Broken Music: 2005/06

The magnificent Sting in Puerto Rico...

Last Thursday, one of the best rock concerts of the year was held at the José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum in San Juan. Gordon Matthew Summoner, better known as Sting, performed before a packed house. This artist has had a successful musical career in all spheres. First with The Police, as evidenced by his albums "Outlandos d'Amour," "Reggatta de Blanc," "Zenyatta Mondatta," "Ghost in the Machine," and his classic "Synchronicity." As a solo artist, "Soul Cages," "The Dream of the Blue Turtles," and "Nothing like the Sun" are just a few examples of Sting's talent as a composer and arranger. This artist has been known for championing the environment and addressing social issues in his lyrics.

The performance began at around 8:45 p.m. with the Argentine guitarist, based in England, Dominic Miller. The musician has accompanied great artists such as Peter Gabriel, Steve Winwood, Luciano Pavarotti, and Rod Stewart, to name a few. After this successful career, in 1989 he joined Sting's group, accompanying him on all of his tours and recordings. At one point, the artist addressed the audience, saying, "It's a great pleasure to be here. It's an honor to be in San Juan." Dominic demonstrated what an excellent guitarist he is, delighting the audience with several pieces, including "Samba in Brazil." He earned applause from those present for his powerful performance and skill on the guitar.

Then, Dominic began to play the chords of the song "Shape of my Heart" on his guitar, leading Sting to take the stage, accompanied by his bass, to sing this great melody. While this was happening, the other members of the band began to take their places on stage. After the singer's single "Que tal" (How are you doing), he transported the audience back to his days with The Police with the songs "Message in a Bottle," "Sincroncity II," and "Walking on the Moon." This created a great euphoria among the audience, as these are some of his favourites. He then delighted his fans with some numbers from his solo recordings, with hits like "If I Ever Lose my Faith in You" and "Englishman in New York." The night continued with songs like "Driven to Tears," "Voices," "Next to You," and "World Running Down," a journey through his extensive record collection.

One of the highlights of the night was the performance of The Beatles classic "A Day in a Life." Sting's vocals sounded spectacular. The performance of ska songs like "Spirits in a Material World" and "Desert Rose" were moments where the audience joined in singing with the artist. The two most applauded songs of this great performance were "Roxanne" and "Every Breath You Take," both from when he was a member of The Police. The former was mixed with a snippet of another song, "So Lonely," and the latter is one of the most representative songs of the 1980s. These were performed by every one of the thousands of people who filled the arena. Another much-applauded song was "Every Little Thing She Does is Magic" from the album "Ghost in the Machine." Throughout the concert, Sting played bass until the last song, "Fragile," in which he demonstrated his talents as a guitarist.

The performance was simple but of great quality. The band that accompanied the artist was phenomenal. No elaborate set-ups or effects were needed, as the music was the most important aspect of the show. Although many in attendance were disappointed that Sting didn't perform songs like "Don't Stand so Close to Me," "Nothing Like the Sun," and "If You Love Somebody," to name a few, the audience was very pleased, as the artist gave his all in this performance. The evening was characterized by great music and excellent sound. Sting also demonstrated why he is one of the greatest rock performers of all time.

(c) El Vocera de Puerto Rico by Ferdinand Alvarez Rivera

Sting offers a delicious aural feast...

Thursday night will be remembered by many rock fans as one of their best concert experiences in Puerto Rico. Singer, songwriter, and bassist Sting delivered a show packed with musical quality, albeit with some performance limitations and a length that left fans hungry, despite a delicious feast of aural delicacies.

The concert began with a few guitar solos played by one of the band members, until he announced that an admired musician would accompany him on the next piece.

Thus, at 9:00 p.m., singer Sting joined him on "Shape of My Heart," followed by the rest of the band members.

With his full set of equipment on stage - although the absence of a keyboard made some iconic chords missed on some of his memorized studio recordings - the artist proceeded to energize the audience with three classics from his years with The Police.

The songs "Message in a Bottle," "Synchronicity II," and "Walking On the Moon" engaged the audience in the musical show that effectively blended his solo work with his band's classics from the 1980s, resulting in a wonderful selection of golden material.

Among the hits from his years with The Police were "Spirits in a Material World," "Every Little Thing She Does is Magic," "King of Pain," "Roxanne," and, of course, "Every Breath You Take."

Regarding his solo selection, the highlights included "If I Ever Lose My Faith on You," "Englishman in New York," "Driven to Tears," "Fields of Gold," "Soul Cages," "World Running Down," "Desert Rose," "Next to You," and "Fragile," which closed the show.

However, the highlight of the night wasn't from Sting's usual repertoire. The singer delivered a simply majestic rendition of the classic "A Day in the Life," one of The Beatles' finest creations. The singer's voice and the band's arrangement revived the hypnotic trance of this excellent song.

However, the same quality of musical selection wasn't reflected in the performance. The absence of giant screens was an affront to the enjoyment of those who didn't have the privilege of seats close to the stage.

The singer - who has never been known for his friendliness - was somewhat restrained, and although he communicated with the audience in Spanish (a language he has mastered admirably for decades), he kept his interaction very limited, and didn't even show warmth when saying goodbye, leaving without a final gesture of thanks, less than 90 minutes after Sting arrived on stage.

The "privileged" arena section had to contain their excitement during the show, because when the crowd - intoxicated by the music and excited by hearing their favourite tunes - stood up to celebrate their euphoria, security immediately appeared and ordered everyone to sit down, which was as absurd as inviting people to a pool party and then forbidding them from getting into the pool.

What I'm saying is, concerts are meant to be held this way. I understand that some people feel they can't enjoy the concert if people stand up. I understand that. But we're not at a movie theatre or a theatre. You can't dance while sitting down. Standing up and dancing is part of the concert experience.

For example, I'm not personally one to stand up and dance, but I respect the popular culture of live music. I think the organizers should have known this. In short, the constant interventions by security personnel further detracted from the show.

Concerts are notable, unlike a recording, for the experience of interaction between singer and fans.

The artist needs to feel the euphoria of his audience, as this is equivalent to live applause. Perhaps, after all, Sting's lack of restraint was due to the audience's inability to fully respond with the same placidity as his exceptional performance. Lessons for future occasions.

(c) Primera Hora by Alexis Sebastián Méndez

Intimate and casual in San Juan...

In an intimate and casual way, Sting began his concert in San Juan last night before a practically full José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum.

First, however, it was guitarist Dominick Miller, one of the four musicians on the "Broken Music Tour," who entertained the audience while the British singer arrived.

At 8:39 p.m., Miller began playing a few guitar solos while people settled into their seats. Around 8:55 p.m., he said: "I'm going to play my last piece with another musician. He's like my older brother; in 16 years, he's shown me the world. The title of the song is 'Shape of my Heart.'"

Only a few seconds passed before Sting came on stage and began playing the first notes of the song on his bass. His entrance took the audience by surprise, as they were still looking for their seats, and they applauded this unexpected entrance.

For those who had doubted that the set would include enough songs from The Police, the next three songs were from the famous group: "Message In a Bottle," "Synchronicity," and "Walking on the Moon," a prelude to what the rest of the night had in store.

The night before, the singer of "An Englishman In New York" performed before more than 5,000 people in La Romana, Dominican Republic, where he surprisingly shared the stage of the Altos de Chavón amphitheatre with Dominican musicians Juan Luis Guerra and Fellé Vega.

The Dominican artists joined the Englishman on the song "Fragile," alluding to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, in New York and Washington.

(c) El Nuevo Dia by María Ivette Vega Calles