Date: Fri 19-Jul-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: SHIRLE

Illustration: C

Location: A8

Quick Words:

Sting-concert-Meadows-Police

Full Text:

(rev Sting concert at the Meadows, 7/19/96)

Concert Review-

Former Chief of Police Visits CT

(with photo)

By Shannon Hicks

HARTFORD - While the Hartford Police Department's Traffic Division wasn't

exactly impressive last Wednesday night, the concert everyone was trying to

get to - rock singer Sting at Hartford's Meadows Music Theatre - was. The July

10 concert, supporting the singer-songwriter's sixth solo album, Mercury

Falling , was well attended and immensely enjoyed by the thousands who filled

the theatre's pavilion seats and much of the lawn seating available.

For reasons that remain unexplained, much of the traffic exiting I-91 North

was diverted at the end of the exit ramp to turn right onto Jennings Road,

rather than take the usual left turn (and direct route) and were sent instead

on a backwards, roundabout way to the amphitheatre.

Traffic jams ensued, amplified with the usual air of confusion which engulfs

many concertgoers still unfamiliar with the year-old indoor-outdoor

amphitheatre and its surrounding area. Fortunately, once everyone did find

their way into the venue, Sting more than rewarded fans with a show that ran

nearly 2 hours in length and included works from his solo career of the past

ten-plus years, as well as works from his collaborative years with former

partners Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers, one third of the creative power

(and vocalist) behind the super-influential Eighties band The Police.

Sting's newest album, his latest on the A&M label, was released over 12 months

ago. Although he had not seen the kind of success with this set of songs

enjoyed by previous albums like 1985's The Dream of the Blue Turtles , his

first solo release, or Nothing Like The Sun (his third), Mercury Falling is

nevertheless another solid effort from a man who has dabbled in nearly every

music style available - from his solo albums in the rock vein and appearing on

Broadway in Brecht/Weils' Three Penny Opera , to a foray into classical music,

most noticeably perhaps through his duet with Pavarotti on Stravinsky's The

Soldier's Tale .

That is not to say Sting's personal mercury is falling in terms of album

sales. Instead, it means Falling is the kind of album die-hard fans have been

appreciating more than mainstream radio fans have. There has not been

widespread radio playing of any one single from Falling , but musicians do not

always need singles to continue a career (for any doubters, take a look at

perennial summer tour king Jimmy Buffett).

Sting wasted no time getting into new material, opening his show with a

quartet of songs from the new album - "Hounds of Winter," "I Hung My Head," "I

Was Brought To My Senses" and "Let Your Soul Be Your Pilot," which happen to

be the first four tracks on Mercury Falling , though not in the same order -

before treating his followers to the first single of his solo career following

the not-so-pretty breakup of The Police, "If You Love Somebody (Set Them

Free)."

As was probably hoped for by many in attendance, the multi-talented musician

also pulled some of his old Police material out, performing "Synchronicity"

and "Roxanne" back-to-back during the show's main set, then in the show's

first encore tossing in "Every Breath You Take," a misunderstood ballad (the

song is about a stalker following his/her victim) which was one of the fastest

singles to reach No. 1 for The Police.

This was the former ditch digger's first appearance at the new Hartford

concert spot, and fans waited for a few years for this return. A multifarious

musician, Gordon Sumner was allegedly tagged with the nickname "Stinger"

(later shortened to his current moniker) when he showed up for rehearsals with

The Phoenix Jazzmen one day wearing a black and white striped soccer sweater.

Accompanied on the current tour by ace collaborators Dominic Miller (guitar),

keyboardist Kenny Kirkland and drummer Vinnie Colaiuta along with myriad brass

horn players, the July 10 concert was a fairly straightforward presentation by

Sting, who handled axe duties throughout the show as well as vocals.

There were no surprises in the way the songs were offered (although one

happily stunned audience member was chosen to join the headliner on stage on

one of the new tracks), and this is not always a bad thing. Too many times,

musicians overestimate what fans want and play songs with too many variations

from an album's recorded version, making a concert production about as

unfamiliar as a newly-released set of works. Sometimes, folks go to concerts

to hear the same songs they listen to on the radio, only performed live by a

favorite musician, not all changed around.

Like directions to a venue. Straightforward is still the best direction for

many instances, not altered around at the last minute without a clear reason

why.

The song list for Sting's July 10 concert was "Hounds of Winter," "I Hung My

Head," "I Was Brought To My Senses," "Let Your Soul Be Your Pilot," "If You

Love Somebody (Set Them Free)," "Magic," "Seven Days," "Mad About You," "You

Still Touch Me," "I'm So Happy I Can't Stop Crying," "Fields of Gold,"

"Synchronicity," "Roxanne," "Bring On The Night," "Demolition Man,"

"Englishman in New York," (encore) "If I Ever Lose My Faith In You," "Every

Breath You Take," "Lithium Sunset" and (second encore) "Fragile."