Ok folks,
I am mildly if not totally exhausted at this point, but I know that
usually people want to know what the hell is going on, so… this is how it
went. Deb, Maggie, Ross and I flew in from
Out of all the events that Deb and I have gone to, this show
was the most attended Sting get-together as far as the Usual Suspects go.
Everyone was there, it was a veritable Sting geek
fest. There was not really enough time to catch up with everyone, but as I have
said in the past, there are many people that you run into at the shows, and
virtually everyone that you can imagine was there. Usually I make a list of
everyone, but I am scared to omit someone, so I won’t.
Ok,
Walking On The Moon – Started by
Jason on the piano, and one by one the band members came out as their parts of
the songs started. The band tonight consisted of Sting, Dom, Kip, Jason, Vinnie and a percussionist whose
named escaped me. There were also two backing singers who were very good.
Send Your Love – More raw than the album, and while it sounded good, it hasn’t
yet found its flow yet, they did the ‘no religion’ with vocals
only. Sting commented that he was
surprised we all knew the words considering that the album just came out today,
and asked if we bought bootlegs, a few people commented that the songs are on
his website… and to think I went to
Inside – I love this song, and
while it was great live, the chorus does not have the same power live as it did
on the album
Dead Man's Rope – Fantastic song,
fantastic version, and Sting dedicated it to Kim Turner.
Whenever I say your name – No Mary
J Blige, but the backing singer Joy was utterly fantastic
and deserves the credit for a great performance in her own right as opposed to
being…”the one who sings instead of Mary J’s part….”.
This was really good live which surprised me. Sting said that Joy (Backing
singer) had actually done the original vocals on the demo to send to Mary J Blige
Forget About The Future – To me
this is the weakest song on the album, played live improved it quite a bit, but
just so so…
This War – Great live,
interesting video clips
Book of my life – Lovely song,
Dominic and the percussionist sat together at the front of the stage and played
together…, no sitar player, but it worked well all the same.
Mad About you – Reworked version,
a little faster and more danceable to fit in with some of the new material
Sacred Love – Also very good live.
Dominic plays the guitar solo from Jeremiah Blues in this, and while I could be
wrong and it could have been in another song as I was totally wiped out at the
time, it was a nice touch.
Fields of Gold – Funniest part
about this is that when it started, you could hear the cheers from the back of
the theatre, and groans from the front. The version was hilarious, Dominic
messed up the solo, and sting made him do it again, and then Sting totally
messed up all the words and was laughing all the way through it. When it
finished, it was probably the biggest cheer of the night.
Desert Rose – Cheb came out to much applause and did a nice rendition, Vinnie changed the drums a little on this, and it changed
the feel of it a little. The version finished with Cheb
yodeling all over the place
Never coming Home / When the World solo
thing – Great song, even better live and just flows really well. It isn’t
as clubby live Many of you don’t seem to
like this, and this baffles us…
If I ever lose my faith in you –
Same as always, except that Vinnie knows how to do
triplets J
Every Breath you take –
Same as always
Fragile – Same as always, not even
the All this time version
Notable, yet welcomed omissions included: Roxanne,
Englishman and Bring on the night, If you love
somebody set them free. But, please remember these shows are more album
launches than actual concerts, and when the tour starts in January, I would
expect to see these back in the set…. unfortunately
Everyone played well, but standouts were the backing singer on
the left, Vinnie because he is great and is just so
much more comfortable than Manu. Dom, Kip and Jason were as they normally are.
There were large video screens behind the band playing some rather interesting,
although sometimes out of place videos. During This War, it was all oil wells
and soldiers marching etc, and sting commented during Inside
that it is easier to start a war than say I Love you (unless you’re a politician)
Goodnight folks
Jer