Back to Bass Tour: 2011/12

Sting, stripped back to basics...

A mean bass riff locks horns with the raging drums, a wah-wah guitar wails, two violins twitch nervously, and Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner - better known as Sting - issues a warning: Don’t mess with the Demolition Man.

On Wednesday evening, the man standing on stage at the Liederhalle’s Beethoven Hall is someone who has done a thorough job of clearing the decks. He has smashed, decluttered, sorted, and discarded - and ultimately reassembled everything he deems indispensable and essential. After a period of getting a bit too arty - dabbling in John Dowland’s lute music (*Songs From The Labyrinth*), trying his hand at traditional Christmas carols (*If On A Winter’s Night*), or reimagining his own repertoire with a symphony orchestra (*Symphonicities*) - Sting is now focusing on the essentials. His current tour is titled "Back to Bass" - a return to the bass guitar, or perhaps a return to square one. And it has been a long time since Sting was as good as he was on this evening in Stuttgart.

Just as with "Demolition Man," a nasty bass riff tears through "Driven To Tears." Sting presents a version to the audience of 3,200 that savours dramatic pauses, builds up with fierce intensity, and - as often happens throughout the night - hands over spectacular solo spots to guitarist Dominic Miller and violinist Peter Tickell. Yet, a certain austerity defines every track. Clarity, focus, simplicity, and precision mark the presentation of the repertoire - as if the songs being performed (and consistently introduced by Sting in German) were grappling with the aesthetics of New Wave, folk, or pop.

The 60-year-old strives to do justice to the original versions, regardless of which era of his career they come from. "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" rediscovers the quirky rhythm that made the Police track so irresistible 30 years ago. "Seven Days" toys with tricky syncopation before plunging into a frenetic ska beat. "Sacred Love" begins as a slow-funk number that builds almost imperceptibly. And the way drummer Vinnie Colaiuta consistently manages to hold the songs together rhythmically is extraordinary. "Yeah, that’s good, yeah," Sting says proudly before "Heavy Cloud" kicks in with a staccato riff. And when introducing "Inside," he reveals that he is a great admirer of the German word *unberechenbar* (unpredictable).

Sting demonstrates the art of restraint not only in his instrumentation - for which a five-piece band suffices - but also in his appearance; his tight T-shirt and slim-fit jeans make this new economy, this reduction of means, visually apparent. The same applies to the lighting design, which floods the stage with harsh light, eschewing diffuse effects, subtle nuances, or plays of colour in favour of highlighting contrasts.

He is sparing with the hits, too. Although Sting opens the concert with the charming "All This Time," he skips the crowd-pleasing, obvious choices this time around - omitting Police classics like "King Of Pain" or "Roxanne," as well as solo successes such as "An Englishman In New York" or "Fragile." Instead, he includes rarely heard tracks like "Ghost Story" or "I’m So Happy I Can’t Stop Crying" in the setlist.

Only during the encore does he break out the hits, serving up the anthem "Every Breath You Take" at a slightly faster tempo than usual and rediscovering a sense of raw, youthful energy in "Next To You," despite its blues-rock finale. Finally, right at the end, he plays his absolute best song: "Message In A Bottle." For the only time that evening, he doesn't strap on his bass but sings to the accompaniment of an acoustic guitar - dispensing with the entire band in the process.

(c) Stuttgarter Nachrichten by Gunther Reinhardt

25 years solo and back to bass...

British musician Sting performed with a newly formed band in front of 3,200 people in the sold-out Beethovensaal of the Liederhalle. His long-time accompanists Vinnie Colaiuta on drums and Dominic Miller on guitar were joined by his son Rufus Miller on second guitar, Peter Tickell on violin, and vocalist Jo Lawry, who also plays violin. The new members are initially barely noticeable, but then Tickell and Lawry clearly over-emphasize their solo performances.

The main character, however, is celebrating his somewhat belated 25th stage anniversary, as a solo artist. Before that, he had a career as singer and bassist for the band Police, whose hit "Message In A Bottle" he performed solo, his foot on a stool and his hands on the acoustic guitar, in a manner that might seem strange to some. He played many of his lesser-known songs, although he could have generated greater enthusiasm with more of his hits. "Hung My Head" is featured, along with "Stolen Car," "Ghost Story," "Fortress," and "End Of The Game," but no "Englishman in New York" or "Roxanne."

His unmistakable voice worked brilliantly; Dominic Miller and Vinnie Colaiuta, in particular, shone in the band; the sound was once again solid and peppered with noble ideas. The man also seems to be in good physical shape and, even as a senior citizen, can hold his own anywhere. He plays the bass competently as always, and at the same time he sings completely independently: superb craftsmanship. Sting was there. But something was missing.

(c) Stuttgarter Zeitung by Ulrich Bauer