Brand New Day: 1999/01

Sting, never better, gives complex mesh...

A summer heat wave stung the audience on Tuesday night at Oak Mountain Amphitheatre. The ticket prices pinched, too.

But the Gordon Sumner septet sluiced a mighty cool wave of music over its listeners, flowing from song to song in an intelligent and jazzy pop style.

The 9 p.m. show was eagerly anticipated by fans who revere the performer known as Sting - former frontman of The Police, now a respected solo artist. And, to be honest, the 48-year-old singer and bass player hasn't reverted to his birth name.

Still, a unified and skillful septet is what Sting presented to the crowd of 7,500-8,000 people who paid $34-$74 so they could cheer him on at Oak Mountain.

While he operated as the star centerpiece, Sting takes his cues from jazz greats who keep grandstanding to a minimum, preferring instead to create a fine, complex mesh of sound. In that classy goal, he certainly succeeded.

Relying on a ''one for me, one for you'' set list, Sting led his six member band through intricate numbers from his latest CD, 'Brand New Day', alternating these with older solo tunes and a handful of Police smashes.

Anyone who expected an all Police deluge was disappointed, yet Sting's slo-mo or internationally spiced versions of 'Roxanne', 'Every Little Thing She Does is Magic' and 'Message in a Bottle' were treats just the same - more precious, perhaps, for their rarity.

Sting's distinctive wail of a voice has never sounded better; if we're lucky, he'll keep that chilling tenor intact until he's 80.

He bopped with energy - a fine physical specimen, by the way - through the upbeat songs (If You Love Somebody Set Them Free, Englishman in New York, We'll Be Together, Fill Her Up) and silkily caressed the downers (Fields of Gold, After the Rain Has Fallen, A Thousand Years).

Like most of Sting's post-Police output, the stuff from 'Brand New Day' takes time to grow on you, so these selections earned lesser bursts of applause on Tuesday. That's understandable; solo Sting sometimes veers into territory that's too moody, abstract, dark or pompous.

You've got to give the guy credit, though, for taking chances and constantly pushing his musical envelope. We might love to hear more of those Police hits, but Sting is unlikely to confine his talent to the prison of a nostalgia act.

(c) The Birmingham News by Mary Colurso

Remembering 'Roxanne'... I ain't that old...

I remember how it feels to show up at an event as the youngest person in the crowd.

Not so long ago, it seemed like I was constantly having to tag along with one of my older brothers to concerts, always the youngest person in the group and always feeling like a kid.

This week marked the first time I can ever remember being the youngest person in a crowd and feeling old because of it.

Tuesday night's Sting concert was the one "big" concert I was willing to splurge on this summer, and why not? The guy has one of the most unique voices and complex styles you'll find in pop music today.

When I pulled into the amphitheater parking lot, it wasn't a 90s crowd that was milling toward the gate. Instead it was a largely middle-aged set. Balding heads and flabby thighs were the norm here, and I probably would have seen a few Police T-shirts floating around if they could have still fit over the swollen bodies.

Initially, I was surprised at the presence of so many chaperones, but the illusion didn't last long. Once I got to my seat and got a good look around, the truth was all too clear. With the possible exception of the opening act (more on him later) I had to be the youngest person in the place.

Now the point here isn't to make fun of these poor children of the 70s who are still trying to rock on in their elderly years. The point is to provide a little bit of instruction for you young music fans. If you ever end up in a similar situation, on the bottom end of an aging demographic, keep it to yourself. The second I mumbled about the age of the audience, I raised the ire of the blonde in the seat next to me, herself every bit of 35. "Just what are you doing here if this crowd is too old for you?" she asked.

I explained to her my interest in Sting, the guy who had a string of hits throughout the 90s.

But then she got me.

"If there's one song you have to hear tonight or else you'll leave disappointed, which one would it be?" she asked.

I answered without even thinking about it, at which point she gave me a smug look and turned away.

OK, lady. If you're out there, let me explain something.

Just because I paid $54 to hear 'Roxanne' doesn't mean I'm one of you old-timey rockers reliving the good old days. It just so happens that Sting is one of those few artists who is either cursed or blessed with having to do a certain song at every concert for the rest of his career, no matter how many hits he has in the meantime. Could you go see Larry Gatlin and not hear 'All the Gold in California'? And what's a Buffet concert without 'Margaritaville'? Unlike the rest of that blue-haired crowd, I am still a young fan who just enjoys good music. And by the way, lady, you would have thought the music was too loud too if you hadn't turned your hearing aid down.

Speaking of young kids hanging with old people, Jonny Lang has no business opening for Sting. That kid's good enough to for top billing at any venue he plays. With a face that looks 14 and a voice that sounds 50, Lang seems to bring several lifetimes of experience and emotion to the stage.

I admit I didn't know much about Lang before Saturday, but by his third song, though, he had everyone's attention.

His Joe Cocker-like voice is a stark contrast to Sting's, but if there's a young act out there who can follow Sting's example and still pack concert halls in 20 years, this could be the guy.

(c) The Anniston Star by Grant Martin