Concert Reviews Home Page

November 16, 1999

Beacon Theater - New York, New York, United States

by Melanie Gold on November 17, 1999

I took my best friend--it was her first time to see Sting live, and when we left she humorously said, "That man could sing Hot Cross Buns for 2 hours, and I'd listen."

I hadn't seen Sting since Soul Cages. I had up-front (well, about 14th row, technically, which is as far front as I like to be) seats then, but the show had a kind of somber feel to it, considering the album was about death and pain. This time, I was about as far back as a person could be, but we were all jamming in the back. Although the view wasn't as good, the concert experience was much more pleasurable. I walked out of there on a natural high (although there were some people who "lit up" during "Every Little Thing...").

The place was silent for the Kenny Kirkland tribute which Sting called "Diende" I believe, and then made some phallic joke about the title at the end of the song.

Suite 101 Sting site

by Fred Berthelot on November 17, 1999

OK, I don't know how long this is going to take, but here goes...

The floor of the Beacon wasn't full at 8:00 when Cheb Mami came on. No wonder, since before the show, several "greater than thou" personalities showed up at the box office to ask at what time Sting came on. These are the people who enjoy the attention while they come in during A Thousand Years! Well too bad for them, they missed a great performance by Cheb & band. Miles came on at 8:00 to introduce Cheb: "Tonight, one of the greatest artist of the English-speaking world has invited one of the greatest artists of the Arabic-speaking world. It gives me great pleasure to introduce Mr. Cheb Mami!" You could actually see the question marks hover over some people's heads! Cheb was great, his band is awesome - a very tight ensemble. Cheb reminded me of Sting in the way he commanded his band - a look or a wave was all that was needed to communicate with his musicians and the sound guy. His set had a lot of energy, but that wasn't reflected in the audience. I think it's rude when the performer signals the audience to clap, and NO ONE (at least on the floor) claps. My sister and I were the only ones to get into it... I'm looking forward to next Saturday's concert...

Seats weren't filled by 9:00pm. The show openned of course with A Thousand Years. We all know what the outfit was! We all know what the jokes were (they were funnier in person though) And we all know what the set-list was like - except for the addition of a tribute to Kenny. He said it was almost a year ago to the day that we lost Kenny. He performed the same song he did for Kenny's tribute - a composition by Kenny called "Endomy" (read "End of My") to which Branford asked Sting to write lyrics. He said as a boy, Kenny would pratice the piano inside all day while the kids played outside. Kenny would hear the others outside and the kids outside would hear Kenny play inside. The lyrics tell a reversal of that situation: what would it be like to hear Kenny play outside? This is a beautiful song, reminiscent of the Leaving Las Vegas covers. Though half of the audience didn't seem to know who Kenny was, everyone was responsive to this one because it showcased Sting's singing ability really well (the guy sitting next to me with his arms crossed managed to belt out a "YEAH!" after this one!) After he sang it, Sting said he later learned that the full title of the song was "Endomydeek" ! (I won't explain that one!) He said "That was Kenny's sense of humour!" I can't remember in which slot he inserted this one, so I'll go through the rest of the set (not necessarily in the right order):

A Thousand Years: Great. Probably his simplest chorus, but it gives me chills every time!
If You Love Somebody Set Them Free: I couldn't manage to stay sitting down for this one! So I ended up getting my own personal concert for five minutes: I was the only one standing on the whole floor! I had a blast, the whole band was performing just for ME!
After The Rain Has Fallen: This is the type of song you would expect the audience to stand up for, but the guy behind me brought it to my attention that I was the only one standing up and that people behind me would appreciate it if I sat down! I asked them to stand up but was unsuccessful, so I sat down despite my inner urge not to do so... Anyway, ATRHF wasn't my favorite cut from the album at first, but the live version was awesome. The darbouka was more prominent, and the whole beat generally more groovy. It had more of an Eastern flavor than on the album.
We'll be Together: This one blended really well with ATRHF (which reminded me of WBT when I first hear it) Funky & great. I wonder why he's including this one if *supposedly* he doesn't like it?
Perfect Love...Gone Wrong: Absolutely awesome! It started with a more bluesy feel than on the album. Manu's rap was excellent! Too bad he didn't do it on the album (actually, it makes more sense for a woman to do it.) I was expecting Manu to rap from behind his kit, like Vinnie would do during Saint Augustine In Hell, but he grabbed a mike and came to the front of the stage and was the focus of attention. He got quite a few cheers! Sting was really loose with his singing with this one, letting the melody flow very differently than on the album. I just wish the audience would have been standing for the "Well there can't be nothing worse..." part...
All This Time: Great. Again, audience should have been standing...
Seven Days: Great. I missed Vinnie's drumming though, especially in the middle when Sting used to cheer him on. (I'm not putting down Manu though.)
Mad About You: Great
Fill Her Up: He introduced the story line to this one with the bit about Vegas... He said: "OK Dom, this is your big moment!" My sister and I got it, the people around me didn't... I was expecting people to line dance in the isles, but New Yorkers are too cool for that! Sting sang James Taylor's part but without the interjections like "God damn!" I missed that... I have to say something about Scream here. I wish they sounded as good as they look! (They remind me of the FemBots from Austin Powers!) They nearly ruined the song. Sting had a look of aboration when they started singing. I don't think they'll be around much longer...
Fields of Gold: Great as usual, but I actually wish he would retire this one. How about replacing it with Ghost Story?
Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic: I was up before the second note! I just had a blast with this one! And I wasn't the only one: a couple was swing dancing in the isle and having a blast! They made me proud. The response from the crowd was phenomenal. This is when they started to wake up and realize it was OK to stand and dance!
Moon Over Bourbon Street: While the Bring On The Night version is more "Bourbon", this one is more "Cigar"! I think it works really well.
Englishman in New York: You know this one gets the crowd going in this city! Great sing-along, especially during "Be yourself..." Too bad there was no rap in the middle though...
Brand New Day: By this point, people were creeping up to the stage, so my sister and I got up and went to the front. BND, surprisingly, got the crowd clapping throughout the song. It sounded much better than the early TV versions.
Tomorrow We'll See: People went back to their seats for this one. The couple in the second row who managed to defend their territory told us to go back to our seats! I told her everyone would come back for the next song anyway (how dare she tell me what the structure of the show should be like! I know the routine!...) TWS was great but it's really out of place in the set - it really breaks down the momentum. It should go: FOG, MOBS, TWS, ELTSDIM, EINY, BND... (don't break the momentum)
Roxanne: Some people have complained about this one, but I'll never tire of it. It's great when he can get the crowd to sing "Roxanno." Great, great, great!
Desert Rose: By this point, I was on an adrenaline high! Desert Rose was awesome. I was scared when I heard it on the Today Show and NetAid, but it has improved so much. It really gets you moving. I even found myself singing the Arabic words, even though I have no clue what I'm saying! I still think Cheb's vocals are turned up too loud after his intro. When Sting and he sing together, the sound is too saturated. The flames on stage were a nice touch. This is a more elaborate set than we're used to, but I think it's very tasteful.
Bring On the Night/When the World is Running Down: Pure euphoria! The best "When The World..." I've ever heard. It seemed to go on forever, and I didn't want it to stop. I heard several people around me sing all the words, so it was nice to know there were fans there after all. Sting had a blast with this one! He "dueled" with Jason from across the stage, limboing over to him. Jason rocked! There are no words for this experience!

And off they go. In the hysteria of it all, I forgot who's hand I shook. But Dominic came over to ME from across the stage, and gave me a hearty handshake! I'm pretty sure I was the only one to get one, at least from my side of the stage. That was really cool of him...

I had written a note to Sting asking him to add Lithium Sunset back to the encore. Why LS? Well:

There's no Mercury Falling tune in the present setlist.
The live version of LS rocks!
He did it at the beginning of the tour, so it's a more realistic request than asking for something the band hasn't rehearsed.

So I laid my note on the stage...

-----------------------

Band comes back...

If I Ever Lose My Faith In You: Great, although I could honestly do with another song in the encore by now.
Every Breath You Take: Great...

Band leaves, Dominic comes over to ME hand gives ME (and me only) a "hand-wrestle"-type handshake! Not a tip-of-the-fingers "I'm extending my hand so you can touch it" handshake, a REAL handshake. Dom rules!

-----------------------

Message in a Bottle: Beautiful version that got the whole crowd singing along. I wished people would have sung along without screaming though.
Fragile: Best live version I've ever heard. His guitar playing had improved! He came over to me and looked down at my note, read the whole thing and smiled (disproving what he said about not being able to play and read at the same time, concerning the "My One and Only love" sign!) At the end, he picked up my note, folded it and put it in his pocket!

And that was it. I saw Josh and Jon afterwards, and we saw Trudie leave with Brad Pitt. Josh asked her if we could take a picture, but I think she didn't want to create a stir around Pitt... Josh and I saw Chris Botti leave and introduced ourselves. When I said Hie, Chris said "Hey, you were in the front row!" Very nice guy. We took a picture, Josh told him the band had improved phenomenally, and when asked if he was a Sting fan, Chris said he thought Sting was without a doubt the best pop musician out there! He was very patient with us and very cool!

I stayed outside of the bar where the party was going on (Josh had to leave). I felt awkward staying out there with the *bleep* photographers who were aggressive with fans. Sting talked with Brad Pitt for a while... (Jeniffer Aniston was there with Brad - she's hosting SNL on Saturaday.) Jason came out and I said "Jason, great show!" Poor Jason, he seems a bit surpassed with the whole thing! Billy Francis escorted Miles out, and as Billy went inside, I said "Billy" he turned around, and the next unconscious words to come out of my mouth were "Great job with the tour. It's going great." Those must have been the right words because he smiled and gave me a horizontal smile as he walked away!

Sting and Trudie came out around 1:00 and the scene was actually quite orderly. He signed a couple of autographs, and as he signed, I asked "Sting, will you add Lithium Sunset?" He laughed (a real one, not a polite one!) and must have thought "This guy again!" Unfortunately he mumbled something I couldn't make out. They posed for the photographers, and as they walked off, I went over to him, said "Sting - Great show!" He shook my hand and said "Thank you sir." ("SIR" ?!)

I'm exhausted from last night, and just found out I'm going to tonight's show. Back again tomorrow with a *brief* review!

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