Sting just going through the motions

[BOB GRECO]

Sting Seemed Distracted When The Police Played Bonaroo
by Fil Manley
posted June 20, 2007

I was going to write about The Police show at Bonnaroo with the other shows from the second day, but after talking to some folks who saw them, and hearing my own opinions about the show reflected by them, I decided that they deserve their own article.

The police went on the main (What) stage at 9 p.m. on Saturday. They were scheduled to play from 9 until 11:30 p.m., which is rather long for a band like The Police. Everyone was anticipating the show - even a lot of dyed-in-the-wool Tool fans, who were mainly there to see Tool, were excited about The Police.

Despite that, I took out the cameras and went with the other photographers to photograph The Police for the first two songs.

It’s hard to understand the enormity of the stage on which they played. It’s essentially a large black box, perhaps four stories tall, maybe 300 feet long, with large video screens on both sides, and the phenomenal Bonnaroo lighting which makes shooting pictures there such a pleasure. The photo pit is a gravel area which separates the crowd from the stage. It’s a strip of land about 20 feet wide, occupied only by photographers and security people.

Then, there he was, Sting, the British icon, the man who drove The Police to superstardom and the man who wrote most of the songs by them which we all know and love.

It was a strange experience being 15 feet from Sting with an enormous camera in my hands, shooting and shooting, hoping to get a few good shots out of a couple of hundred.

They opened with ‘Message in a Bottle’ to the mob of thrilled, dirty people. Drummer Stewart Copeland was his normal ebullient self and his pleasure at being there was apparent in his drumming and in his mannerisms. Andy Summers' deadpan expression didn’t seem to affect his guitar playing, which was spot on.

Their old energy is undiminished and translated well into some extended and rearranged versions of their studio songs. They played well and they played completely through most of what would be considered their "greatest hits."

There were a couple of problems. I’m sure that a lot of the more hardcore fans didn’t care, but it was obvious to a lot of people that Sting seemed to be distracted. He played as if he had somewhere else he wanted to be and as if he were a little bit bored by the whole thing.

At one point, he looked out at the audience and said, “I’m so glad to be at Bonnaroo, Tennessee.” People looked at each other in puzzlement. It didn’t make a lot of sense.

He also said, ‘It’s so nice to see all these Tennesseans here.”

Out of the 80,000 plus people who were there, I doubt if more than 10% of them were actually from Tennessee. There were people there from Alaska, Hawaii, Brazil, China… all over the world.

Sting capped off this distracted attitude by quitting 45 minutes early. The band was scheduled to play from 9 to 11:30. They quit playing at 10:45, much to the disappointment of thousands of fans who had endured intolerable heat and choking dust for two days to come see them play.

I talked with a lot of reporters in the press tent afterward and the consensus seemed to be the same. Sting was there in body, but his mind was at least partially somewhere else. I don’t know any human being could be distracted in the face of almost a hundred thousand people who worked so hard to be there and listen, but he was.

I'm so sick of STING!!!

Bob

[blueboy]

Is there not a Sting Haters support group you can take this to?

Really what is the point in bringing a negative vibe? He brought the Police back...and I finally got to see them play live for the first time. I can forgive him just anything after that. Who knows what is going on inside his head, or why there was the misunderstanding about the set length at Bonnaroo.

Also, why did you leave this part of the quoted article out?

[quote]Despite these drawbacks, the music was good. I’ve been a fan of The Police since they first played together. Their fusion of reggae, pop and rock was groundbreaking at the time, and because of this has endured. Their music is timeless and is something of a soundtrack for my own life. Their songs have a quality that seems to allow them to transcend time and overplay. That’s not easy to do. Lots of bands wear out… Skynrd, Zepplin, some of those songs that when you hear them now, part of you groans a little bit inside. None of The Police songs affect me that way. I still love them all.

Listening to the thundering crowd, seeing the outstanding light show which Bonnaroo has put on year after year, and hearing Sting's voice ring out across the broad expanse of lawn covered with masses of people outweighed the negatives and made it all seem worthwhile, at least to me.
[/quote]

You really should post the article source and post it in it's entirety.

Give the guy a break...maybe Sting was having a bad day and feeling grumpy. From what I was on Youtube...the show they put on rocked, and that's all that matters.

[DirtyMartini]

Thanks, blueboy. Good eye. Those are some pretty important paragraphs.

When you get the chance, would you mind posting the link so that we can read the whole article in order?

[Laz]

Here's a link to the full article/review... contrary to what was posted above, the whole thing's not that negative.

http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/ar ... mgID=19787

Laz

ps. judging from the stuff I've seen and heard so far, this seems to be one of their better nights in terms of feeling and energy. All three of them really do look and sound like they're really into being there onstage that night, contrary to some reports out there.

[Laz]

To wit:

"The crowd was completely into it. Sting's voice was strong and clear and his bass runs were tight and neat."

Laz

[phaty]

oh for fuck sake!

[Three over Four]

From 'The Empire Strikes Back':

Luke: I feel death, cold.
Yoda: That place... is strong with the dark side of the Force. A domain of evil it is. In you must go.
Luke: What's in there?
Yoda: Only what you take with you.

What's next man? Selected quotes about how Sting is a petulant pansy and how the Police 2007 tour is lame?

[irishrose1969]

Ok, perhaps Sting was distracted. Who wouldn't be. Touring can take a toll on folks. Its exhausting work and being a frontman and having to sing and what not. You have to work so hard to protect your instrument being a singer. I know. I have been one for years. I am just here to say In Vegas He was Awesome. Every note perfect, he was having fun with the audience, and was a true front man. He owned us. We had great sound all around. I am truly impressed of his vocal ablities. It takes alot of effort to be able to do what Sting has done for so many years. He has alot of color and energy and duration. He is no ordinary. I am just grateful I got to have another chance to see a great icon twice in a lifetime and I hope for many more opportunities.

[DirtyMartini]

[quote="phaty"]oh for fuck sake![/quote]

Good job, phaty.

Thanks for the link, Laz.

[blueboy]

Sorry guys...I was going to go through the links section to see if this was already posted..as I thought I had read it before.

Thanks Laz for posting the link!

[DirtyMartini]

Blue, you do realize that everything you have said has lost all credibility because of that avatar, don't you? Totally can't take you seriously, man.

[johnnyjumpstart]

since having cut a couple songs from the setlist it seems that 1:45 is now the standard show. Im glad I caught two of the 2 hour gigs in vancouver.

[blueboy]

[quote="DirtyMartini"]Blue, you do realize that everything you have said has lost all credibility because of that avatar, don't you? Totally can't take you seriously, man. [/quote]

I don't know what you're talking about. Are you trying to make me self conscious about my body?