Back to Bass Tour: 2011/12

Sting at Lisebergshallen...

Daniel Claeson sees a Sting who is so relaxed that he sometimes forgets how to play bass.

When those exquisite multi-beam headlights first come to mind, when he has just told a story about how the fields outside his castle undulate like a sea of gold, when the first line of the lyrics to 'Fields Of Gold' just creeps in. That's when I realize exactly how much I like that song. And how often I forget that I actually do.

When Sting hangs his bass on the wall above the fireplace, the one he usually sits next to and talks to his dead father, it's for 'Fields Of Gold' that I will remember him. A nice memory, true to my word.

In fact, for a good while afterwards I sit and ponder whether I couldn't imagine a two-hour Sting concert in a sold-out Lisebergshall with just one song. What do I come to? That I would probably enjoy it.

In addition, I would avoid a lot of the strange tics he and the band have. It is usually a good rule of thumb not to trust either car salesmen with a moustache or drummers who play in muscle tees and jogging pants. It is also quite true in the evening, and this despite the fact that the drummer in question is the highly renowned and in some ways rightly admired Vinnie Colaiuta. In jazzier, more complex songs he is a rock, but as soon as it comes to rocking it is like being met by an eagerly whizzing wall of cymbals and pounding toms. In the old The Police songs 'Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic', 'Demolition Man' and 'Driven To Tears' the old expression less is more is so far away that you don't even see it if you squint at the horizon. And it is on the verge of being able to stand it when the snare drum with each beat nibbles the edge of the eardrum. What is supposed to be funk rock and swinging sounds more like a stele-operated Red Hot Chili Peppers on a vinyl LP played at 45 rpm.

The strange thing about this is that the side I normally have the hardest time with Sting, the spiritually magical and shimmering, is the one I appreciate the most this Thursday evening. The calm, ethereal parts. 'Ghost Story' and the country-stomping 'I'm So Happy I Can't Stop Crying' are very, very nice. Even the epic about Mr. and Mrs. Fox, The End of the Game, at least brings down a slight golf applause inside. And 'Every Breath You Take' with sing-along, hand clapping and ''we're going to turn around'' chorus at the end cannot be ignored, of course.

Sting himself? Nice guy. Sings deliciously and confidently. Professional, in a good mood, relaxed. So relaxed that he forgets how to play bass sometimes. As a cheating hobby bassist, I have to say that THAT feels really good.

(c) Göteborgs-Posten by Daniel Claeson

Sting shines best alone...

So many people get his ''Back to bass tour''.

I happened to look up the word perfectionist in the dictionary.

Found Sting among the explanations.

However, there was nothing to indicate that the pretensions could be as fun as the singer's anniversary trip is tonight.

Entering from the side without drama, in an unassuming white t-shirt and blue jeans. A bass worn down to the wood. About ten stage lights that neither move, blink nor colour the stage.

Sting's entrance and the 'All This Time' introduction say most of the evening. With the anniversary tour 'Back to bass' the singer obviously wants to go back to the core of his career. There are no supporting symphony orchestras or percussion masturbators. Just Sting, his voice, the bass and a solid collection of songs.

The five-piece backing band is certainly always impressively competent. It's impossible to find a single off-key note from Dominic Miller, the guitarist who has been Sting's faithful companion for 22 years. Violinist Peter Tickell looks like he could lose everything but control when he goes completely crazy among the tempo changes and funk thrills in 'Love Is Stronger Than Justice (The Munificent Seven)'. And drummer Vinnie Colaiuta is so tight that he would wake up in a panic in the middle of the night if a single heartbeat of his beat were out of sync.

But, it's still a liberatingly simple setting.

Tonight, the songs are the focus, and Sting himself gets to shine as the swinging bassist he is behind the lead role. In order to be unerring musician pop without jagged edges, the band also stays away from too many exaggerated solo shows.

Then you can ignore the concert after a powerful 'Fields Of Gold' wanders off into the sleepy 'Sacred Love' and then doesn't really get up for half an hour.

(c) Aftonbladet Joacim Persson