Record Set

The Bennington Banner, August 20, 1968

Upwards of 17,000 persons Monday night attended the Simon and Garfunkel concert at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center. It was an all-time SPAC attendance record. Traffic was clogged for miles and the crowd strained parking facilities and turned acres of lawn into a vari-colored blanket of humanity.

Slmon appeared on stage in maroon shirt and lavender pants, Garfunkel in gray pants and striped shirt — nelther wore socks.

They reeled off one hit after another, with little chatting with the audience. Simon handled what banter there was and his tongue is sharp. “There’s always one mental eunuch in the audience,” was his way of shooting down one heckler.

At a point in the performance when applause became monotonous, Simon clapped back at the audience.

They won a standing ovation and performed several encores.