Superb Sting show highlights singer's depth as solo artist...
Comparisons between the "new" Sting and the Sting who formerly fronted the trio Police will be as predictable as they are inevitable.
Police, when all is said and done, was one of the most successful groups in rock music history sold millions of records and made millions of most currencies you care to mention. While the other two thirds of the group have drifted out of the limelight, Sting has moved into a solo career.
Solo may not be quite the right word because Sting has had the wisdom to gather around himself a fine group of young jazz musicians. Musically, they leave him challenged to say the least.
The English singer's new album 'The Dream of the Blue Turtles' and his performance at Ottawa Civic Centre last night suggest that Sting has a depth to him that made the disintegration of Police inevitable. And somewhat obvious at this time, is that Police had become a Sting vehicle. Such is his force as a songwriter.
There were around 5,500 fans at the Civic Centre last night not a large crowd by rock concert standards - and those who anticipated a night of superb music could not have left disappointed.
It wasn't an exercise in Police nostalgia. In fact, his former group was barely acknowledged. Most of the material, beautifully presented, came from the solo album.
It was an evening of contrasts; of serious, often intense music played on a simple white stage against a backdrop of simple lighting. There were funny moments. Sting and his singers Dolette McDonald and Janice Pendarvis collapsed in fits of laughter at the sight of a fan jumping onto the stage only to be stopped in his tracks by a security guard's uncompromising strangle hold. It was an hilarious moment for everyone, with the exception, one assumes, of the fan in question.
At another point, Sting was caught by surprise by a female fan who successfully broke the security barrier and grabbed him in a vice-like hug. He took it in good humour that and the sight of the tiles that fell from the Civic Centre's ceiling onto the stage.
Overall, the show was performed without hype. It was a relaxed, good humoured affair offered by skilled musicians quite confident in their abilities.
Sting, known generally as a bass guitarist, plays rhythm with this group. Darryl Jones plays bass; Branford Marsalis is on saxophone; Omar Hakim drums and Kenny Kirkland keyboards. Together, they sound magnificent.
Sting opened the show powerfully with Shadows in the Rain and had really got into his stride by the third song, 'Children's Crusade'. 'We Work the Black Seam', 'If You Love Somebody Set Them Free' and 'Bourbon Street' were highpoints.
He dipped into the passed with beautiful renditions of 'Roxanne' and 'Message in a Bottle', two of the best Police songs.
The show, after several encores, ended perfectly with Sting and 5,000 others singing 'Message in a Bottle'.
(c) The Ottawa Citizen by Chris Cobb
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