Sting starts slow but brings back memories...
It's been a while since Sting has played any serious rock'n'roll, so it was no surprise that he was a bit slow to get up to speed Saturday night at the Cincinnati Gardens.
Fronting a four-piece band instead of the jazz ensemble that's accompanied most of his solo work since the Police split up, Sting was so laid-back he even sipped a cup of tea as he asked for requests.
"I feel better now," he told the crowd. "It takes me two songs to settle down."
It actually took the singer about five to loosen up, but that could be because he chose to open with several songs from his latest release, 'The Soul Cages'. With the exception of 'All This Time', currently the - No. 5 single in the nation, the new material was mostly mid-tempo and, in the case of 'Jeremiah Blues (Part 1)', extended with some jazzy improvised jams.
Looking lean and muscular in a black T-shirt and slacks, Sting and his band finally broke a sweat as guitarist Dominic Miller - on loan from his own group King Swamp - riffed into the Police classic, 'Roxanne'. Once again playing bass, as he had in the past, Sting kept the buoyant beat alive with another oldie, 'When the World is Running Down, You Make the Best of What's Still Around'.
Obviously not one to put his past behind him, the singer continued with yet another tune by his old band, 'King of Pain'. The crowd of 10,000 quite clearly remembered as well, since most everyone was up and dancing.
The show slowed again with 'The Wild, Wild Sea' and 'The Soul Cages', which comprise the last part of the song cycle of the new album, but by this point the audience was ready for a breather.
With a liquid light show projected on the screen behind them, Sting and company charged into a cover of Jimi Hendrix's 'Purple Haze' before closing with another round from the Police repertoire - 'Walking on the Moon', 'Every Breath You Take' and 'Message in a Bottle'.
Concrete Blonde, a three-piece band from Los Angeles led by brunette Johnette Napolitano, provided strong support with a powerful opening set.
From the dripping, sinister sound of 'Bloodletting' (the Vampire Song) and the ballistic blast of 'God is a Bullet' to a cover of Leonard Cohen's 'Everybody Knows' that built to a banshee wail, Concrete Blonde wove a dark, brooding web over a spellbound audience.
(c) Dayton Daily News by Dave Larsen
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