Swearingen and Kelli ft. Tom Rush ~ 2022 May 20 ~ Spire Center for Performing Arts, Plymouth, MA
A.J. Swearingen, vocals, guitar; Jayne Kelli, vocals; Tom Rush, vocals and guitar on two songs. Rod Abernethy, opening set.
Set List
All songs are written by Paul Simon and performed by Simon & Garfunkel unless otherwise noted.
Mrs. Robinson - We've Got a Groovy Thing Goin' - The Sound of Silence - Blessed - Blues Run The Game {Jackson Frank, performed by Simon & Garfunkel} - I Am a Rock - Cold-Hearted Truth {Swearingen and Kelli original} - Richard Cory - A Poem on the Underground Wall - Homeward Bound - A Hazy Shade of Winter ... Tom Rush joins for 2 songs: Drift Away {Mentor Williams} - I Quit {new Tom Rush song} ... Cecilia - America - Scarborough Fair {traditional} - Old Friends - You're Not Here With Me {A.J. Swearingen song that was covered by Tom Rush} - Keep the Customer Satisfied - The Marrying Kind {Swearingen and Kelli original} - 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy) - Bridge Over Troubled Water - The Boxer
Scroll to below video for a review of the show.
Video ... if a problem with viewing, go to Youtube and search by performer and date; the Youtube account is in the name "nicepace"
Drift Away
Review
A.J. Swearingen and Jayne Kelli are a husband and wife musical duo living in Nashville who record their own original songs, but they also have a groovy thing goin' of presenting an evening of songs by the 1960s folk powerhouse Simon & Garfunkel.
They pull this off extremely well. Jayne sings a lot like Artie, and A.J. plays guitar and sings a lot like Paul. After their introductory song ("Mrs. Robinson"), Jayne asked the crowd if anyone thought the real Simon & Garfunkel were going to show up. A couple of hands went up, but I suspect in jest. The duo continued to fill in the spaces between songs with some light-hearted banter and tidbits of Simon & Garfunkel history. After they played "Sound of Silence" for their third song, Jayne shouted out "Thank you and good night." It is kind of hard to imagine following up that song with anything, but they did manage, superbly.
After about ten songs A.J. declared that they were bringing a special guest up onto the stage. Some guy in the front row shouted "Paul Simon!" -- it wasn't him, but the reality of who it turned out to be was still quite astonishing. Tom Rush was in the house and came up to perform two songs! Turns out Tom is friends with A.J. and Jayne and has recorded one of A.J.'s songs ("You're Not Here With Me") on a recent album. After some friendly back-and-forth, Tom performed "Drift Away" (the Mentor Williams song that was made into a giant hit by Dobie Gray, and has been recorded by Tom). Jayne and A.J. sang very nice backing vocals on this; see video (link above). Then Tom performed an original song called "I Quit"; Tom said he'd written it so recently it was just out of diapers. It was another light-hearted song about making changes in one's life, and quoted that early Tom hit "Urge For Going."
After Tom sat down, to thunderous applause from the audience, A.J. and Jayne returned and brought back the Simon & Garfunkel theme. It would be hard to pick highlights of the evening, since they covered such a range of S&G classics, including their biggest hits ("Sound of Silence," "Bridge Over Troubled Water," "The Boxer") but also included a few lesser known songs. They also performed the A.J. song that Tom Rush has recorded and another original of theirs.
The show was opened by Rod Abernethy, a singer/songwriter from the Carolinas, who was well received when he performed at the Spire Lobby Series. He played a half hour set of literate, tuneful folk songs, including one about the family crossing the Sagamore Bridge on their way to their Cape Cod second home. As a Cape Cod resident I liked this one the best of his set.
Kudos to The Spire for presenting another marvelous musical evening. Unlike a couple of recent shows that I've seen there as part of their Lobby Series, this show was presented in the main concert space (the former church nave) where the capacity is a couple of hundred. I was pleased to see a good number of the concert goers wearing masks, although I'd be happier if the venue requested this simple precaution from the attendees.