Better than the album - Sting's new band carries him into fresh realms...
If you thought the University of Florida's 45-0 homecoming win over the University of Southwestern Louisiana was a blowout, you should have been one of the 7,500 fans at Sting's concert Saturday at the O'Connell Center.
Sting combined the new music from his solo album, 'The Dream of the Blue Turtles', with reworked versions of Police hits. His new band, featuring saxophonist Branford Marsalis, makes all the difference.
This new band takes Sting's rock and reggae influences one step further and places his work solidly in the realm of jazz.
Many songs included embellished instrumentals that allowed Marsalis and keyboard player Kenneth D. Kirkland to explore all the musical possibilities.
But Sting hasn't lost the energy of rock. It was present throughout. Opening with 'Shadows in the Rain', the song set the pace for the evening - upbeat, urban and full of sophisticated funk.
Sting's vocals carried each song until he let his fabulous band take over. After hearing what this band can do on stage, it almost makes you feel cheated listening to the album.
The concert's first 90 minutes passed quickly, with Sting concentrating on the new material featuring 'Children's Crusade', 'We Work the Black Seam' and a lengthy version of 'Love Is the Seventh Wave'.
The Police may be no more, but the group's music lives. Sting has reworked the hits to make each a new listening experience. Kirkland's piano was hot on 'World Is Running Down'.
The show's only disappointment came when Sting asked the audience to quiet down as he sang the moody 'Moon Over Bourbon Street'. Unfortunately, the rowdy homecoming crowd was in no mood for the song's misty backstreet feel. The aura Sting hoped to create was defeated from the start.
He answered the crowd's need for up-tempo material by following immediately with the current hit, 'Fortress Around Your Heart'.
The show-stealer, however, wasn't a hit - rather it was an obscure song from Sting's past. 'I'll Burn for You' allowed drummer Omar Hakim to cut loose on a torrid solo.
When the band joined in, Hakim wouldn't relinquish the spotlight as is custom with most drum solos. He stayed in the forefront, blasting away until the very end, Sting left the O'Connell Center dancing with the first hit off the new album, 'If You Love Somebody Set Them Free'. Unlike most of the set, it was true to the radio version.
Sting's encore offered surprises from a couple of different angles. First, its generous 30-minute length and second, the inclusion of two blues numbers. "What do you want to hear?" Sting asked as he stood alone on stage.
"Roxanne!" yelled the audience.
Sting obliged by squawking the opening lyric and playing a subdued guitar. Marsalis joined him on soprano saxophone and the O'Connell Center filled in the backup vocals.
For many performers of Sting's stature that would have been enough. Instead, he mixed the blues with new versions of Police hits 'Every Breath You Take' and 'Demolition Man'. He closed the show with Message in a Bottle.
As the leader of The Police, Sting was arresting. As a solo performer, accompanied by some of the hottest musicians around, he's breaking all the rules of rock. His new sound left this music fan stung.
(c) The Jacksonville Journal by Dan Macdonald
And the beat rocks'n'rolls on...
Sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll - the clarion call of the 1970s has become the '80s multiple choice of herpes, addiction and rock 'n' roll. And there is only one sane answer.
Rock 'n' roll is legal (still), cheap (sorta) and can set you free, even if your haven't been to a rock concert since Janis died. (The Jacksons' Victory Tour doesn't count.)
I went to Sting's recent Gainesville concert because his latest album, 'The Dream of The Blue Turtles' is a musical masterpiece and with razor-sharp lyrics.
He's not hard to look at either, but it was because of the album I vowed if he ever did a concert here I would overcome my fear of being stopped at the gate and turned away for being too old.
Much has changed in the millennium since I rocked the night away. First, this was absolutely the very first time I went to a rock concert in a BMW, but it is the '80s and it sure beats a Volkswagen bug.
The blue jean costumes have been improved upon as well as the air quality very little marijuana smoke was in the air. And the sound and lighting systems are entering the 21st century, a far cry from the feedback battles and lava lamp lighting of the past.
There are still people who scream for the sake of screaming, and withstanding the test of time is the tactic practiced by generations of rock fans not blessed with back stage passes or even good seats. The trick is to leave your seat as soon as the concert is supposedly over and head for an exit. Usually this will get you closer to the stage for the encore, which in Sting's case lasted over 30 minutes. (It's always fun to try to outwit the "guards," who are charged with enforcing the fire laws by keeping the aisles clear.)
Rock'n'roll - the beat goes on.
(c) The Florida Times Union by Susan Stanton
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CREATE A DISPLAY NAMEIt was a last minute choice to go to the show, score a $5 ticket after the first song or two played and sit and sing along alone in the rafters of the "O’Dome.” Although I went alone, I’ll never forget Sting and Kenny K. changing minds with illuminating sounds then. I was late, but the event was great and rewarding.