There was much excitement in the air in TD Garden on Monday night, as the sold-out (or nearly sold-out) crowd waited for the two legends, Paul Simon and Sting, to take the stage.

Sting and Paul Simon

I made a last-minute decision to see this show, and I’m extremely glad I did. I had never seen Sting perform, and hadn’t seen Paul Simon since the famous Simon & Garfunkel concert in Central Park in 1981.

Both Bands

From the moment they took the stage for the two hour and forty minute show, they led the audience, some who were there to see Paul Simon and some to see Sting, through many of their greatest hits.

Sting

Paul

The set list was incredible! They drew from both their solo careers as well as their careers with their famous bands. They played a total of 31 songs, some together and some separately. You can check out the set list.

One of the most moving songs of the evening was Sting singing Simon & Garfunkel’s “America.” That brought tears to my eyes as I recalled listening to it when it was a new song.

The reality for me was that every song was wonderful. Yes, they were songs they did not play that I would have loved to hear (“Sounds of Silence” in particular) but I was in no way disappointed with what they did play.

Sting

I particularly enjoyed that the songs were keyed down to a range that was comfortable for each of them; there’s not much worse than hearing one of your idols barely croak out a note.

The set list included poignant versions of “Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes”, “You Can Call Me All”, “Englishman in New York”, and “Bridge Over Troubled Water”, to name a few.

The last song of the encore was a tribute to Phil Everly. The bands left the stage, and Paul and Sting came together at the center of the stage to perform “When Will I Be Loved.” A fitting end to an amazing show.

“When Will I Be Loved”

They used mostly their own bands when they played separately and both bands when they were on stage together. I believe there were 14 members, not including themselves!

Everyone Taking a Bow

The backup singer, who added a terrific dimension to the vocals, was introduced as one of the stars of “Twenty Feet From Stardom.”

Backup Singer who was in “Twenty Feet From Stardom”

I am so glad I decided to go to this show. I won’t be surprised if they add more dates to the tour; if they do, I’d consider seeing them again. That’s how good they were.

It’s not often that you can see artists who never had a career with each other come together and perform like Paul Simon and Sting did on Monday night.