Onstage, Simon & Garfunkel still in harmony

Spencer Patterson

Friday, July 2, 2004 | 8:57 a.m.

After spending most of the past three decades apart, Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel are proving they can stick it out together.

Less than six months after completing their much anticipated "Old Friends" reunion tour, the legendary folk-rock duo are back on the road, in the midst of a second set of dates that will take them through the U.S. and Europe.

Saturday Simon & Garfunkel return to the MGM Grand Garden Arena, site of the pair's first Las Vegas appearance on Nov. 8, 2003.

Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel's 40 concerts in 2003 were their first as a pair since a handful of Japanese shows in 1993 and a 21-night run at New York City's Paramount Theater that same year.

The two men officially went their separate ways in 1970, after six years as a recording team.

Once again, the Everly Brothers are slated to make an appearance between the headliners' two sets. The Everlys came out of retirement at the urging of Simon & Garfunkel, specifically to participate in their live show.

An excerpt from Sun writer Jerry Fink's 4 1/2-star review of last year's MGM stopover: "They seemed to have a little problem getting in sync. But they gradually became more in tune with each other and by their third song, "I Am a Rock" ... it was just like old times."

Although they have yet to play it live, Simon & Garfunkel unveiled a new recording during a June 12 interview on National Public Radio's "Weekend Edition."

Garfunkel explained that the song, titled "Citizen of the Planet," originated as a Simon demo "some years ago," which Garfunkel recently rediscovered.

A bit of the lyrics: "I am a citizen of the planet / I was born here / I'm going to die here, come what may/ I am entitled to my birth and the treasures of the earth / No one can deny me easy dreams at the end of the day."

At press time, tickets remained in all three prices ranges -- $78.75, $183.75, $262.50 -- for Saturday's concert.

Who: Simon & Garfunkel.

Where: MGM Grand Garden Arena.

When: 8 p.m. Saturday.

Tickets: $78.75-$262.50.

Call: 891-7777.

Opening act: None.

Essential releases: "Sounds of Silence" (1966); "Parsley, Sage, Rosemary & Thyme" (1966); "Bookends" (1968); "Bridge Over Troubled Water" (1970).

What to expect: Most of the pair's greatest hits -- from 1964's "The Sound of Silence" to 1970's "Bridge Over Troubled Water" -- with a few less famous tunes tossed in. The set will likely also include a couple of numbers from Simon's solo career.

Recent set list: Qwest Center, Omaha, Neb., Sunday: (Set one) "Old Friends"/"Bookends," "Hazy Shade of Winter," "I Am a Rock," "America," "At the Zoo"/"Baby Driver," "Kathy's Song," "Hey Schoolgirl." (The Everly Brothers) "Wake Up Little Susie," "All I Have to Do is Dream," "Let it Be Me," "Bye Bye Love." (Set two) "Scarborough Fair," "Homeward Bound," "The Sound of Silence," "Mrs. Robinson," "Slip Slidin' Away," "El Condor Paso," "Keep the Customer Satisfied," "The Only Living Boy in New York," "American Tune," "My Little Town," "Bridge Over Troubled Water." (First encore) "Cecilia," "The Boxer." (Second encore) "Leaves That Are Green," "The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)." (from fan site www.paul-simon.info).

Tour feedback: "Nostalgia was the order of the evening, and nostalgia can be a powerful thing when added to a set of era-defining, Simon-penned songs and bolstered with gorgeous harmony." (Nashville Tennessean); "The sound lacked crispness ... More problematic was the energy level of the stars. Garfunkel seemed genuinely pleased to be in front of such a big crowd, but Simon's attention -- to both the crowd and his own singing -- waxed and waned." (Times Union, Albanay, N.Y.).

Previous Las Vegas appearance: Nov. 8, 2003, MGM Grand.

Says Simon: "Whether we went forward with the tour or not wasn't as important as repairing the friendship. It was long overdue for repair." (National Public Radio's "Weekend Edition," June 12).