Sting at TW Classic: Maturity is a given...
Sting has become a regular at Werchter, and on Saturday he was once again one of the undisputed crowd-pleasers. After his subpar performances at the Royal Circus earlier this year, the British superstar had some making up to do. Sting hadn't so much tweaked the setlist as the band accompanying him.
The additional guitarist was replaced by veteran David Sancious on piano, and singer Jo Lawry's role was thankfully also significantly reduced. Instead, both master drummer Vinnie Colahiuta and violinist David Tickell were regularly given a prominent place. The result of these shifts was nothing short of spectacular.
Sting—sixty, but still in shape—scored a hat trick with 'All This Time', 'Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic', and 'Englishman In New York'. With that, the standard was set. Sting isn't the kind of artist who needs to crank up the volume to get the crowd going, and he was actually the first artist of the day to dare to play quiet, subtle songs. "Fields of Gold" and "The Shape of My Heart" were no less brilliant for that. The joy of playing was palpable, and the set gave a good impression of Sting's versatility as a songwriter and performer. A hint of ska wafted through "Demolition Man," "Message In A Bottle" hopped to the rhythm of reggae, "Love Is Stronger Than Justice" tipped its hat towards country, "Desert Rose" lapped up Algerian rai, and as the final encore, Sting dusted off his punk past with a rousing "Next To You." Interspersed between them were some of the most iconic songs pop music has ever produced, and both "Every Breath You Take" and the mighty "King Of Pain" received chillingly beautiful versions.
In short: a top-notch concert by an artist who radiated a natural maturity. Without showmanship and without theatrics, but with extraordinary musical mastery.
(c) De Morgen by Bart Steenhaut
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CREATE A DISPLAY NAMESaw Sting and the band yesterday at Werchter.
As always they all played their hearts out and musically it was brilliant. I thought they were really good. But I’ve got a problem with the choice of some songs for such a big audience. This setlist worked really well for an small audience in a small venue. But on such a big festival the beauty of Hounds of winter, Fields and Shape of my heart just don’t come across as they do in a small theatre. I know Sting sticks to his setlist and he diserves all the credit for it but that was the feeling I had yesterday. Songs like Roxanne and If I ever loose my Faith in you would have been a better choice.