Last november, 10 months ago, was the last time I had the pleasure of seeing Sting. Among others, he played 4 shows at the Beacon Theatre in New York and a show at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, New Jersey. of these 5 shows, I saw 2.
Not much has changed in the past 10 months. the set list has not changed - all that was done was that some songs were dropped ("A Thousands Years", "Tomorrow We'll See", some were placed in different order ("If I Ever Lose My Faith" was the 1st encore) and EBYT was also addded to the encore list, this a song that he has been doing on the 2nd leg of the US tour.
Admittedly, I went to central park under the insane delusion that Andy and Stewart would appear. Why so naive? It is because of the venue: Central Park. Look at its history - only a lucky few have played large concerts there in the past.
I say delusion because, deep down, I knew they would not appear. But, while going into Central Park under this delusion, what I really wanted to see was Sting and crew treat central park with the respect that it deserved. I wanted to see chances taken, old songs dug out and a full frontal assault of musicianship reign down of those in attendence.
Personally, I must say that, on the whole, this did NOT happen. for me, it was like stepping into a time machine and going back to last november because, with the very few exceptions, I saw the same show. his voice was the highlight back then as it was last night. say what you will, sting can still belt 'em out like only he can. The rest of the band played basically in the same fashion last night as back then.
But, all in all, this Central Park show that created such a buzz among us was nothing more than another stop on the BND tour, as i feared it would be. Those of you unfortunate enough not to attend, don't be too hard on yourselves as you missed nothing: the shows that you saw in Miami, Seattle and all points in between was the same show that we saw last night. Sleep well tonite. I sincerely hope that you enjoy any recordings you might hear of the show.
I don't want to make a fuss about it...
I went with a friend last nite, and met Karen and her friend. We ended up getting there about 7-ish, and still managed to get pretty decent seats, off to the right of the stage, up on a hill. It was a beautiful nite, just perfect weather for a concert, a gentle breeze blowing.
Sting did open up with Set Them Free, as someone had asked in a previous post. It was a good choice! Crowd was really into the whole concert, especially the people down in front. Where we were sitting, no one was standing, and when people tried to stand at the beginning of the show, they were yelled at to sit down...so no one really stood until the encore...I just couldn't stand it anymore and I got up for EBYT, and most people followed suit.
Setlist was the same songs, but in different order. I LOVED the version of Roxanne, it went on longer than the version on the summer tour. At the end he was just about whispering "Roxann-o" over and over, and it was very sexy! He was really into it.
He played Message at the second encore, which was a nice surprise, as I was expecting Fragile, which did follow. The whole park was singing along with Message! It was great! He was cute when he said, "Here I come, are you ready, here I come" before he started the "sending out an SOS" part of the song.
He looked great, hair was very light, he had on the same black tank top and the cargo pants and boots as usual. He looked very happy performing, thoroughly enjoying himself! He didn't talk to the audience at all, except to say hello, NY, let's hear you out there, that kind of stuff, but didn't really converse at all, just played his heart out, as did all the band members.
The sound was exceptional and Sting's voice has never sounded better to me...he used his voice in different ways, singing really high, holding notes longer, almost whispering at times, and then using that deep "Louie Armstrong" kind of voice at other times. His voice last nite will stay with me forever...it was just so beautiful! I don't mean to sound corny, but it almost brought me to tears.
It was a wonderful, wonderful show and I'm so fortunate to have been able to go (thanks to Karen, who diligently worked to get us tickets!) It was one of the best shows I've seen!
Thank you, Sting, for an incredible evening!
Didn't think I'd be the first one to post about my experience at Central Park, but here's the quick version.
I took the day off from work and got to the park at 1ish. (If I had gotten there at 12 as planned, I would have heard the soundcheck). There were fewer people in line than I thought -- probably not more than 50. I set down my things behind two women who also just arrived, and it wasn't long before I realized they were ISUN members! Angie from Salt Lake was there, and it was very cool to meet her. Other list members came over, including Jeremy from the U.K. Bonding before the show is definitely part of the experience.
At about 4:30, as promised, the gates opened. There was mild chaos, as we had to have our bags checked and then run down the street and around some barricades to get to the stage. Good thing I had my sneakers on, and I quickly made it down to "2nd row", center, right behind Jeremy, Fred, and Steve who had been first online. No complaints about location. I even got on the video screen during Liquid Soul!
I'll skip to the show itself --- it was awesome. This was the fourth show I've seen on this tour, (sixth if you count two Today shows), but it was the most fun because ALL of us up front and center were totally into it. (I have to tell you that it was a nice surprise that we weren't forced to sit behind a V.I.P. section for a change.) We were dancing, singing, swaying in unison at times, etc., and it would have been impossible for Sting not to have noticed and been energized by it. A lot of us had cameras, which we were allowed to use, and there were clear angles to Sting and the band.
As far as unusual events, no one was brought onstage, nothing was thrown on or off the stage, and everything seemed to go smoothly. The weather forecast had been for rain showers and thunderstorms, but there was not a drop from the sky. In fact, there was often a nice breeze that sometimes came in sync with the music, as in Desert Rose.
If I was disappointed by anything, it was that there weren't more guests. It was cool that Dennis Miller opened the show, and that Sheryl Crow and Johnny Lang were there, but the rumours were so persistent -- and feasible. Also, they weren't selling any merchandise, and I was really hoping to get a unique Sting in Central Park t-shirt or something.
It was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience and we were lucky to be there.
I had a really good time at the CP show last night. I thought the concert was excellent. The sound quality was great! The weather was perfect.
We got a spot right near one of the monitors (they had monitors on either side of the stage for nearsighted people like me), so I was very happy.
I was pleasantly surprised that he modified the setlist a little. And the verion of Roxanne that he did blew my mind. He does so much with that song--it's incredible. I was in awe, even more than usual!
As for the audience, I honestly thought they would be singing along to every song and standing for most of the show, but they weren't. I'm sure most of them were enjoying themselves, but most of the energy was up on stage.
And as always during this tour, Sting seemed to be having a great time up there.
I 'd been looking forward to this concert for about a month and a half. It was definitely worth chasing down those motorscooters for.
I was on the hill on the right hand side of the stage and had a great view of the stage and the people standing in front of the stage. The people right in front were waving and singing, but those of us further away didn't stand up but were certainly singing and clapping. The people around me were into the music - I mean listening and moving. It amazed me that you could really HEAR the audience singing Message in a Bottle!
I thought the concert was the best I've seen in years. Sting looked FABULOUS and put his heart into singing. And the band really rocked! This is the kind of music I LOVE - thoughtful, fun, interesting rhythms! Sting made a lot of new fans at that concert. People who only knew Desert Rose.
I gave extra tickets that I won to a secretary in my office who's in her late 20s. She brought her son to the concert and they completely loved it! She couldn't stop talking about how great Sting looked, how sexy he is. I think it's great!
Did anyone else who was there notice Sting's expression when the guitar he was playing during Fragile apparently wasn't tuned correctly? Those giant monitors don't let you get away with anything!!
I LOVED the concert and I wish I could see Sting again. sigh
Ok, here goes!
Well, Saturday night we went to the Virginia Beach show. It was an interesting night. We ran into some people we knew from Sting's crew. It was good to see them. Our seats were ok - on Chris' side right behind the pit up a bit. Ang had the sign with her. We found a second row ticket on the ground that someone had lost... so we took turns going up front. Ang walked up with her sign and Sting saw it. He said something about what it said - then he said to Angie, "Oh, and you are looking very good tonight!" It was really funny and sweet. He knew we were there.
We went back up top and then a little while later he called us up... well, our friend Michele was right behind me as I ran up by Angie - then as we headed towards the front of the stage the security guard wouldn't let us up!!! He was such a jerk! He pushed and shoved us back - I have bruises all over my arm from him. We were just standing there and he hurt me, Angie and Michele. He said that we couldn't go up and that if we wanted to dance we could dance over there - pointing up to the seats. A$$hole.... sorry, but that's what he was. I was so mad and Angie was so upset. Sting saw what was going on and so did Chris and the rest of the band.
We went back to our seats very upset and ticked off. Our friend Matt was waiting for us. The night had been ruined. Ang and I decided to leave and go outside of the theatre. We were disgusted by it all. I went out to try and get some water. I was feeling pretty dehydrated and was afraid of passing out. I walked up to a vendor and asked for some water, that was right there... and the woman said, "NO! There is none here!" - she was pretty nasty about it. I said, "oh, great, I'm about ready to PASS OUT here because I'm dehydrated and you won't give me some water.. gee thanks!"... another woman next to me that worked there started to panic and looked around for me for a water fountain at least.
Whatever...
That was that and I said that Hershey would be better..... Sunday - off to Hershey. We arrived around 4 and got ready for the show right away. The stadium was pretty big. They had some of the seats blocked off. Huge stage... and after spending a rather large amount of money on 11th row seats.. our seats turned out to be 11th row in section A but way down the other end. We were far from the stage - it was a big disappointment. I watched for Chris.. and saw him just before the show but he was too far from me to get his attention in time. I saw Dominic though.
The show started and Angie had gone and stood in the center section with Michele - Michele had a ticket over there. She stood on the chair at one point when Sting asked to see the sign... he knew we were there early - he had spotted the sign early on and pointed to it. He read it aloud and said to Ang, "do you want to dance out there, or up here.." well you know she said up on stage of course. I in the meantime had started making my way over to Ang and then we all ran up front together. Matt included. Security was soooooo nice! They let us right threw no questions asked. I made sure Matt was with us and they let him threw as well. We were very happy.
Tom, one of the stage crew, came down the stairs and got us. They had seen what happened the night before and wanted to make sure it didn't happen again. We walked up the stairs and there we were watching the concert from the side of the stage!!!!! It was very cool. Chris saw us and finished playing... then he walked back towards us. I got a very nice hug and kiss and then he said, "Glad to see you guys made it again! What the hell happened last night?"... we filled him in. He shook his head in disgust and when he saw my arm he told me I should press charges, etc. He felt bad for us but was happy that we had another chance. The band was pretty ticked off the night before about what had happened. Chris had seen us struggling near the front of the stage. It was good to see Chris and talk for a minute. Roxanne finished and then we got ready - Ang loaned me her coin belt so I had that on my waste over my black shiny pants.. it looked cool. It is a fun belt because it jingles when you shake! haha... we walked out hand in hand.. Michele was with us as well. I had a huge smile on my face and walked right up to Sting... "HI!"... and then I leaned in to give him a kiss on the cheek.. well to my surprise I got a big, sloppy, wet kiss on the LIPS!!!!!! WOW! A kiss like that from STING! Woo hoo! hahahahaha... Anyway, he asked our names again and thought I said Jill at first and then said, "Oh, SUE!"... like he suddenly remembered. Then Angie and Michele. It was good to be up there once again. I was very nervous and shook like a leaf! We started with our backs to the audience an then slowly turned around. I used the coin belt very slinky like. It was fun. At one point I walked up by Chris - made it to the first part of the platform - didn't want to go any further because he was playing and I didn't want to screw him up... but we were looking eye to eye and I was trying to keep a serious like face, but sexy too and was trying not to laugh and make him laugh... He was into it. He started to walk towards me and got the end of his horn right in my chest! Yee Haa! I moved very sexy like towards it... it was fun and then he was done playing and started to laugh... like "I'm loving this and it's so much fun" kind of laugh. I laughed as well. It was AMAZING!!!! "Chris, you can stick your trumpet in my chest anytime!" hahahaha...
I jumped down from the platform. I had looked over to Kipper and pointed to him - and did the lick the lips thing to him kidding around. Smiled at Jason, Ross and the girls - Janice and I don't know the other girl's name. I didn't really remember seeing Dominic because he was by Angie.
I had gone right up behind Sting and he looked over his shoulder at me... MEOW! He slinked over to Ang at this one part of the song and told her to do the drop/backbend (Turkish Drop)... she couldn't because her back was bothering her.
The song was over and that was that. It was great to look out at the crowd and hear everyone screaming! Matt took pictures of us and Tom took some digital photos that he is going to send to us. COOL! I got the photos back tonight. I'm very excited about them.
We hung out for two more songs and then went down front between the barrier and stage... GREAT SEATS! I got some great photos down there and a couple of good ones of Chris! Don't worry - You'll all see the photos soon!
Last night was the Central Park show.... we were front row on Chris' side!!!!!!! He saw me wave to him and waved back when he realize that is was ME! Jason, Kipper, Sting - they all saw us and acknowledged. We were very excited. No dancing though - we didn't expect to. Ang brought the sign just to let them know that we were there... There was no way we could've even gotten up to dance - it would've been too dangerous and too many people probably would've tried to rush the stage, etc. as well. Not cool.
Cheb was great - he performed before Sting. Dennis Miller was there as well - he's too funny. Cheb came out for Desert Rose. Chris sounded and looked fantastic as usual!!! He played right by us a lot and Sting came our way quite a bit as well. I got some more great photos!
Angie and Michele got there picture in the NY Daily News today.. page 6!!!! Very cool.... I was behind Ang at the time so you can't really see me. We had sooooo much fun.
At the end of the show.. Sting came over looked at us, smiled and said to us... "OOOhhh, Belly Dancers!" and then shook his hips.. it was so cute!!!! Chris winked and waved good night to us as well. What a GREAT NIGHT!!!!
I will never forget any of this!!!! And look forward to future Sting shows - Spring 2001.... and of course when Chris does his solo tour.. which I really can't wait for!!!!!!
Just a few random impressions from the Central Park gig:
Sting in great voice and presence, as playful and intense as I've ever seen him. (Despite the bland and tired wardrobe, he looked wonderful too, although his hair colorist went a little overboard on the blond for the momentous occasion.)
The gracious participation of Mother Nature. A full moon partially veiled in dark clouds came up over the stage as the concert began, the clouds drawing away from the moon as Fields of Gold struck up. Magic.
New York touch: People looking down on the action from 5th Avenue penthouses.
Cheb Mami's opening set. HE should put out a live album. Less slick and even more impressive live than on Meli Meli (an excellent CD which all of you should have by now, shouldn't you?).
The relative youth of the crowd. Very few 40-somethings like me. Mostly people who were little kids when the Police left on their extended vacation. They got fully charged up at Desert Rose, even more than for the Police hits. Swooning for a man old enough to be their father. So much for any "nostalgia act" criticisms that may come along.
Too bad the powers that be didn't see fit to save this one for posterity, instead of that so-so LA show. When will they learn?
I can only give you my opinion, so here are my thoughts:
WAIT!!! A story first...(I promise it will connect later)...Did you know that once a Broadway show is set, it is set in stone? Meaning, once the director blocks the actors' movements and voice, the actor cannot veer from those exact movements or vocalizations during the entire run of the show. For instance, if there is a scene where the main actor goes in to kiss his love interest, and it has been set that he puts his hand on her waist, he must put his hand on her waist for every show. He can't have a moment of inspiration and decide that he wants to reach for the back of her neck. It has been set. He must grab her waist 8 performances a week, for however long his contract lasts - 6 months, 12 months, 18 months. Thus, the actor must find a motivation for grabbing her waist night after night, performance after performance, for months on end. He has to find a way to keep it real and fresh. Sometimes he succeeds, sometimes he just goes through the motions. But even when he just goes through the motions, he is still alive and loving his opportunity to be on the stage, and the audience is given a good (tried and true) show. And when he's on...well, it's electrifying for artist and audience.
STING WAS ON at Central Park, and I'm still - 48 hours later - drunk in the memory of it.
I got to NY not knowing whether I would even get in to the show, based on the screwy ticket situation. It turned out to be really easy to score them, once you figured out how. I was almost resigned to finding a cafe on Madison Ave and listening to the show with friends. Turns out, we ended up with extra tickets. I met up with fellow list members in line that day (and such a pleasure it was to meet all of you, I really enjoyed it) and ran like the wind when they opened the flood gates to let us in at 4:30. We had all been talking strategy for several hours, but that flew out the window as we ran at the head of the pack through the fields of Central Park, carrying blankets and bottles of water and balloons. We vowed to stick together, and to my utter amazement, once the dust had settled we realized we were all in the front row. OH MY GOD. Now, I've been going to Sting's shows since DOTBT. I average about 2-3 shows a tour. I've never been closer than the 15th row, and here I was, leaning over the railing at a show that's going to go down in history, knowing that Chris Botti was soon going to spend the good part of 2 hours looking down right at me.
Opening act Liquid Soul was ok, they had some good stuff and a tight set; they didn't get the crowd going. Cheb fired them up, but the audience lost some steam when they realized, "Hey, he's not going to sing anything in English". At 8 o'clock, we had to sit through Best Buy president speeches, thank everyone that was involved, blah blah blah. Dennis Miller came on and did a few minutes of stand-up(?) but was funny and thankfully brief.
Sting hit the stage with IYLSSTF (eliminating 1000 Years) with a bang. I've NEVER seen him so energized, so strong and powerful, so full of intense joy. You people with mustgetfrontrowitis are right - it is a completely different experience from there. You are truly in the moment...you see the interaction with the band, the nuances of their faces when someone throws an exciting improvised riff into the mix, the drama of a missed cue, etc. You see Sting do that strange thing I never noticed before, talking to himself (singing? psyching himself up? yelling to the crowd?) when he's away from the mike. I usually notice the crowd at a show; this time, I don't think I looked back once. I didn't even know it was a full moon until after, as all 25,000 of us were trying to make our way out of the park.
I don't need to bore you with my personal review of the set list or songs. You didn't have to be in the front row to be moved by this show. If you were there, you felt it. If you listened on the radio, you could hear the emotion in his voice and the power of the band. Roxanne was brand new to me. And just like it did the first time I heard it live, back during the Gulf War, Fragile brought tears to my eyes.
On a personal note, I must say that the entire experience was wonderful...The audience behind us did not push us into the railings and asphyxiate us (as Angie and I worried they might), the BestBuy security in front of us was pleasant and helpful - they let us put all of our blankets and bags and junk in front of the railing so it wouldn't get smooshed, the cops took my camera and got even CLOSER, giving me several great shots!!!
As I was visiting from out of town, I went to the show with 4 NY friends who had never been to a Sting show. Only 2 even own his cd's. They all said it was the best show they had ever seen and were heading out the next day to buy the entire collection. One of my friends now has a serious Chris Botti "issue", she's already logged onto his website (no doubt due to the fact that by the end of the show she was blowing him winks and kisses that he was returning!)...
I don't even know how to end this post, except to say that as long as Sting tours, Miles can have my $.
The following is a mutual memory from two Sting sisters:
We arrived in NY from PA and NC Monday morning. The adventure began at noon.
We first went to Times Square to meet with some other Sting fans with tickets to the CP show. There we met James, Chris and Kelly, Christina and Enrico. Chris and Kelly and the two of us decided to check out the park for the show the next day. There we found a huge stage and we were told by a park guard that the large flat area in front of the stage was for VIPs. (Fortunately, he was dead wrong!) We scoped out what we thought would be a great spot for the show at the edge of the lawn near the sound booth and then caught a cab back into mid-town to wait for the arrival of Sting and the band at the Letterman show.
Letterman Show:
Mary: Fan as I am of the Letterman show, I was almost as happy to see Paul, Rupert, Biff, Pat, Kenny, the security man, a golden retriever I believe is Dave’s, and Sirajul (or was it Mujibur?) as I was to see Sting’s band (notice I said ALMOST?). We got a tip from a Sting fan at Letterman as to where the Best Buy CD’s were being distributed; otherwise, it would’ve been almost impossible to find them. Thrilled to get autographs/exchange a few words with the wonderfully friendly Kipper and Dominic, and to hear Chris voice our fears about the potentially rained out concert. The funniest part was when Billy Francis leaned out of a passing van just after I’d gotten Kipper’s autograph, and yelled, “Oh, please, Kipper, can I have an autograph from the big rock star?” Happiest moment was when I stretched to have Sting sign my Outlando’s June 2000 newsletter, and brought my hand back to discover my mission had been a success.
Margie: At the stage door we found some other Sting fans we knew, Wanda, Shelly and James and Enrico (from earlier in the day). After about an hour, two white vans pulled up, the first containing Chris, Manu and Kipper, the second with Dominic and Jason. We were able to say “hi” to all the guys and were lucky enough to get the autograph of Dominic in our opinion, the Holy Grail of the band. He, like all the band members was great and very nice! In about another 20 minutes Sting arrived, sitting in the front seat of a black car, doing a crossword puzzle. When he emerged from the car, he was wearing his tank top and cargo pants and had the red pen he’d be using for the crossword puzzle in his mouth (does it surprise you he does crossword puzzles in pen?) He very agreeably signed autographs, although the crowd was pretty unruly. Security was completely useless. Unlike Mary, I didn’t manage to get an autograph on the way in I must be too short! Fortunately, good things come to those who wait and I got him on the way out!
He was deluged with requests for autographs and became pretty exasperated after a short time since some idiot was shoving album after album in his face as he tried to accommodate all the fans. As he was signing my autograph, this idiot was continuing to be annoying and Sting finally said, “this is ridiculous!” and got into the car and was driven away. I got a “St”, but hey it’s his “St!”
Central Park:
Margie: The next morning we hopped a cab to the park at 6:00 a.m. and found about a half-dozen other fans there from the previous night. We joined Jeremy from the UK, Deb, Andrea, Fred, Dawn and Wanda who had camped out on the sidewalk at 90th and 5th. At about 6:30 the NYPD came on the scene and asked us why we were sitting there??? We said we were waiting for the Sting concert and the police looked at us like we had 4 heads each. The one cop said, “it doesn’t start until 6:00 tonight!” We were told we couldn’t wait where we were and so we made our way into the park. After being moved about 5 times the park rangers just had no idea what to do with us we settled in for the day. It was a great experience getting to know other fans who are as addicted as we are to Sting.
Mary: We saw Bill Cosby jogging while we were being moved (for the umpteenth time) to yet another location in the park; he gave us a “Hey!”
The Soundcheck:
Mary: Around 12:30, we were able to enjoy our first soundcheck. I especially enjoyed Dominic’s version of “The Wind Cries Mary” during the sound check, commenting to Enrico that Dominic was obviously playing for me!
Margie: The Soundcheck was very cool. Not only was it fun to get a preview of some of the show, but Sting’s son, Giacomo, was on stage as was Jason’s son. Giacomo, however, had the microphone most of the time and was having a blast! He was on stage the whole time, monopolizing the microphone every chance had got. He was just adorable, announcing to anyone and no one that “My name is Giacomo!” and asking Sting to “ Give me a high-five, Dad!” One of the definite highlights of the day.
Waiting for the Show:
Mary: We named the three foot high balloon we bought so our late-arriving friend could find us in the East Meadow, “Happy Harry.” He was a huge smiley-face balloon with a party hat, meant as a landmark. Our friend Louise eventually arrived, but security wouldn’t allow her to join us next to the stage, despite her futile attempt to convince them she is a member of the press (she’s actually an international banker). We gave “Harry” to a couple who were also using Harry as a landmark for their friend. (Of course, this had nothing to do with the several threats received from other concertgoers behind us. Somehow, they just weren’t that happy with Harry!)
Margie: About 3:00 the Best Buy people began setting up these metal barricades to channel the throngs of fans who had lined up outside the concert area. They made us give us our comfy spot on the ground to line up standing in front of the gates they had erected. After more than an hour and a half they announced (several times) that we needed to have our tickets in our hands and have our bags ready for inspection. At about 4:40, they opened the gates and we all began the sprint through two Best Buy “guards” and then ran as fast as we could to the concert stage. Thanks to some quick footwork and sheer determination, we found ourselves in the second row next to the stage just to the right of center, where Sting does a lot of jamming. We noticed the other die-hards from the day; Fred, Andrea, Jeremy, Deb, Christina, Chris and Kelly, Wanda, Shelly, James, Enrico, Magda and Patricia were also upfront, some right against the stage.
Cheb, etc.:Margie: Great opening sets from Liquid Soul, a group that performs a mix of Rap, Jazz and Swing and the great Cheb Mami. He delivered a great show that was received much better by the crowd than he was last November at the Beacon Theater when he again opened for Sting. Obviously Desert Rose has brought Cheb to the attention of the masses and they love him.
Mary: During Liquid Soul’s performance, we couldn’t help but smile at the previously annoying foam-clad “Best Buy Dancers”, who were doing some sort of conga line dance in the field as the crowd poured in. Cheb was more animated, and better received, than we’ve ever seen him (which, between the two of us, is probably 10+ times).
Sheryl/Jonny Lang:
Mary: Thrilled to see Sheryl, as I’m a long-time fan, but it did take me a minute to recognize her.
Jonny was great. Had seen him at Raleigh and Virginia Beach. My husband’s now seeking out the CD with “ My Irish Angel” on it.
Margie: Sheryl Crow came dancing out onto the stage during the chorus of “Fill Her Up,” but didn’t really know the words. It didn’t seem like she was recognized until Sting announced who she was and she walked off the stage (after about 1 minute). Then Jonny Lang came out to play for a bit.
Jonny was animated as usual. I like him but he’s not Brad Pitt!
The Band:
Margie: The band was in a great mood with Dominic smiling at nothing in particular and Kipper with his hair in little knots rubber-banded all over his head (you had to be there to appreciate this completely it was great!). They seemed to be really happy with the crowd up front and appreciated all the participation. During “Perfect Love” at the part where Sting sings “You said I wasn’t just your Christmas toy…” the band does this thing with their hands as they sing “do...do…do” Everyone down front had obviously seen shows before and started doing this before the band did. They thought it was a riot we all knew the gesture. During “Moon Over Bourbon Street” Chris Botti held one of the lasts notes so long, it took my breath away I can’t imagine why it didn’t take his but that yoga must be working! Just incredible!! The crowd just loved Manu’s rap-vocals on “Perfect Love,” and of course Dominic was Dominic what else can I say, and Jason was amazing as usual.
Mary: Feeling like we were finally authentic Janice, Manu, Kipper, Jason, Chris and Dominic fans. We’d jump at the chance to see them anywhere, anytime. Will continue to check their websites for updated info.
Sting:
Margie: Around 8:00 p.m. it was finally time for Sting! Dennis Miller came out first with some opening jokes/remarks (why does he always laugh harder at his own jokes than the crowd???). Then, finally, the lights dimmed and the band walked onto the stage and took their places. Instead of hearing the first few notes of “A Thousand Years” the band began playing the first chords of “If You Love Somebody.” Sting walked on stage and began singing. Immediately, you could feel the energy from the crowd. It was fantastic!!!
Sting looked tremendous, as usual, in a black tank top and those good old cargo pants. He was completely energized by the crowd and was “up” from the moment he began playing. It must have really been incredible for Sting and the band to look out at 25,000 plus people there just to see and hear them. The set list was the same as it had been, but that was no surprise and no one around us seemed to mind. Some new twists were added like Sting softly chanting “Roxanne-o” during an extended “Roxanne” the crowd loved it. The last song, “Fragile” was beautiful as always, and this time, a little sad, since it was the last time we’d all hear that last note for a long time. We eventually found ourselves outside the park, tired but completely high.
Mary: Sting seemed to smile when he sang “I dream of rain” (Desert Rose), thankful that it was just a dream! He, of course, was incredible. His voice and his music sent chills through my body in the 80+ degree heat. He appeared pleased that the show had gone so well, as evidenced by his softly spoken “Thank God,” as he began his curtain call. I have, and will continue to travel to the ends of the earth to see him anywhere, anytime I can. Please continue to make our music.
People:
Mary: I’ll remember always - The ousted photographer, who was causing a major disturbance during Sting’s performance, who was more than a little scary. The Times Square group (especially James); the scouting/photography group (Chris and Kelly); the early Central Park group (especially Jeremy); Enrico’s fascination with American menus, and memorable “Ciao!” Shelley (and, distantly, Wanda) at Rosie O’Grady’s; Shelley’s wonderful photo with Sting; Wanda patiently (nurse humor!) waiting in line for the concert and at Letterman; Doreen and Joni’s friendliness and enthusiasm (and Joni’s potential connections!); Fred’s photos; Christine’s Miles story, pink balloon, and happily accepting an egg shaker; Magda’s tales of the Holland fans; Patricia’s sketches; Margie’s bee tattoos, bee pins, and generosity….. The (real) belly dancers, who, along with Chris, Kelly and Margie got their picture in the N.Y. Daily News the next day, looking like the enthralled fans they are.
Margie: We were fortunate to spend the day and evening with Sting fans, Jeremy, Deb, Fred, Andrea, Christina, Chris and Kelly, Doreen, Joni, Wanda, Shelly, James, Enrico, Magda and Patricia. In for the show from all corners of the world - England, Italy, Holland Germany and all across the U.S. How wonderful it was to meet others who appreciate Sting’s intelligence, music and person in the same way we do! And why is it that all of the Sting fans we’ve met have been so far have been so smart, funny and very cool? It was truly a memorable experience.
In Summary:
M&M: The entire experience was completely amazing and the effect of the entire experience still lingers. Not only was it great seeing the best Sting show we’ve ever seen, but it was also fun connecting with great and fun Sting fans from all across the US and the world. As much as we’d like to tell those of you who missed the show, that you didn’t miss that much it was just another stop on the tour - in our opinion you missed a phenomenal experience that we will always remember.
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