Nothing Like The Sun: 1987/88

Sting's ego doesn't interfere with brilliant Shoreline show...

Sting is cocky, Sting is egotistical, Sting is brilliant. But if you want the last trait you also have to take the first two.

No problem. If he keeps putting on performances like Friday's show at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, then every ounce of Sting's narcissism can be tolerated.

What he gave the capacity crowd cannot be fully appreciated until you realize he took millions of his former Police fans from the world of pop music to that of faux jazz. That's no easy feat; rarely is an artist going to keep any of his core fans if he switches musical styles. And Sting has, in effect, created a whole new realm of music for the masses with his jazz-tinged, elaborately constructed and written songs.

Sting now seems more at ease with the material, more sure that he can play slower, moodier music and still entertain people by the thousands.

Dressed in a sharply styled white suit, backed by his eight-piece band that included Branford Marsalis, Kenny Kirkland and back-up singer Dolette McDonald, Sting ran through more than two hours of material that drew mainly from his latest album, 'Nothing Like The Sun', but also featured bits from his Police days

Opening with 'The Lazarus Heart', Sting was I charming, dramatic and virtually magnetic from start to finish. Yes, he loves the limelight and was never really out of it much of the night, but his arrangements were such that the band members each had their moments. All tales of his ego aside, Kirkland and Marsalis would never have been there if Sting was untalented.

Throughout songs such as 'They Dance Alone', 'Be Still My Beating Heart', 'Englishman in New York' and others, it became clear that Sting was going to be his usual theatric self, dancing with McDonald under the spotlight or playing with Marsalis. This can be construed, as it often is, as Sting refusing to give up center stage even for a moment. But more clearly it was Sting utterly enjoying himself. It was this enthusiasm that made the show better, raising it from a series of songs to excellent entertainment.

At one point, he even unplugged a sputtering keyboard and gave it to a fan who raised his hand when asked if anyone could play the thing. Was that a moment of staged irritation or simply a spontaneous and generous action? Clearly the latter.

The musically adept Sting switched from keyboard to guitar throughout the show but concentrated mostly on his singing, which was effectively emotional. That he had an additional camera man, adding to the two that Shoreline regularly has, benefited those on the lawn greatly. From rapid cutaways to slow motion, it was easily the best screen performance at Shoreline this year.

After hearing most of his current album, not too much from his first, 'Dream of the Blue Turtles', and only a smattering of Police songs (though he did sing 'Home on the Range'), it was impressive to know that Sting has brought his audience further in a handful of years than many artists do in a lifetime. He should be cocky.

(c) Peninsula Times Tribune by Tim Goodman