Broken Music: 2005/06

Sting didn't leave Bratislava cold...

More than fifteen thousand fans came to enjoy Sting's Bratislava concert. The winner of several Grammy awards performed at the Artmedia stadium in Petrzalka on Wednesday. He returned to Slovakia after six years. This was his first time performing outdoors.

A few minutes after nine, the audience arrived. The famous singer started his performance with the hit 'Message In The Bottle'. "Good evening, Bratislava," he addressed the crowd in broken Slovak in the middle of the song. Later, when he asked the enthusiastic audience how they were doing, he continued in English. They were doing well. How could it be otherwise, when he asked them after they had been able to enjoy the song 'If I Ever Lose My Faith In You'. And the mood rose song by song. Although the audience was excited from the start, their initial reactions were lukewarm compared to the audience at a Depeche Mode concert. However, few can stand up to the fans of the cult Black Angels.

Sting began his career in the late 1970s in the band The Police, and later embarked on a successful solo career. His music can be heard in many films, and he has also starred in several. In addition, he tirelessly fights to save the rainforests and supports other charity events.

Sting was accompanied on stage by a trio of musicians. The light panels that created the atmosphere behind him were brought in similar to those used by Massive Attack the week before. The audience was overwhelmed by the heat, but Sting did not let them down. On the contrary - he gradually brought the audience to a boil song by song. The ballad 'Shape Of My Heart', for example, received a stormy response, while 'Englishman In New York' and the pleasantly danceable 'Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic' did not go unnoticed. At the beginning, the singer played in a jacket, but after the first few songs he took it off and remained in a short-sleeved T-shirt. The former leader said goodbye to Bratislava after about a hundred minutes. Before that, however, the audience applauded him back on stage twice to add a few more songs. Among them were 'Desert Rose' and 'Every Breath You Take'. The singer did not plan to stay in Bratislava overnight.

The opening act for Sting's performance yesterday was the band Fiction Plane, whose leader is his son Joe Sumner. They started the performance at exactly eight o'clock and had the stage for about half an hour. Joe Sumner, as a true Anglican, also spoke about the weather when he praised it. They say they don't have that often in England. The band was shortening the wait for the main star of the evening with melodic rock.

In October, the singer plans to release an album of classical lute compositions from the 16th century. He received the lute two years ago as a gift from his guitarist Dominic Miller, who has been accompanying Sting since the early nineties and also performed at yesterday's performance in Bratislava. The singer's other bandmates were Paul McCartney's drummer Abe Laboriel jr. and second guitarist Lyle Workman. The singer received another musical gift - a fujara - when he first performed in Slovakia six years ago.

© Pravda by Matúš Kvasnicka

Sting did not disappoint, he thrilled Bratislava...

The famous British singer Sting was eagerly awaited at the Bratislava Artmedia stadium on Wednesday evening from 7 pm. More than 15,000 fans began to push forward enthusiastically two hours later when the inconspicuous-looking Sting "ran" onto the stage.

He returned to Bratislava after six years and, just like then, this evening he opened the concert like a star should. He started his performance with the hit 'Message In The Bottle', during which he addressed the audience in broken Slovak. "Good evening, Bratislava!" sounded from Sting's throat, who was giving out one musical treat after another to the enthusiastic audience from a stage flooded with purple, pink, blue and yellow lights. "How are you?" the charismatic musician asked a little later. And the audience answered him with applause. This signalled that they were doing well. Sting asked them the question right after he played the famous song 'If I Ever Lose My Faith In You'.

After the second song, Sting changed his bass guitar, took off his jacket and the fun continued. The mood was graduated and the songs 'Shape Of My Heart' and 'Englishman In New York' earned particularly thunderous ovations. During it, cameras and mobile phones suddenly rose in the crowd and fans filmed one of Sting's most famous songs. The entire stadium sang along as if on cue.

With Bratislava, one of the most respected musicians in the world of popular music said goodbye after more than an hour and a half. The audience had already called him back with a big applause. And even twice. Sting did not let himself be embarrassed and added big hits like 'Desert Rose' or 'Every Breath You Take'. He finally ended his concert with a greeting: "Thank you very much, and see you soon." Then the fans headed for the exits and had to wait a few minutes before they could get out of the stadium. Sting's journey was to Milan, where he will perform two concerts for the local audience as part of his Broken Music Tour.

© Bleskovky