Nothing Like The Sun: 1987/88

Sting tries for divinity, but falls just a little short...

During his 1985 tour - his first post-Police solo outing - pop star Sting presented himself as a Serious Musician, mixing pop tricks with jazz licks, even though it meant keeping sheet music nearby for quick reference.

On Friday night at Masonic Temple Auditorium, however, Sting took on a different role - the pop god, a suave, good-looking and personable showman playing for the screams as much as for the applause.

And there were screams aplenty from the 4,013 fans who packed the hall. Whether it was for his tasteful but unexceptional flamenco guitar playing during 'Fragile' or his cocky reggae dance steps during 'One World' or enough call-response numbers to choke a cheerleading squad, each time the spotlight hit Sting was a chance for the audience to yell its approval.

But Sting earned most of the cheers he received during the 21-song, three-hour concert, which repeats tonight at Masonic.

Mixing Police hits with material from his 'Blue Turtles' and 'Nothing Like the Sun' albums, the British musician offered a blend of musical styles broader than most pop performers attempt, mixing jazz, pop, Latin stylings, reggae - and even heavy metal guitar lines during a version of Jimi Hendrix' 'Little Wing'.

The general excellence of the music was what allowed Sting to get away with the often heavy-handed theatrics.

His seven-piece band - featuring saxophonist Branford Marsalis and keyboardist Kenny Kirkland, both '85 tour veterans - was remarkably tight and able to handle the diverse material.

But the real highlights came when Sting mixed old and new material, and when he re-arranged some of his most familiar songs. The show-opening 'Lazarus Heart' led into the Police's 'Too Much Information', and 'Bring on the Night' segued into 'When the World Is Running Down...'

'King of Pain' benefited from a subtle re-arrangement, and his spare rendition of 'Roxanne' - accompanied by only his guitar and Marsalis' saxophone - was transcendent.

There were also a few sly moments, such as when he snuck bits of the Beatles' 'From Me to You' into 'Little Wing'.

All that proved that Sting could well drop the pop star posturing and let the natural energy of the music guide his performance. Somewhere between the Serious Musician and the pop god is a place where he could comfortably dwell - and maybe even get a few screams in the process.

(c) The Detroit Free Press by Gary Graff

Vintage Sting overflows with rhythm, energy...

Like The Police, the band he fronted for seven years, Sting can wield a live show like few of his rock peers.

His music, already intricate and surgingly rhythmic, breaks free of the confines of its arrangements in concert and takes on added energy. It's like spontaneous combustion.

Masonic Temple is likely the smallest venue on his current tour, and Sting filled it to overflowing with his shimmering, ecumenical blend of Latin rhythms, reggae, jazz, acid rock, folk music and rhythm and blues.

Sting's music is intense and invigorating. While he popularized reggae in the early '80s in The Police, his new sounds from South and Central America, where he has directed his political criticisms recently. Couching his unflinching beliefs in music that reach- es so many so effectively is what sets him apart from most other successful rock musicians.

With salsa, calypso and samba working their way into most of the songs, Sting's show is reminiscent of the Caribbean-flavoured rock of Santana.

The concert is tasty and often amazingly intimate, but it's still designed for much bigger halls or arenas signed for much bigger halls or arenas and Sting's seven-piece band looked cramped on the stage. But its style wasn't cramped.

This was Sting's 10th anniversary return to Detroit - in 1978, when The Police was trying to get people to listen to its rocking style of reggae, the band played Bookie's. A couple of years later, after hits like 'Roxanne', 'Message In A Bottle' and 'De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da', The Police graduated to supergroup status. Friday's set contained 20 songs from mainly Sting's solo career, although crowd-pleasers from The Police files were added almost reverentially. With a 25-minute intermission, the show lasted just over two and a half hours.

Notably, 'Don't Stand So Close To Me', 'Roxanne', and 'Message In A Bottle' were kept until the two encores and featured Sting on amplified acoustic guitar in subdued settings.

The acoustic performance of 'Roxanne', embellished beautifully by saxophone player Branford Marsalis is a special treat Sting reserves for his long-time fans and Friday he was in superb voice. Often during The Police days, he'd cut corners on the high notes, but not Friday, and the crowd revelled in it, singing right along.

'Message In A Bottle' was the last song in the second encore, played through first on solo acoustic, Sting supplying the harmony parts while the audience sang the melody. At the very end, the rest of the band joined the star for a rousing chorus.

The only time the concert could really be described as rock'n'roll was during the scintillating version of Jimi Hendrix's 'Little Wing', which Sting included on his recent solo album. But, replacing the jazz orchestra on the recorded version, is a powerful rock group, led by guitarist, Jeff Campbell, doing his best acid rock imitation of the Hendrix style.

As with The Police, Sting's rather lengthy melody lines rely on the driving percussion section for much of their impact. Here, he has employed a drummer, Otis Smith, and a conga passion is for player, Mino Cinelu, whose one-two punch sent the songs soaring.

And bassist Tracy Wormworth was equally strong keeping the beat nailed down.

But the real featured players were Marsalis on alto and soprano sax, and Kenny Kirkland on electric keyboards.

Kirkland's jazzy lines in 'Englishman In New York' and his boogieing on King Of Pain were the evening's highlights. Marsalis dropped in some Charlie Parker-like riffs on 'Englishman' and 'Consider Me Gone'.
  
Bare-chested under a black, then dark blue tuxedo top, with black pants accented by a red stripe, Sting personified educated cool. He didn't doff the tux, to the great joy of every young woman in the house, until near the end. And he didn't do the silly dances which he patented while in The Police until the encore, either.

In fact, Sting was remarkably restrained for much of the show. He seemed restricted by having the microphone stand at centre stage and by having to supply instrumental lines on a Roland synthesiser or guitar. A few times, he wandered in behind his musicians during instrumental sections.

But the lack of movement helped him maintain control of his voice. Because of the more involved dynamics of his new music compared to the driving rock of The Police's biggest songs, he can't afford to wear himself out prancing around stage.

One of the evening's most affecting moments was the opening of the second act, when he sang the gorgeous 'They Dance Alone' from the new record. This paean to Chile's political dissenters who have been killed or imprisoned came through with all of the passion it has on record, and more. Sting leavens his urge to party with an intellectual sobriety - he has often been called the thinking person's rock and his live show manages to strike deep into the brain as well as the solar plexus.

It's a balanced, highly charged and energising show, the like of which rock fans have few chances to see or hear.

(c) The Windsor Star by Ted Shaw