Broken Music: 2005/06

What would Sting be without The Police?

Sting prefers intimate venues on his "Broken Music Tour." For his only concert in the German-speaking world, he stayed in the Bregenzerwald region.

Tuesday in Montreux, Thursday in Luxembourg, with a stop at Lake Constance in between: Sting is on the road almost every day with his "Broken Music Tour," and has been for over a year. He's accompanied by just three musicians and, often, his son Joe Sumner's band, "Fiction Plane." In Alberschwende, a village 6 kilometers outside Dornbirn, a thunderstorm breaks right in the middle of their warm-up set.

Their Brit-rock is well-received; Joe Sumner's high-pitched vocals are reminiscent of his father's voice, and a cheerful, relaxed atmosphere fills the open-air arena. 6,000 people have come; there was room for 1,500 more. It feels like a summer party. Then "Message in a Bottle" explodes on stage. The Police classic sets the tone and pace, and with 'Synchronicity II' Sting proves how perfectly he can still phrase. Then he recalls his solo days ('If I Ever Lose My Faith in You'), before returning to Police with 'Walking on the Moon'. That pretty much sums up the evening: lots of Police, less from his solo career.

Applause frequently breaks out between verses, especially during 'Englishman in New York'. People like the blond Brit, but they love it even more when he launches into the old Police songs. Especially the gray-haired folks who grew up with 'Every Breath You Take'. Or Lisa and her husband Vito (a native of Salmsach), who came all the way from St. Gallen and are standing right at the front. "Sting has become more open, funnier," says Lisa, comparing it to her last concert in Zurich in 1991.

Sting has become more open, funnier. Sting no longer sounds as ponderous and world-pop-oriented as he did two years ago on his "Sacred Love" tour. He grins at the audience, standing stoically behind his well-worn Fender bass for almost the entire evening. He refuses to speak to the listeners, which is disappointing, and one wishes for more spontaneous interaction between the musicians—the band sounds far too rehearsed: former McCartney drummer Abe Laboriel and guitarists Lyle Workman and Dominic Miller, with whom Sting has been playing for 15 years.

At times, the routine shows, and not all the songs are played with the same enthusiasm. And the gentler numbers like "Shape of My Heart," which the band visibly struggles with, don't quite resonate. All the more enjoyable, then, is a (very free-flowing) rendition of "Fields of Gold" and, midway through the concert, the only cover song: "Day in the Life" by the Beatles, a song that is virtually impossible to replicate. Sting's minimalist interpretation gives an idea of how the song would have sounded had the Beatles ever played it live.

With 'Roxanne,' the show is over. In Montreux, Sting stretched the Police classic into a 20-minute improvisation on the refrain "turn on the red light," but in Alberschwende, half the time has to suffice. There are four encores, as planned; the last is 'Fragile,' which sings of rain and our fragility. Here, Sting is completely himself. Then it's quickly packed up; Luxembourg awaits.

(c) Thurgauer Zeitung by Dieter Langhart

Sting captivated thousands...

Superstar Sting delivered a powerful performance at his concert in Alberschwende. Despite the unpredictable weather, around 6,000 fans cheered the global superstar.

'Every Breath You Take' was one of his biggest hits – but what Sting offered the approximately 6,000 fans in Alberschwende on Wednesday evening in terms of musical and showmanship left some breathless with joy.

Intense thunderstorms and heavy rain initially raised some doubts as to whether the "Englishman's" concert would even go ahead on time. But after the expertly warmed-up – albeit rain-soaked – opening act by Fiction Plane, the band of Sting's son Joe Sumner, the sky cleared almost the moment the superstar launched into 'Message in a Bottle' to thunderous applause from the audience. Like his autobiography, the current tour of former Police frontman Sting is also called "Broken Music"—and offers a perfectly staged cross-section of his musical output to date. "Walking on the Moon," "Englishman in New York," and other hits had the audience roaring with laughter—and during ballads like "Shape of My Heart" and "Every Breath You Take," a few lighters were even waved.

Skillfully interwoven influences from jazz, reggae, and even classical elements, combined with a solid foundation of pop/rock, formed the coherent basis for an eclectic concert performance that, naturally, left no doubt about the stature of the world-famous musician. Sting himself was decidedly unpretentious and in good spirits. The applause at the end was correspondingly euphoric.

(c) Vorarlberg Online