Brand New Day: 1999/01

Sting shows top form at arena...

Artists in rock 'n' roll carry the reputation of being a musician first and a rock star second.

One of those artists is Sting.

Rock's former Police chief and accomplished solo craftsman performed Tuesday at The First Union Arena, and despite his arsenal of hits and charismatic stage presence, it was Sting and his band's polished musicianship that shined brightest before the crowd of 6,700.

Sting opened the whopping 25-song show with 'A Thousand Years' and followed with 1985's exceptional 'If You Love Somebody Set Them Free'. He then took the band through an inspired performance of 'After The Rain Has Fallen' and seamlessly segued into a soulful rendition of 'We'll Be Together'.

''Good evening, everyone!'' said Sting to a warm cheer. ''It's very nice to be in Wilkes-Barre. I've never been here before... What a nice welcome.''

'All This Time' followed, and the rhythmic 'Seven Days' and the passionate 'Mad About You' also served as highlights. 'Fields of Gold' brought a roar from the crowd, and 'Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic' - the first Police number of the set - also energized the receptive and extremely attentive audience.

Other gems such as 'Englishman In New York' and the inspiring 'Brand New Day' were delivered with precision, and Sting showed that he hasn't lost a thing vocally with a performance of The Police classic 'Roxanne'. He also connected with the crowd by pulling a female belly-dancer from the crowd to playfully dance on stage during 'Desert Rose'.

''You people are wild,'' he said with a smile at the conclusion of the number.

Although Sting has won Grammy awards as a solo artist and has sold millions of albums on his own, he has never forsaken his days with The Police. Even the set's final number - an re-arranged jammy rendition of 'When The World Is Running Down, You Make The Best of What's Still Around' - served as a clever nod and wink to his days with one of rock's all-time greatest bands.

Sting was called back for two encores, first offering 'If I Ever Lose My Faith In You', and then 'Every Breath You Take'. His second curtain call featured a crisp acoustic performance of 'Message In A Bottle' and the show concluded with his traditional closing number, 1987's 'Fragile'.

What's so special about seeing Sting in concert is watching his attention to the music itself. He constantly surrounds himself with talented players, and he himself still plays some very impressive bass. He also frequently reworks his songs - apparently to make them more musically challenging - yet he never strays too far off course to a point at which they lose their familiarity.

Simply put: Sting always appears to be striving to be better. And although he has consistently set his own musical bar pretty high, he's almost always able to raise his game.

On Tuesday night at the arena, he again did just that.

(c) The Wilkes Barre Times Leader by Alan K. Stout

The old and new Sting makes arena sing...

One of pop's truly slickest performers who helped usher in the New Wave in the late 1970s, Sting delivered a vibrant mix of old and new music to an audience of 6,500 at the First Union Arena at Casey Plaza Tuesday night.

Grammy Award winner Jill Scott from Philadelphia also helped give the double-bill a double dose of music power with an incredible opening set featuring music from her recording 'Who Is Jill Scott? - Words & Sounds Volume I'.

Looking fit and trim and more 30 than 50 years old, Sting surrounded himself with an incredibly talented quintet of musicians and dished out a 20-song set filled with luscious musical offerings.

Interspersed with a half-dozen Police songs for good measure, the former cops' front man chose very wisely from his catalogue of solo works and each flowed effortlessly from the musically adept band. Sting sang and played guitar centre stage most of the evening, occasionally making his way to each side for a wave or boyish nod.

Sting was a congenial host, chatting with the audience about clothing, signs and even 'Ally McBeal' (a television show on which he recently appeared).

"It's so nice to be in Wilkes-Barre and receive such a warm welcome... thank you so very much," he said.

The angst and impatience of the early Police recordings has been replaced by the jazzy-smooth melodic offerings of a much more introspective, expressionist musician in Sting.

His concert is craftily presented in front of a cleverly lit backdrop of airy swatches of fabric, which furl softly from ceiling to stage level.

Occasionally, esoteric soundscapes strayed a bit from script but always found their way back home to lush, soulful melodic conclusions. Besides, this band is so artistically talented that it hardly seemed noticeable.

Percussionist Manu Katche was musically superb, playing two different sets of drums and offering other rhythmic sounds by voice and instrument throughout the set. The band also included Mark Eldridge, keyboards; Chris Botti, trumpet; Jeff Young, keyboards, and Dominic Miller on guitar.

Pop-laced standards like 'After the Rain Has Fallen', 'Desert Rose' and 'We'll Be Together' worked well meshed with jazzy offerings like 'If You Love Somebody' and the moody 'A Thousand Years'. Then there were songs like 'Fields of Gold', which was just simply in a class by itself.

Sting's world-beat of finely crafted tunes translates extremely well in concert. His sweet, innocuous sounds only find new avenues of expression on stage, making them even stronger than the recordings, if that's possible.

His imaginative excavations into the world of eclectic pop make his sound uniquely Sting when recorded and even further imprinted in concert.

The Brand New Day tour for Sting is easily a critical and artistic success. By audience reaction, it has also clearly found favour with the masses.

(c) The Times Shamrock by Al Choman