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
You must have a display name to comment.
Follow the button below to create your display name.
CREATE A DISPLAY NAME