Sting booms loud, strong and sharp...
A polished and well-performed show had Sting fans leaping to their feet only minutes after he came on stage and started to play at the NEC last weekend.
His strong, loud and sharp style boomed throughout the stadium as he started with songs from his new album 'The Soul Cages', which failed to incite much enthusiasm in me and some others in the audience.
On the other hand, many in the audience were die-hard Sting fans who seemed to love every note played.
The songs themselves were melodic enough with plenty of rhythm but certain ones stood out such as 'All This Time' and 'Mad About You', showing that Sting hasn't lost his touch yet and has avoided falling into the abyss of mediocrity.
The musicians accompanying him were superb, guitarist Dominic Miller was first class and added that extra verve and vibration to Sting's version of 'Purple Haze', plus other innovations with all old and new songs. David Sancious on keyboards was a wizard whose hands flew around his instrument in a frenzy and drummer Vinnie Colaiuta was in a class of his own when it comes to world class drumming.
The sound was generally excellent, coming across loud and clear apart from the occasional bass note shuddering within the confines of an almost full stadium.
But the old favourites of Police fans were not long in the waiting as the crowd roared when they heard the first bars of classics like 'Roxanne', 'King of Pain' and 'Walking on The Moon'.
One negative point is that the merchandise was ridiculously expensive but seemed to go down well enough despite this.
The lights were slick and not too flashy to make the show seem overdone: it was simple, it was loud and the music was good - just the way a rock concert should be.
(c) Stratford Upon Avon Herald by Ailsa Jenkins
Former Police man Sting is on a jazzy new beat...
Thousands of fans at the NEC Arena were at first bemused then impressed by the blend of jazz, rock and funk from the bassist bandleader and his three fellow musicians.
Songs from his introspective album 'The Soul Cages' dominated this concert. Besides opener 'All This Time', these eloquent songs are not catchy pop numbers but the thirty-something audience appreciated the displays of virtuoso musicianship from guitarist Dominic Miller and superb keyboardist David Sancious.
But Sting wasn't to stretch the patience of the many Police fans. They were out of their seats and dancing when the familiar choppy guitar riff of 'Roxanne' rang out, and Sting added to the Police nostalgia with 'Walking On The Moon', a superb King Of Pain and the encore 'Message In A Bottle'.
The latter featured Scots soul singer John O'Kane, who proved himself a match for the likes of Michael McDonald in his support set.
(c) The Wolverhampton Chronicle by LB
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