Greetings all. Just returned from the Sting concert at the old Tower Theatre in Upper Darby. I went with my girlfriend Roxanne and my brother Matt, a former list member. Sting mentioned that it was the first time he had played there in 20 years, his first time being at the now-defunct Grendel's Lair in front of seven people. The show was phenomenal and it seemed tighter and more fun than the Mercury Falling tour. Jason Robello is an exceptional replacement for Kenny Kirkland, and Chris Botti more than made up for his sluggish start on the tour. Same jokes as have been reported -- tantric sex, proximity to audience, etc. Setlist follows with applicable notes:
1st Encore:
2nd Encore:
Me'Shell N'Degeocello was unimpressive as an opening act, and her sound system was awful. Sting more than made up for it with a wonderful performance.
And as always, if anyone has a copy of the show on tape, PLEASE contact me privately.
Glad to hear that my last review was useful to some of you.
Tonight's concert at the Tower Theatre in Philadelphia was INCREDIBLE. Here are the details...
So, despite rumors that Philadelphian Police would cause problems tonight and alternative rumors that the cops might instead vanish, thus leaving poor little Sting fans in the middle of a bad neighborhood, the cops did nothing unusual that I could see.
The Tower Theatre seats about 3000 people and tickets went for around $100 +/- $20. Funny how it seats twice as many as the previous night and tickets cost half as much...
Anyway, the Tower really revealed the limitations of yesterday's Trump Marina stage. The Trump Marina stage was so shallow and had such short width that Sting could not use any of his stage props, as he did tonight. The visual enhancements set a much more exciting background. Large fans, nifty light patterns, star backgrounds, etc.
Sting was very energetic, as was the crowd. There was lots of motion on stage and it was terrific.
Funny that so many people brought flowers and bouquets for Sting tonight. One person offered a round helium balloon to Sting, who attached it to his little water stand. As soon as the band began "Mad About You", the balloon floated up and obstructed the crowd's view of Sting's head. Everybody laughed, and Sting played it up by hitting it with the neck of his bass until a roadie took it away.
In set list news, it seemed to be the same as last night. Definitely no additional songs. Seemed like the same order to me, too.
"Roxanne" was fixed up tonight. No ackwardness at the end.
Only one minor Sting slip up. During "We'll be together", Dominic has been playing one of the vocal parts instead of Sting singing, but Sting forgot about that tonight; he started to sing on a guitar part.
Great show and, after it, I now feel motivated to throw BND into my tray!
The set list was pretty much the same as the previous shows but an incredible show nonetheless.
Set List:
1st Encore
2nd Encore
Notes:
The opening act, Me'shell Ndegeocello and her band, was warmly received by the audience. Toward the end of her 30 minute set she asked, "Truth, does anyone really listen to the opening act?" I suppose she just said this because the audience that night was so supportive. She was given a huge round of applause at the end of her set and came on to play an encore.
Sting's voice was very strong and sounded great live. The band sounded much more cohesive than earlier performances (such as the Today Show). He told all the same jokes, comments from the front row "he looks younger, he must have done something/he was better with the Police, etc"; the tantric shopping. He was wearing the same cargo pants and a dark button down shirt that looked great on him. I forgot to check out the boots.
Unfornately, he also said some of the same comments. For example, he made the same comments about playing in a small venue (Grendle's?-I never heard of it) about 20 years ago "where I played this song." He then did a beautiful solo version of Message in a Bottle. Of course, the audience did a great job echoing the lyrics. At some point, the audience began to sing the first part "Message in a Bottle.."while Sting sang his own variations following us. Although the guy next to me insisted on singing "Thee-oh-o-o-o" I'm sure others in the crowd were doing the same! Most of the crowd in front sat (I suppose to be considerate to those behind them) although lots of people were dancing in their seats throughout the show. Everyone did stand for the two encores.
What appears to be different in this show was that he commented on the football game earlier that day. He commented that the Eagles (Philadelphia) had beaten the Redskins (D.C.) then added "serves them right for being politically correct." Also, during the show people gave him flowers and cards and other stuff. One lady handed him a yellow balloon. Sting said "and it's not even my birthday" (I think it actually said Happy Birthday). Sting decided to keep it on stage for a while but it kept floating in front of his face. I was close enough to enjoy the facial expressions. Finally, someone came on to remove the balloon. Sting also commented on how close the first row was. He shaked hands with those in the front row as did members of the band. Lucky first-rowers.
The band was great. Dominic Miller was wonderful as ever. He tossed a guitar pick to some lucky audience member during "Fields of Gold." His backing vocals on that song were perfect. Chris Botti wandered around stage and sounded really good, especially on "Moon over Bourbon Street." Manu Katche did a pretty good job on the French rap and had pretty solid drumming throughout. Kipper and Jason Robello seemed to be having a lot of fun. Scream (backing vocalists) were fine but not spectacular (IMO).
I do wish James Taylor's part on "Fill Her Up" had been performed by someone else. I couldn't really hear the "God Damn!" and I missed it. The visual effects during "Moon over Bourbon Street" and "Desert Rose" were a nice change and visually striking. I usually am fairly apathetic to BOTN/WTWIRD but I actually liked it this time!
Hope the rest of the concerts are as enjoyable and that maybe he will add some other songs like "Why Should I Cry for You" or "End of the Game" (for those of us with the US CD) and bring back "Ghost Story" to the line up. I also hope he doesn't repeat the same jokes. But as long as his voice is in such great shape and the band is so solid, none of that seems to matter.
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