About all I can say about this show is WOW! I am completely floored by how good it was. I wasn't sure if I'd like it as much as I did the TST and MF tours, but this was a tremendously good show. It was the same setlist that has been posted for the last few shows. No additions or deletions. I agree with whoever wrote about the segues Sting's using....they work extremely well. I thought the setlist was pretty well balanced, and I was amazed at how much better certain songs on BND sound live (I don't know why, but I just wasn't as psyched with some of the songs on the album as I should've been!) I'm a new fan of Fill Her Up now! I will say that my favorites, Thousand Years, After the Rain and Desert Rose were excellent, although I missed Cheb on Desert Rose. And another thing, I thought Chris Botti was unbelievable...I've never been that impressed by a trumpet player before! He really added a lot!
Sting's banter was minimal but funny. He said he could hear us all talking about him. He did the same tantric sex/tantric shopping bit that he did on Conan the Barbarian (his words, not mine) last night. He told a Macy's thanksgiving parade joke (seeing Garfield the cat go by his window Thursday morning).
Two problems I did have though...one, WHY doesn't anyone get up and dance unless it's to an oldie??? That is incredibly frustrating. There are some songs that just demand to be danced to! And two, did anyone else at the Orpheum notice that Sting's vocal mix had an awful hiss to it, or was it just that I was under the balcony and against a wall??? Otherwise, the mix of musicians/backup singers was great.
That's it for me....did anyone manage to meet him? I did notice that the alley on Bromfield Street seemed to be the place to be, but I heard he was heading to New York for the overnight tonight, and flying back tomorrow. Anyone???
Wow!!!! After spending the latter part of yesterday afternoon and evening listening to Sting, and then going on to work a night shift after the show, I am a little sleep deprived right now- but here goes!
First the setlist, for those who are interested:
A little break where he talks to the audience- a funny story about how he lives in NYC, and how he wakes up in his bedroom during the Macys Parade, and how he freaks out when he looks up from his bed out the window and sees a GIGANTIC garfield balloon floating by! haha!! and about how he just knows all the photographers are standing there on the other side of the street waiting for him to show up at his window with very little on!
Then he goes on to talk about how in england they have "ungrateful day"- similar to the story he told on conan.
He also mentioned the bit about how he can hear the folks in the front row, so they'd better watch what they say about him, and the bit about the tantric shopping, but i think these remarks were earlier in the show-
Oh yes, and he also talked about when he first came to the boston and played the Rat for a week, and then the Paradise. Lots of cheers for that!
Encore 1
encore 2
Before the show there was a group of people hanging in front of the theater- it seems they worked for universal (?) or some company, and had passes to get into the sound check. another lister whom i met there was also waiting and hoping to get into the sound check. we took a walk around the building to check out the stage door, but nothing was going on there, so we went back. after a while, I took off again to check out the stage door, and when i got back i was horrified to see that all the people who had been waiting in front of the theater were nowhere to be seen! they had gone inside! so I tried each of the 4 doors , to see if one was open, but they were all locked. as I tried the last door, a woman came over and opened it , and ushered me in. she looked right at me, and said- "I dont know if I am supposed to be letting all these people in, but go ahead!" so I was in!!! woo hoo!! and sting was just starting ! I hadnt even missed a note!
The sound check was sooo cool! there were about 30 of us, just sitting in the first 2 or 3 rows, some were walking around taking photos- some just sitting.
Now the orpheum is a very old theater, and small, and the first row of seats is probably about 2 or 3 feet from the stage, so we were VERY close to the man!!
He did 6 songs- and what he did was ask for a volunteer from the audience to come up and sing with him for each song! The first woman sang EBYT with him. They were so cute!!! At one point, sting encouraged her to try to hit the high notes, but she said she couldntbhitthem as high as sting does, except when she is singing in the shower! haha!! so sting gives her a look, and says, well i'm not gonna sing in the shower with you!! He was sooo cute!.
The next person to go up was the son of one of the audience members- he must have been about 8 or so? anyway, he went up, and sting was bending over so that he would be at eye level with the kid as they decided which song to sing- finally the kid asked sting- do you know any Beatles? sting looked out at us all, kind of shook his head, and said Beatles! he wants beatles! haha!!
So he said to the kid, sure, we can do beatles, which song? and he asked for Sgt Pepper!! well, sting and the band said they didnt know it! so they ended up doing ticket to ride, with sting forgetting the words to the 2nd verse and having to sort of hum it!! it was great though!!
The next person who raised his hand to sing with sting, asked if he could play stings guitar instead of singing! well, sting hugged his guitar and said NO! not my guitar! but then Dom took off his guitar to offer to the guy! so he gets up on stage, and straps on doms guitar. meanwhile, another girl from the audience (and you know who you are! (grin)! gets up with sting and asks to sing Fill Her Up. so sting nods over to the guy with Dom's guitar and asks if he can play it! well, the poor guy says no, he doesnt know that one, how about Message ? So Sting has Dom take back his guitar so they can do Fill Her Up- (and you did a GREAT JOB btw!!!! didnt look nervous at all!!) i just want to know what he said to you after he kissed you on the cheek!!!
After Fill Her Up, our lister went back to her seat and Dom gave his guitar back to the guy, and he played message with Sting- with Sting singing the main vocals, and no one singing the answering vocals. Very nice!!
Then Sting walked around a bit- and the sound guy asked him to do 1,000 nights. ( Later , the sound guy told me they always end the sound check with the first song to be played in the show).
Sting just sang the beginning of this song- he sounded great! then he milled around a bit more, and came back to the mic, and just started talking to us- asking if we were coming to the show tonight, stuff like that.
Well, i dont know what came over me, but during a lull i raised my hand- and he called on me! haha! just like in school! so i asked him how he liked the new blender, if he had used it yet! ( anyone who saw sting on conan the other night will know what i was referring to!) it took him a second , then he got it, and he laughed, and said it was a great blender- said its funny cos no one ever thinks to give something good like a blender to rich rock stars- but they need blenders too, just like everyone else! He said it was quite a nice blender. And so i said to him, well, it makes a nice footrest too! and he said, yes, well, he didnt want anyone to be walking off with his blender, so he thought he'd better keep it right with him, cos you know how awful it is when you get a nice gift like a blender, and then someone comes along and walks off with it!
Well, anyway , it was just so cool to see him up close and so informal. he wore a loose hip length gray sweater, and baggy gray pants, and really looked awesome!!
I am going back tonight, 5th row!!! Can't wait to see him again!!
Having just had the pleasure of witnessing three consecutive Sting shows, I have returned damn near broke and a whole lot happier. Other than ticket prices, these were the best shows that I have heard Sting play since the ...Nothing Like the Sun tour. One of the major reasons for this change in the norm, is the re- interpretations of the Brand New Day album. Desert Rose, minus Cheb Mami, became a much more aggressive anthem of longing, complete with agressive playing from Manu Katche and Dominic Miller. On that topic, the new band seems to be on the same wavelenth, and really enjoying themselves. Fill Her Up, Perfect love and After the Rain were dynamic dense and funky booty thangs. Rosanne, no, Roxanne , has a great little subtle dub feel. Shit, the whole thing was good. The addition of Kipper on keyboard programming and Chis Botti on the trumpet really elevated the set. Stings vocals were sharp all night and his bass playing has never been better, including The Police days. Hope all this can remain once the tour moves to the bigger venues. Only complaints, longer set (all 3 nights were between 105-115 minutes) and cheaper tickets. We can't all fly home to castles and Villas. Once last ramble, the yuppies and baby boomer schmucks who won't stand up until a police song and who complain when one feels the need to actually move to music, suck and are missing the point. Cheers!
Okay, so I finally met him after all these years. And let me say, it was worth the wait! I've been debating back and forth on whether or not I would post the whole weekend, or just keep all the details close at hand, but I'm too excited, I need to share..
I got to the Orpheum theatre on Saturday at around 4:30. Not really sure why, but thought I may be able to sneak into soundcheck. When I got there, there were about 15 people out front with posters, CD's, and what not in their hands. I asked someone what was going on. A woman told me that she worked in the Universal office in MA, and they were invited to a private soundcheck with Sting. To my knowledge, I have never heard of this happening before -- fans being invited to a soundcheck -- but it was really amazing. There were also some people there from local radio stations (DJ's). I decided to wait it out to see if I could manage to sneak in with this crew. Sure enough, someone came out and let the group in. So, I just glued myself to them and walked right in. We walked into the Orpheum, and Sting is walking right onto the stage as we are walking in. You have to understand, the Orpheum is a really small place. The 15 or so group was a bit hesitant in taking a seat -- no one went closer than the third row, and everyone was kind of sitting far back. OF course I went right up to the first row. Sting finally tells everyone to move up closer to he can see us all.
He welcomes us there, makes some small talk. Then he asks if anyone would like to sing with him. I sat frozen thinking that my "trespassing" would be discovered at any moment, and I would be escorted right out of the building.
So a girl volunteered, and she picked Every Breath You Take. She did a good job, Sting was so sweet, helping her out. When she finished a small kid volunteered, and he got up and sang Ticket to Ride after Sting went through a whole list of songs that the boy didn't know the lyrics to. When the boy finished, I figured i would go for it. When else would I ever get this opportunity? So, when he asked, "anyone else?" I spoke up "I will!" So he said come on up! Just as I was volunteering, another man asked if he could play guitar. Dominic offered his, so this other man joined us on stage. Sting asked me what I wanted to sing. I blurted out "Fill Her Up" -- not really sure why I picked that one. It is a favorite of mine -- i run to it everyday, so i figured I wouldn't forget the words. I was a little frozen up there though, if I had the time to think about it, I'm sure I would have picked "Ghost Story" or "Desert Rose". Anyway, Sting looks at me and says "Fill Her UP????" And I said "yes, it's one of my favorites". So he says okay. But he then realized that this guy who volunteered to play guitar had NO idea how to play Fill Her UP. So he asked me if I would sing Message in a Bottle. I said "yes.......no". He said "yes or no, which one?!" I said "yes i would, but Fill Her Up is my favorite" (do you believe I said that?). So he said, "okay Dom, Fill her Up it is". He told me the words were right there on the stand if I needed it (of course I needed it, I could barely remember my NAME at this point). By the way, the set list was there as well, and yes, it was laminated. THe music started, we joked around a bit about who would sing JT part him or me. He said HE wanted to sing JT part, and I said I wanted to sing JT part. We ended up really just taking turns on the verses. And I ended up with the JT part in the end. It was completely amazing. I'm sure I sounded awful, but to be standing there singing with Sting...what can I say. When it got to the bridge where he says "as I head..." we began taking turns again. Then the choir part. "you're gonna fill her up with..." We took turns again here. I managed to stick the timing down perfect. During this part he leaned over and said "you're doing really good, this is in 7/8 time". We continued to alternate until we got to the part where he sings "you gotta fill her up with Jesus..." and we began singing together again. Then the band riff, Sting leans over, telling me I'm doing really well, and just to improvise the last few verses. So, we finish a last few "you're gonna fill her up with..." -- then in PERFECT time we finish together with "we're gonna say we've lived for we've come home." Wow. I was completely breathless. The song ended, he told me I was great. I apologized for my semi-butchering of the songs. He shook my hand, then with a slight pause, he leaned over and kissed me. I left a nice lipstick mark on his cheek as well -- I wonder when that finally came off. He walked me hand in hand off the stage -- asked me my name -- thanked me and that was that!
I think one more person volunteered, and then the soundcheck ended. He chatted with us a bit, said thanks for coming, and then we were sent on our way. I'm not sure, but I think I floated out of the theatre.
I decided on my way out to check the back door to see if he would be leaving. Sure enough, his limo driver was right out back. So, I waited a few minutes. Five minutes later he walked right out surrounded by a small entourage. He saw me, came over to me and told me I did a really great job. (believe me, he was being nice). I asked him to sign my shirt, he was so nice and he did right away. While I had him signing, I took the opportunity to ask him some questions. I asked him why he doesn't play "Ghost Story" in his sets anymore. He said that he used to, but it doesn't fit into the tempo of the concert anymore. I told him that's a shame, because it's so beautiful. He said that they usually play it at soundchecks, but just not today. He said I would have sung THAT one with me if I had wanted. I thanked him again. He signed a few autographs and posed for pictures, then he was off.
So that was that. The show was amazing too. I have seen this concert in a few different cities, and the Boston show seemed to have some of the best energy around. Most of the audience was standing, dancing during all the groove songs. Really amazing...
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