Sting 3.0

Sting performed at Colours of Ostrava twice. And Shaggy too...

It was suspected, but no one dared to say that it was a done deal. Coincidentally, Shaggy and Sting met on the program of the first day of this year's Colours of Ostrava festival, which started on Wednesday afternoon. Even the organizers did not want to confirm that the artists, who have a fruitful collaboration behind them, would meet on stage. But the two did.

In 2018, their joint album 44/876 was released. Its title refers to the telephone calling code for Great Britain (+44) and Jamaica (+876), the home countries of Sting and Shaggy.

Then they went on a concert tour, during which they visited Prague in November 2018, and in February 2019 they received the Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album at the American Music Awards.

If it works out, they will be happy to reunite on stage or in the studio. And it worked out great in Ostrava. The 56-year-old Shaggy had a bit of trouble combining reggae, pop and dancehall. His show had no momentum, it was dominated too much by playback with pre-recorded vocals and musical lines, and Shaggy had the most fun by interrupting individual songs and slapping stupid things into it.

It was an annoyingly fragmented concert, but in the penultimate song Til A Mawnin, Sting arrived on stage and suddenly everything was different. Shaggy accepted the musical order.

Sting wore a cap and a black T-shirt, and if he hadn't been properly introduced by Shaggy and his band, the audience might not have recognized him. Shaggy then returned Sting's guest spot at his night concert when he appeared on stage as inconspicuously as his English friend and sang with him.

Sting's performance clearly won out in a comparison of the two performances. He has enormous charisma, a consistently well-sounding voice, and a repertoire that is easy to attract and hold the audience's attention until the last encore.

He sang songs from his solo career and those from the band The Police, of which he was a member in the first phase from 1977 to 1986 and in which he gained such an excellent reputation that it was not difficult for him to then address the audience with solo songs and albums. 

The calmness that radiated not only from Sting, but from his entire performance was admirable. Everything flowed smoothly, the singer's speech, as well as the musical performances of him and other band members, were excellent, and the audience probably realized with each song that they had heard it somewhere before and liked it. Logically, they then created a backdrop full of enthusiasm for the musical experience and respect for the seventy-three-year-old personality of the world stage.

The concert of the British indie rock band Matt-Felix was also successful, reminding us that much music still has healthy roots from the times when everyone who stood on stage was professionally competent. The American singer-songwriter Mark Ambor, who was included in the program at the last minute, made a similar impression.

Their strength is not limited to the Czech band Nedivoč or the Czech singer Ben Cristovao, who invited guests Adam Mišík and Sofian Medjmedje and also demonstrated the fact that he is now appealing to older listeners, not just his peers and younger ones, who have rather succumbed to spontaneity and skill.

(c) Novinky by Jaroslav Špulák