Homeward Bound” being my favorites.

When the tour was announced, we thought perhaps we could get tickets for one of the two Boston shows. Then we learned that the first show of the tour would be in Pennsylvania, where we would be visiting our son. I was told to practice using Ticketmaster to get down the routine of the cyber scrum that takes place when tickets for popular events go on sale. So I practiced, pretending to want tickets to hockey games and other concerts. Then I would back down before the final commitment.

The Wilkes-Barre show sold out quickly, but I successfully landed two decent floor seats. And for more than two hours last week, we placed our emotions in the hands of these two New York City icons. It was worth the money, the trip and the time.

The show started with the tour’s title tune, “Old Friends.” The audience shared laughter with them when they came to the lines, “Can you imagine us years from today, sharing a park bench quietly? How terribly strange to be 70.” Both are now 61 years old.

The audience covered the demographic spectrum, from teens to those in their 70s or 80s. And they all had a ball. Simon and his high tenor sidekick skillfully managed the throng, clearly letting them know when singing was okay, when clapping was expected and when quiet listening and introspection were the choice.

They only lost control once, when Simon played that very familiar intro to “Sound of Silence” and the crowd stood and loudly voiced its appreciation, forcing Simon to stop and circle the stage. I’ll bet there were tears in his eyes. Garfunkel stood midstage and raised his arms in appreciation. After a few minutes, the adoration quieted and off they went.

Simon and Garfunkel were accompanied by some very skilled musicians, maybe the most notable being guitarist Larry Saltzman (Peter and Gordon), drummer Jim Keltner (Eric Clapton, Jackson Browne) and pianist Warren Bernhardt (Carly Simon, Liza Minnelli). Midshow they also were joined by the Everly Brothers, who, Simon explained, he and Art studied when they were young and learning harmonizing. The Everlys sang “Wake up Little Susie,” “Dream,” “Let It Be Me” and then were joined by Simon and Garfunkel for a rocky, stomping version of “Bye Bye Love.” Oh sweet nostalgia, one of the first songs I learned to knock off on guitar was “Dream,” and it’s still the song I play first to get the fingers going when I haven’t played in a while. It was special to hear the Everlys do it.

Although we had decent seats on the floor, the JumboTron got most of our attention. It provided such detail that you could watch Simon’s fingerpicking and chord structures. The lighting rested on a huge, five-branch, tree-like metal structure that hovered over the stage and almost reached the roof of the arena. The Jumbotron was nestled in the limbs.

The end of the show was made up of a great sequence of songs that really stretched the emotions. First was Simon’s soulful “American Tune,” with the writer lamenting that he doesn’t know a “friend who feels at ease,” or “a dream that’s not been shattered.” But it’s alright, he says, because “we’ve lived so well so long,” and “you can’t be forever blessed.” That song also has the haunting, yet playful lyric: “And I dreamed I was dying. I dreamed my soul rose unexpectedly and looking back down at me, smiled reassuringly.”

Then came a rocking version of “Cecilia,” with the crowd dancing and swaying, celebrating life so light that “I got up to wash my face, when I come back to bed, someone taken my place.”

After that, it was time for the angst of “My Little Town.” Remember the little town with “nothing but the dead and dying.” The band gave it a hard but jazzy edge that begged for comfort that came immediately, without pause, with the familiar piano intro to “Bridge over Troubled Water.” That kept everyone real quiet. And then they were gone.

But no “Boxer”? Of course there would be a “Boxer,” the first encore, followed by “Song for the Asking” and finally, “The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feeling Groovy),” which was definitely the way everyone left Wilkes-Barre that night.

Simon and Garfunkel will be at the Fleet Center in Boston Dec. 11 and 13 and, for a few hundred dollars, you can still buy a cheap seat from an agency. For a $1,000 you can get up close. With the Jumbotron, it doesn’t make that much difference. There also are 30 or so other venues listed on Simonandgarfunkel.com.