Sting show goes with an easy flow...
Sting has a reputation for taking himself too seriously, but he looked like he was more serious about having fun Thursday night at Cobo Arena.
No fancy costumes or elaborate staging for the ex-Policeman. The emphasis on his "The Soul Cages" tour is on the music, and the innate pleasure that comes from creating it.
Always known for working with superlative musicians, Sting has ditched the jazz pretensions of his earlier solo excursions for the simple, unadorned pretext of a four-iece rock 'n' roll band.
This unadorned approach seems to have relaxed him. Dressed in a black T-shirt, jeans and boots, his blond hair cut short, Sting sipped a cup of tea, spoke freely to the crowd (his response to one woman's affection: "Imagine living with me, you'd never get to use the mirror!").
He even scoffed at a sign that read "I know you're 39" and retorted, "I'll show you 39" as he led the rock-solid band into the reprise of 'When the World Is Spinning Round'.
Sting's show isn't so much a recitation of hits, though it's laden with them, but a chance to re-create these songs according to the skills of the band members.
Keyboardist David Sancious is the jazz dimension, a bluesy, articulate player who uses everything from piano to synthesized horns (created by blowing into a mouthpiece connected to the keyboard) to colour Sting's palette.
Guitarist Dominic Miller's sinuous, shadowy guitar fits neatly into the varied repertoire; he's definitely a less-is-more devotee. Drummer Vinnie Colaiuta eschews flash for rhythmic muscle. Sting's best instrument is his soaring, raspy tenor, limited but instantly recognizable and very lyrical.
It's a tight band that confidently tackles sophisticated songs like the contemplative 'Wild Wild Sea' and breathes new life into the well-known Police blotter - 'Roxanne', 'Walking on the Moon', 'Every Breath You Take'.
The group is a little less daring with the new songs from 'The Soul Cages', a largely remorseful look at Sting's English working-class upbringing and the recent deaths of his parents.
The concert started sluggishly with perfunctory versions of 'All This Time' and 'Mad About You', the singles from the new album. When the set list moved into Police territory, the performance kicked up a notch.
Returning to 'The Soul Cages' (the sombre title song was particularly powerful) and select solo hits, including a wonderfully funked-up version of 'If You Love Someone Set Them Free', Sting and crew built the show to a frenetic conclusion with perhaps his most perfect song, 'Every Breath You Take', complete with an improvised, samba-and-scat ending featuring Sting's new protégé, singer-percussionist Vinx.
In an age of lip-synching superstars and gimmick-laden stage shows, Sting has returned to his roots, fronting a latter-day version of the Police, with keyboards. With music as the focus, Sting has finally let his wonderful songs stand on their own merits.
Concrete Blonde opened the show with a theatrical 45 minutes of singer Johnette Napolitano's emotional bloodletting. Napolitano is a powerful singer in the Grace Slick tradition whose songs are typically draped in morbid, emotion-shredding images. She's not much of a bass player, but with a voice like hers, who cares? Besides, she's got two very expressive players in guitarist James Mankey and drummer Paul Thompson.
Though the Top 40 hit 'Joey' got the biggest ovation, the band's set offered many compelling moments, like Napolitano's impassioned vocal on 'Tomorrow, Wendy', a bitter tribute to a woman dying of AIDS.
(c) Flint Journal by Doug Pullen
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