Sacred Love: 2003/05

Sting in front of 7,200 spectators at the Seidenstickerhalle...

The man is a walking superlative: "Giant of pop culture," "thoughtful superstar," representative of "pop music with an intellectual profile" - Sting inspires critics to sing his praises. On Saturday, the British songwriter almost completely filled Bielefeld's Seidenstickerhalle. 7,200 listeners came, some from far away, to one of the two NRW concerts. But Sting left many of them visibly perplexed.

Those who had promised themselves an extraordinary evening of music for a high price (the local promoters are not to blame for the pricing) experienced a pop star who seemed strangely uninspired at times. Yet his album "Sacred Love," which he is presenting with this tour, is considered one of the most politically engaged of his career.

The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, prompted Sting, alias Gordon Sumner, to write his partisan lyrics. 'Inside' and 'This War' attempt to lyrically connect the personal with themes of "big" politics. Not always free of clichés, but wrapped in the usual rousing sounds, it's fine. So much for the CD.

Performed live, the media accompaniment the rock star deployed was particularly annoying. Almost every song – with the exception of the old "Police" tracks – was narrated on four movable screens. Quite apart from the fact that no one needs multimedia embellishment to understand Sting's moral impetus, the content was surprising: belly-dancing beauties, women with hula hoops, strippers, picturesque black-and-white architectural images at the "Englishman in New York." Nothing remained vague, nothing indistinct. Erotica with a sledgehammer. The cinema in your head had absolutely no chance.

By the fifth song at the latest, the blatant tangle on the monitors, which stole the show from "pure Sting" and his quite valiant band, was really annoying.

The 53-year-old also has a lot to offer in his passion for the cultures and sounds of the Orient – "Desert Rose" (no belly dancer, please!) from the 1999 album "Brand New Day" is a fantastic anthem. The duet "Whenever I Say Your Name" with Mary J. Blige has a lot of potential – but here, too, the politically correct video presentation of religious and political symbols thwarted any attempt to be carried away by the music.

The fact that Sting performed his numbers without commentary, compared to previous performances, was noticeable, but not a drawback – "explanatory words" would have only further contributed to the overload.

But what would an ambivalent concert experience be without a touch of joy: the "Police" tracks with their driving rock rhythms, the outstanding soloist and jazz trumpeter Chris Botti, who had already made a remarkable impression in the supporting act.

A hint of party atmosphere in the audience as the first notes of "Roxanne" sounded, a tentative sing-along to "Fragile." Then, and only then, did one feel like meeting an old friend.

After two hours, a polite farewell with a deep bow. In the car, one puts the CD on and hopes that Sting will rediscover the qualities of his music by the time of the next tour.

(c) Neue Westfalische by Heike Kruger