Soul Cages: 1991/92

Sting makes his point on music mastery...

In the court of every king and emperor of old, a fraternity of solitary and versatile musicians the bards - made music and legend using talent, creativity, humour and an unerring sensitivity to the attention of their audience.

If western popular music has anything close to a master bard, it has to be Sting.

In the first of two weekend shows at Blaisdell Arena, Sting and a crew of world-class journeymen invoked sonic witchcraft of such power that by the end of the show Friday, everyone in every row was on their feet and dancing hard.

The heart and guts of the show was Sting himself, both guiding the melody with the inimitable power of his solo vocal, and laying a many-tiered and solid foundation of bass guitar.

The band is winding up a 14 month tour, so they showed both the blessings and the curse of a long road stint they were air-tight musically, but at times, Sting's voice showed the strain, and he took a low note where usually there might be a high line. Still, 95 percent of a Sting vocal is still a force to be reckoned with. He also has a gift for the live song, playing versions different enough so you know you're not getting Memorexed, but close enough to the original to keep a steady momentum.

One of his backing journeymen, in particular, shone brightest. (Nothing like the Sun, though.) On 'When the World is Running Down', guitarist and keyboard player David Sancious kicked out an incredible key solo. Running the range of the ivories with speed and yet restraint, his solo was the turning point that truly fired up the crowd. After that point, it was standing room only on the floor and in the loges.

Filling out the backing group were Dominic Miller, who did an admirable job of covering the many styles of guitarists Sting has played with over the years; and Vinnie Colauita, who had the unenviable task of trying to do Stewart Copeland fills.

So what songs did Sting play, you might ask? A better question would be: What didn't he? He packed into just over two hours a good number of the hits which have come out of a steadily successful 14-year career. From 'Message in a Bottle' to 'Soul Cages', fans got a taste of what must have been more than 30 tunes.

There were even a few excellent surprises - namely, a slick version of 'Ain't No Sunshine When She's Gone', and a killer version of 'Purple Haze', on which Sancious got to show off his guitar skills. Sting singing Hendrix is a sight to behold. And hey, the best bards always knew how to draw on the classics.

F anything was wrong with the show, though, it might have been that the band was so slick and so tight there was little room to breathe between the tunes. They just kept coming, wave after wave, like getting caught inside on the North Shore. Still, it was a pleasant sea of music to drown in.

The crowd was mostly urbane and well-dressed, and it was kind of cool to go to a show where no one was getting his head bashed in on the barricade. I guess Armani blazers don't bear up well to street fights.

(c) Honolulu Star Bulletin by Chris Alper

Sting, band leave fans jazzed - Concert an anthology of Police, solo career...

For a 40-year-old man of the world, Sting certainly wears his age well... and plays and sings it well also.

But what else can you expect from a handsome leadman responsible for some of the richest and most supple pop music around? Considering the thunderous response he and his band received last night at the Blaisdell Arena, the sold-out Honolulu audience got its favourites from his Police days, and then some.

Sure, it would've been easy for the band to slog through 'Roxanne' again for the umpteenth time, take their bows and leave. But, surprisingly, the band dove into it with an aggressive sureness in the middle of their set, starting up a collection of songs that flowed one into the other, giving us a fresh approach to Sting's hits, both solo and with The Police. 

Sting was in fine form and voice, his stage demeanour buoyed by his obvious pleasure to be back in Hawaii to finish up a long 14-month international tour. And when combined with such a backup group of accomplished musicians, featuring Dominic Miller on guitar, keyboardist David Sancious and drummer Vinnie Colaiuta, the songs were bursting with a sense of deftly arranged rock music immediacy in tune with the sensibility of jazz.

While his latest album, 'The Soul Cages', hasn't garnered the sales his previous records have, the live performances of the record's songs brought a spark to a collection of mostly moody and meditative tunes.

Only two songs into their set, 'Jeremiah Blues (Part 1)' absolutely cooked, the band's precision cutting through with the fusion (not a cliched word in their book!) of the jazzy approach of Sancious's keyboard playing on one side, the clean execution of Miller's rock guitar work on the other, and all grounded by Sting's bass and Colaiuta's dead-on drumming.

It seemed the band explored every musical possibility on nearly every song they played: a turnaround in the rhythm here, a phrase played just a bit differently there, and it was like hearing your favourites with a new set of ears. And it was all played back-to-back at a near dizzying pace.

After 'Roxanne' brought the people to its feet, the band started to hit its stride with a bit of 'Bring On The Night', moving into 'When The World Is Running Down', highlighted by an especially fine solo by Sancious.

Then before we could catch our collective breath, the band kicked into 'King of Pain' (which has become a celebratory sing-along in concert whose catchy melody has since surpassed in memory its self-pitying lyrics). Then it's 'Fortress Around Your Heart', a more expansive and aggressive 'Soul Cages', a slamming version of Hendrix's 'Purple Haze', 'If You Love Somebody (Set Them Free)', 'We'll Be Together Tonight', 'Walking On The Moon', and finally (whew!) an impassioned 'Every Breath You Take'.

It's not surprising that after more than a year on the road together, the band is in superb form.

This most recent visit makes it the third time Sting has performed in Hawaii. Myself and the audience could measure the maturing of our lives with his music, his songs becoming significant touchstones. Snapshot memories of The Police playing at the Campus Center Ballroom at the University of Hawaii, hot off their first two albums. The big Aloha Stadium show that featured the band at its most theatrical on its 'Synchronicity' tour. And now his back-to-the-basics band, with Sting looking back on a well-celebrated musical life with pleasure and looking ahead with eagerness. Taking a cue from a lyric from 'The Soul Cages', Sting has made all of his audiences worldwide eager swimmers to the light.

All in all, we couldn't have gotten a more generous Valentine's Day present than last night's concert. And, luckily, the gift will be presented again tonight.

(c) Honolulu Star Advertiser by Gary C.W. Chun

Honolulu sees the end of the Soul Cages tour...

The crowd was very enthusiastic and never before have I seen an audience so 'dressed up' for a rock concert - they obviously take their nights out very seriously in Hawaii.

The sets were much the same as the UK shows except for the inclusion of 'Driven To Tears' and the exclusion of 'Wild Wild Sea' which was rather a disappointment as this is one of my favourite songs from 'Soul Cages.'

There were no great stage effects and the lighting seemed to be much simpler... Sting was in high spirits and good voice on both nights... he had not cut his hair so it was looking quite a bit longer and shaggier than when I had recently seen him.

On his last show, 15th February, Sting dedicated 'Why Should I Cry For You?' to his crew. He said: ''Most of them have been with me over ten years and we've been on the road for fourteen months. I want to thank these guys from the bottom of my heart...''

The other difference on the last night was when Sting and band came back to do 'Message In A Bottle' - they were very surprised to see a crew member dressed like Batman descend from the lighting rig down to the stage. He grabbed Sting and each of the band members and hugged and kissed them! The band tried to continue unconcerned but I learned from Vinnie later that they had not known this was going to happen. Another highlight was the release of balloons and confetti during the last number.

Those two shows are going to be memorable to me and I am so glad I was able to fly down to Hawaii to get tickets for them. I did manage to speak with each of the band after the first show and they were delightful. However, the grand occasion came on the next night. My friend Maria and I were sitting in the lounge of our hotel when we saw Sting, Dominic, Miles, Kim Turner and Billy Francis only a few yards away. They were relaxing and listening to the hotel band. Sting made no objection when I approached him and was quite agreeable for a picture to be taken!

(c) Wanda Stone for Outlandos/Sting.com