Mutual admiration - Sting and audience really connect at Arts Center concert...
The audience at the Garden State Arts Center Tuesday night simply adored Sting. And he seemed rather fond of the audience in return.
In fact, midway through the two-hour concert in Holmdel Township, Sting agreed to let two young men from the audience join him on stage. The men had waved a banner requesting permission to sing with Sting as another fan had done at last week's show in Philadelphia.
With permission granted, the two guys jumped on stage and stood very still under the glare of spotlights and the encouraging applause of the crowd.
"You sing the chorus and I'll sing the verses," Sting told them, motioning for the fans to share the microphone with him. Together, they sang 'I'm So Happy I Can't Stop Crying', a country tune from "Mercury Falling," an album released this year on A&M. This was Sting at his most magnanimous he also took time to read a fan letter thrown on stage and at his most playful.
Earlier in the concert, Sting interrupted his performance of 'Was Brought to My Senses' to scrutinize the saucer-shaped roof of the amphitheater, which was glowing in the reflected stage lights.
"Wait a minute," he said, "this looks like 'Independence Day.'"
Clearly, he was having fun Tuesday night. Those who dismiss Sting as a pretentious balladeer have probably not seen him in concert. He is an amiable, passionate performer.
Granted, 'Mercury Falling' is not his strongest effort. Much of the material wanders into "lite" music territory, including the current single 'Let Your Soul Be Your Pilot'. The newer songs sounded anaemic compared to, for example, the brisk version of 'Every Little Things She Does'. But there are at least three keepers on the new album and Sting performed them all: the aforementioned 'I'm So Happy I Can't Stop Crying'; a second country song, 'Lithium Sunset', and the feverish ballad 'You Still Touch Me'.
Even the weaker tracks ('The Hounds of Winter', 'I Hung My Head', 'I Was Brought to My Senses') were strengthened in concert, due to the chemistry between Sting and his band. Kenny Kirkland was exceptional on keyboards, especially on the medley of The Police songs Bring on the Night and When the World is Running Down'. The brass players were quite animated, simultaneously dancing and blowing on the sax or the trumpet. A trombone solo jazzed up The Police favourite 'Roxanne'.
The sold-out concert balanced the many phases of Sting's career, from his reggae-rock days with The Police ('Synchronicity', 'Demolition Man',) to his early solo work from the albums 'Dream of the Blue Turtles' and 'Nothing Like the Sun' ('If You Love Somebody Set Them Free', 'Englishman in New York') to the reflective material of 'Soul Cages' and 'Ten Summoner's Tales' ('Mad About You', 'Fields of Gold').
He also balance his commercial work with more pensive fare, performing both the hit 'If I Ever Lose My Faith in You" and the delicate, Latin-flavoured 'Fragile' in his encore.
(c) The Asbury Park Press by Kelly-Jane Cotter
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