Blue Turtles: 1985/86

Sting lived up, and beyond, all expectations...

"What song do you want to hear?" Sting teased the 15,000 assembled before him at Kingswood Music Theatre.

Roxanne! they all shouted in unison.

You couldn't hear the first few chords of Sting's guitar because of the frenzied cheering as he bowed to their request. The screaming quickly subsided, however, as he began with the first few words of the song, soon joined by the multitude of angelic voices of the masses. Somewhere from a distance, the haunting soprano sax of Branford Marsalis seeped in and sweetly shadowed Sting's vocal phrasings, both serenading the singer, and adding his own tender interpretations.

It was but one of the many beautiful, magical moments at Saturday night's celebration up at Wonderland, as Kingswood bid adieu to a rather lacklustre concert season with one of their best offerings.

It was the kind of night where Sting lived up to, and even beyond, all expectations. But then again, Gordon Sumner is that type of character - one who always is willing to stretch his capabilities to the outer limits, one who is willing to take the risks and brave experimentation one who is stubborn enough to go against the grain, and be rewarded for his persistence.

As he proved time after time during his performance, imagination knows no boundaries, and that interpretation is one of the most offer. Sting volunteered everything personal, privileged gifts one has to outside the allowable boundaries of his band, The Police - including reggae, soul, jazz, blues, and even surrealism-but he didn't forget to include some of their repertoire.

So we received alter-ego equivalents of 'Driven To Tears', 'Demolition Man', a bridled, ubiquitous version of 'Bring On The Night'; a funkirific boogie-shuffle of 'When The Whole World Brings You Down' and an extravagantly desperate 'I Burn For You'. His grainy vocal chords were at their best (though flat at times) and prompted one fan to yell during a placid account of 'Moon Over Bourbon Street', "Sting! You've got a sexy voice!"

But as great a showman, singer and songwriter Sting is, there were four very good reasons responsible for the overall brilliance of the performance. They were drummer Omar Hakim, bassist Daryl Jones, keyboardist Kenny Kirkland and saxophonist Branford Marsalis. All of them are respected jazz musicians, (Hakim is with Weather Report, while the other three are back-up for Branford's brother, Wynton), and rarely get to stretch out beyond their chosen constraints.

They were a lot of fun to watch, as they would ham it up and dance around, and then blow off astounding solos. As a musician, Sting was simply out of their league (at least, in terms of guitarmanship.) This was perfectly illustrated through the big jam blow-out at the tail end of the 'Whole World' medley, where each member of the band per- formed sensitive, yet dynamic

improvisation on their respective instruments. Hakim particularly forged an impressive drum solo, trading riffs and shots with all the other musicians, but never losing sight of the context of the piece. Then Sting chimed in with a pitiful guitar solo that couldn't hold a moth to the flame created by the other bandmembers.

However, people weren't there to contest Sting's musicianship. They were their to hear rock's reigning think tank tug at the cranium with stories about commitment without the strings, 'If You Love Somebody Set Them Free', the senselessness of war, 'Children's Crusade', and songs that can be interpreted in a number of ways, 'We Work The Black Seam', 'Fortress Around Your Heart' and 'Love Is The Seventh Wave' as well as a few Police gems, 'Every Breath You Take' and 'Message In A bottle'.

Without pretence, Sting is a natural talent. And the four encores awarded him could have I easily stretched into six or eight without the crowd tiring.

Now all we have to do is wait for him to dust off his Policeman's uniform.

(c) The Hamilton Spectator by Nick Krewen

Sting charms with new sound...

Outdoor concerts rarely inspire an intimacy between performer and audience.

Seldom is a dazzling stage personality sharply juxtaposed with bleak song lyrics and a morose off-stage image.

Last Saturday, all the rules were broken, and 10,000 people stared a contrast in the face.

Sting swept his Kingswood audience of its feet for two-and-a-half hours on the strength of a new band, new and old songs, and a polished performance.

The show started just about on time, and without the benefit of a backup band, Sting opened with a jazzy rendition of an old Police song, 'Shadows in the Rain'. From then on, the atmosphere was electric with screaming, cheering, Bics flicking, and even some tears.

Sting exhibited nonce of the arrogant traits so often attributed to him by the press. On the contrary, he mesmerised and manipulated his audience with jokes, anecdotes , and conversation. He accepted gifts tossed on stage, including flowers and a cute, stuffed bumblebee (get it?)

Several Police songs were added to the line-up, 'One World', 'Roxanne', 'Bring on the Night', 'When The World is Running Down'. Police drummer Stewart Copeland's percussion was sorely missed, but the band performed old favourites with a fresh style.

On sax and clarinet was Branford Marsalis (yes, Wynton's brother); on bass, a very cool Darryl Jones; Kenny Kirkland on Keyboards, Omar Hakim on drums and Janice Pendarvis and Dollette McDonald singing back-up, dancing, and having a ball. The girls worked previously with The Police on the 'Ghost in the Machine' tour.

A highlight of the evening was a revamped rendition of 'I Burn For You', from the film 'Brimstone and Treacle', which, aside from making the hairs on the backs of many people's necks stand up, prompted Sting to being his bass on stage.

Also spectacular were Sting's vocals on the melodic and haunting 'Moon over Bourbon Street', a song which chronicles the conscience of a vampire.

Several pleas from Sting for silence during the song proved futile as fans continued to shriek and whistle.

Of interest to newcomers to the Sting brigade was his explanation of the symbolic meanings behind his new stuff. Images of heroin addiction, war, divorce, and despair composed the mosaic of the music.

'The Dream of the Blue Turtles' album and tour are Sting's first solo outings since The Police went on a creative sabbatical in 1983. Not surprisingly, album sales have been good and the tour has taken the band across North America and Europe, and into Asia and the South Pacific.

For the benefit of Police freaks, Stewart Copeland just released his second solo album (the first being the soundtrack for the movie Rumble Fish) titles, 'The Rhythmatist'. This album is based largely on Copeland's experiences travelling through Africa, and is recommended for Copeland fans only.

As for Andy Summers, well, there's not been much since the release of his 1984 album with Robert Fripp, but reliable sources assure me Andy is not to the point of starving yet.

Sting's tour isn't expected to wind up until Christmas time. Spring 1986 is the tentative slot for a new Police album, and hopefully we can look forward to another 'picnic' next summer.

(c) Coven by Kim Hughes

Sting's jazz lacks former pop punch...

For Saturday night's chilly concert at Kingswood Music Theatre, Sting's first since leaving The Police, he played for about 10,000 fans all vociferous in their response from the moment he appeared onstage but still well short of the venue's capacity. It was less than a third of the audience that he played for when he last appeared in Toronto as lead singer for the rock group, The Police.

With his recent string of film roles, and his recent album, 'Dream Of The Blue Turtles', in the top five across North America, you might expect Sting would be more popular than ever. The audience's problem was obvious: Sting was coming in with a "jazz" band, and everyone knows jazz is supposed to be too esoteric to be fun.

As it turned out, the evening was fun - and the jazz players were a lot of the reason why. Saxophonist Branford Marsalis is known as a ferociously talented player in his brother Wynton's quintet; for most of Sting's concert, he stood in the spotlight on stage right, riffing away on his own angular version of the sort of cornball midnight sax wail that Sting's songs seem to require. He couldn't have found the experience too musically demanding, but he seemed to be enjoying himself und since no one has ever heard any rock sax player with this much facility, the performance was intriguing.

Pianist Kenny Kirkland set on a riser above the floor-had more of a challenge - trying to play his piano solo over the screams of girls who were busy watching Sting and the two woman back-up singers kicking up their legs, chorus-line style, at the front of the stage.

Certainly the band on its own could have provided a better jazz show - and Sting, if he were back with The Police, could have provided a better rock show, than the hybrid they offered. But the evening was by no means a waste of time or the cost of a ticket. The quality of the musicianship did make for an unusually listenable rock show, and for an outdoor concert at the end of summer, it was an enjoyable blend of singalong melodies and good playing.

As for the putative star of the evening, Sting seemed surprisingly warm with the audience, and surprised at the enthusiasm. "Now just please just calm down. Calm down," he said at one point, and went ahead to lead the audience in an arm-waving singalong. Later he asked that everyone remain very quiet for 'Moon Over Bourbon Street': "I don't mean to sound like a school teacher, but it can't be helped."

The former English teacher (who once cracked that the transition from teaching to rock was logical - both involved standing in front of groups of juvenile delinquents) hasn't from the play pen to the adult table with his been truly successful in making the transition new music. The songs are still sweet pop confections the supposedly dark references to 'The Children's Crusades', 'Russians', vampires and coal miners are all belled by the little boy keening voice and stuttered delivery.

He hasn't stood still though, and as pretentious as the current project may be, Saturday night's show proved that he should be able to shake off his history with The Police without too much trouble. Nearly all the material from the concert of the show was from the new album (Sting's Live-Aid song, 'One World', was joined to a hit from the album, 'Love Is The Seventh Wave'). In fact, it wasn't until the encore - when Sting emerged from backstage carrying just a guitar that he sang any Police material.

"What song would you like to hear?" he asked, several times in succession. Each time, the roar of the crowd became more distinct, until it was clear that they were yelling in unision, "Roxanne" the first of the dozen hit singles the Police enjoyed between 1979 and 1983, when the group disbanded. The entire audience sang along on the song, and Sting was smart enough not to mess with the crowd's memories: the high-price jazz talent stood in the wings, waiting for the song to end before they came back on.

(c) The Globe and Mail by Liam Lacey