Summer

Jun
23
2012
Werchter, BE
TW Classic Festival
3
Share
Sting op TW Classic: Vanzelfsprekende maturiteit...

Sting behoort intussen tot de vaste gasten op de weide van Werchter, en ook zaterdag was hij opnieuw één van de onbetwiste publiekstrekkers. Na zijn ondermaatse passages in het Koninklijk Circus eerder dit jaar had de Britse superster wat goed te maken. Sting had niet zozeer aan de setlist gesleuteld, dan aan de groep die hem vergezelde.

De extra gitarist werd vervangen door oudegediende David Sancious op piano, en de rol van zangeres Jo Lawry was godzijdank ook gevoelig teruggedrongen. In plaats daarvan kregen zowel meesterdrummer Vinnie Colahiuta als violist David Tickell regelmatig een plek op de voorgrond. Het resultaat van die verschuivingen was ronduit spectaculair.

Sting -zestig, maar nog steeds strak in het lijf- scoorde meteen een hattrick met 'All This Time', 'Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic' en 'Englishman In New York'. Daarmee was de norm gezet. Sting is niet het soort artiest dat de volumeknop moet openschroeven om het publiek mee te krijgen, en het was eigenlijk de eerste artiest van de dag die het aandurfde om ook rustige, subtiele nummers te spelen. 'Fields Of Gold' en 'The Shape Of My Heart' waren er niet minder briljant om. Het spelplezier droop eraf, en de set schetste een goed beeld van Sting z'n veelzijdigheid als songschrijver en performer. Er schemerde een zucht ska door 'Demolition Man', 'Message In A Bottle' hinkelde op het ritme van de reggae, 'Love is Stronger Than Justice' tipte de hoed richting country, 'Desert Rose' laafde zich aan Algerijnse rai, en als laatste bis stofte Sting zijn punkverleden af met een onstuiming 'Next To You'. Tussendoor passeerden een paar van de meest iconische songs die de popmuziek tot nog toe hebben voortgebracht, en zowel 'Every Breath You Take' als het machtige 'King Of Pain' kregen huiveringwekkend knappe versies mee.

Kortom: topconcert van een artiest die een vanzelfsprekende maturiteit uitstraalde. Zonder show en zonder theater, maar wel met een buitengewoon muzikaal meesterschap.

(c) De Morgen by Bart Steenhaut
Comments
3
posted by collin
I do not subscribe ...
I really do not subscribe to the previous points of view. It was my 15th show of Sting ... I was there with a friend and my daughter (20 years old). It was their first Sting'show, and they were really amazed ! Of course, we had a mix of Police and Sting'songs. But you know ... He wrote the both ... We liked the balance between the calm and the rythmed songs (8 from Police ...) For us, sorry, but it was really perfect. We enjoyed the show and Honestly, I have seen a lot of big stars on the stage, but for me, Sting is a real legend ... and it was the case in Werchter on 23 June 2012 ... Cheers, Pascal
posted by marco
Professional yet not captivating
Not the best show I have seen yet. 90' Festival set, so a number of songs (amongst those Seven Days and Synchronicity II, to my, and most of the people i saw, grave disappointment) was left out. Musicians were great as always, led by Peter Tickell and Vinnie, yet I expected much more presence from David Sancious, who I did not hear at all during the show. I really got the impression that Vinnie, like a coach, was doing overtime to keep everyone going and maintaining the thrust in the show, which is normally the boss's job. I suspect however there were some technical issues with the mix though, because Vinnie's second snare was not in, overheads on the cymbals an especially the ride too weak, no keyboards and the guitar was too dominating often. The remark I heard from many people at the festival was that is was very good but sterile, no soul on stage, which I also found to be the case, certainly if compared to the shows Sting did in the Cirque Royale in Brussels in March, and in contrast to Lenny Krazvitz who closed the festival. Sobriety regarding the showelement is a tradeamark, focusing on the music instead (which is a good thing as far as I am concerned), yet I think for this kind of festival (30.000 + people) this worked negatively on the atmosphere and the ambience. I would love to see this band again in Belgium, in a smaller place or at a small jazz festival where the concentration is purely on the music and the musicians. This should be too cool! So when and where will this be?:)
posted by peter
Choice of Songs
Saw 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.
Newer comments    1 - 3 of 3    Older comments

PHOTOS

img
img
img