Nothing Like The Sun: 1987/88

The two faces of Sting - part shallow glitz machine; part musical icon of passion and power...

It was the best of concerts and the worst of concerts. It was a night of high kicks and low jinks; of musicians who were inspired and others who were simply clever; of music that was record-perfect and little more; of songs and a voice that are as sublime as any in pop. It was a tale of two Stings.

On Thursday, Sting played the first of two nights at the Oakland Coliseum Arena.

Within that show there were two shows and, oddly, two personas of Sting himself, separated rather too neatly by an intermission, the first as off-putting as the second was stunning.

First, there was the New and Improved Sting. Black-suited and long-haired, this Sting stood at center stage, surrounded by his eight-piece backup group, and sang many of the songs from his most recent album, '...Nothing Like the Sun'. Not that this was bad in itself, but it was obvious that Sting was performing these pieces just to sell the record. Such songs as the rousing 'We'll Be Together' and the enchanting 'Englishman in New York' were played with little emotion or invention.

And Sting, the pop star, began to act like one, slapping hands with his mates, chasing after vocalist Dollette McDonald and making as if to grab her derriere, and mimicking the playing of saxophonist Branford Marsalis. It was as idiotic as it was ironic - Sting, the one pop star who had yet to yield to the stage cliches of his counterparts, doing just that, while neglecting the musically deserving songs of the rapturous Sun.

Perhaps it was a matter of his backup group. With the exception of Marsalis' stirring sax work and the angular and intrepid keyboard playing of Kenny Kirkland, Sting was accompanied by musicians who knew their place and seemed content to display their dexterity. Or perhaps it was simply a matter of staging. For most of the first set, Sting was without an instrument, dabbling occasionally at a nearby synthesizer but otherwise appearing awkward, as if he didn't know what to do with himself. When he picked up an acoustic guitar for 'Consider Me Gone', he delivered the first real performance of the night, his presence and voice finally in sync with the brooding words and jazz-tinged feel of the piece.

It was not until after intermission, however, that the Old and Not-Requiring-Improvement Sting emerged. Returning to the stage with his guitar, he presented such songs as the Police hit 'King of Pain' with a passion and power that were nothing short of breathtaking.

On the delicate 'Fragile', he played the song's bossa nova-like guitar phrases with a simple suppleness and wrenching intensity, while his voice glided with the melody as if both were transported on a warm wind. And as the set drew to a close, the Sting wit - not the Sting buffoonery of the start - also emerged.

Leading into 'Sun's' version of Jimi Hendrix's 'Little Wing', Sting picked out an elegiac rendition of that master's 'Voodoo Chile' - subtle, intelligent and hilarious. But at the end of the song, he allowed his lead guitarist to finish the set with a blaring, obnoxious solo that could have been the close of a Dokken show. Incomprehensible.

And to make matters more confusing, he came back for a series of encores that ranged from an improbable 'Home on the Range' to a stormy reading of the 'Blue Turtles' hit 'Fortress Around Your Heart' and an exquisite rendition of 'The Secret Marriage', his voice intertwining with Marsalis' sax, both embracing the gorgeous melody.

And finally, in what has become a trademark, he stood on stage alone and played 'Message in a Bottle' as the capacity crowd sang along.

(c) The San Jose Mercury News by Harry Sumrall

Sting leaves his mark on an adoring Oakland crowd...

The Sting concert was over and a little Ford Escort roared out of the parking lot to reach the exit of the Oakland Coliseum Arena.

The girl leaned out the window to watch for traffic. She was smiling blissfully. Her license plate read: STNGNME.

There were thousands like her Thursday night as Sting, the 34-year-old former Police frontman, took the stage to sell his sound-a fluid combination of jazz, mood music and rock'n'roll - to an adoring audience anxious to buy.

Wearing a black silk shirt, black trousers and sporting shoulder-length blond hair, Sting called the shots and the sold-out crowd went along happily.

When Sting played slow, potent ballads from his most recent album, 'Nothing Like the Sun', there was respectful attention.

When he stripped off his shirt and shook his tousled mane, there were plenty of high-pitched screams. There were more every time he pranced around the stage and every time he spoke.

In between, there was also some great music, with masterful jazz solos from superlative sidemen such as keyboardist Kenny Kirkland and sax player Branford Marsalis, both of whom have backed Sting since his first solo album nearly three years ago.

Sting wrote dozens of memorable, reggae-influenced tunes for the Police next to U2 probably the most popular and influential rock group of the '80s for six years before leaving the group to pursue his current musical efforts with top-notch studio jazz players.

To his credit, he can keep up with the best of them. While by no means a musical virtuoso, Sting's guitar playing has improved remarkably and his voice, rough-edged and forceful, soared effortlessly to the farthest reaches of the Coliseum.

But it's hard to figure out how he's trying to sell himself now.

Is he a teen idol? Yes, to a degree, and yet few teen idols write songs about political murders in South America, as Sting does in 'They Dance Alone' from the new album.

Perhaps he wants to lend himself greater "musical legitimacy" from older listeners by teaming with top-flight jazz masters. His newer songs, after all, obviously are not geared for Top-40 radio.

But his onstage antics often belied his more serious musical intents. 

Every time Kirkland dashed off an intricate piece of piano work, for instance, Sting was raising cheers with his histrionics on the opposite side of the multi-levelled stage.

But if Sting's intentions are unclear, his two and a half hour show still offered quality at every turn.

No matter how he presents his songs, they sound good. New songs, they sound good. New songs such as 'Rock Steady' - which sounded harder and better than on the new record and 'Englishman in New York' are interesting, melodic compositions.

Several well-chosen Police songs, including 'King of Pain', 'When the World is Running Down', and 'Murder by Numbers' sounded glossier and interestingly different with the benefit of a seven-piece band. 

Perhaps the highlight was 'Bring on the Night', by now a standard associated as much with Sting's solo career as with the Police.

(c) The Peninsula Times Tribune by Marsh McCall