Driven to Tears

Sting with Paul Simon @ Xcel Energy Center, St Paul, MN -  2014.02.23

In another one of Sting's experiments, this tour featured the most unusual pairing on such a big name tour.  Early 80s New Wave meets 70s folk.  Many reviews note that Simon exists on another level than Sting in the history of music.  I don't subscribe to that point of view.  Sting maintains a large radio presence beyond Simon's, and while Simon's influence is undeniable, it would seem that Sting's has become just as large (see Maroon 5, Goyte, Bruno Mars, etc.)  Can anyone name a Simon song from the last 25 years?  For Sting, no one can name one from this century, as its seems both artist have fallen into the same trap - revolving around their mythical status rather than moving forward (although a lot of the blame for that rests on society and the industry rather than the artist).  In terms of talent, I think the translation worked better with Sting's version of Simon than Simon's version of Sting (Fragile, for one was very flat and uninspiring), but Simon's most iconic tracks came across well for a responsive crowd.  Personally, those 70s songs just felt out of place to me, while Simon's 80s world-beat influence mixed better with Sting's tracks.  The inclusion of the lackluster song Brand New Day really strikes me as bad choice for a duet, not only because it's boring but because of the lyrical innuendo.   The real disappointment was, of course, the failure of Sting's equipment during Roxanne, which led to omission of They Dance Alone, Desert Rose and Every Breath You Take.  This failure only highlights the pitfalls of an overly elaborate production.  Sting and band should have been able to walk over to the half of the stage that was working and play, but when an artist is this far in to a perfectly choreographed performance, there is just no way to do that.  I would have preferred that they swapped sets at that point, handing over to Simon's band and then resumed playing afterwards (stopping for an intermission to fix the problem if necessary).  The speed with which the show moved on seemed like a cheat.  The loss of Every Breath wasn't a loss at all, but it would have been nice to hear the other two, particularly because this is the first tour (to stop here) that features Sting playing bass for them. These omissions also have more of an impact because after a 21 year wait Sting finally has his best band back together - Dominic Miller, David Sancious on keyboard, and Vinnie Colaiuta on drums.  The addition of Peter Tickell also adds to the band, particularly his fiddle solo on Driven to Tears, and the vocals of Jo Lawry are welcome addition as well. While this band brought a full set to tour in 2013, they unfortunately skipped the Twin Cities (as Sting always does when he is on bass).  The set could have been better, as it originally included Love is the Seventh Wave, which would seem to fit better than Simon than any other song.  Higher energy tunes such as King of Pain or If I Ever Lose My Faith would have helped as well, although they may have drawn a sharper distinction from the low-key Simon numbers.  Sting seemed in top form and the vocals on Message in a Bottle were perhaps the best I've heard him sing, the sustain and impact in this rendition were unmatched.  Now that Sting has his  real band back together, let's hope for more touring and another stop here with a full set, without any gimmicks.


+: Message in a Bottle, Driven to Tears, I Hung My Head, The Hounds of Winter, No Every Breath You Take
-: No Love is the Seventh Wave, They Dance Alone, Desert Rose or King of Pain, If Ever Lose My Faith

Setlist: Brand New Day - Boy in the Bubble(Paul Simon cover) - Fields of Gold - Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic - Englishman in New York - I Hung My Head - Driven to Tears - Walking on the Moon - Mother and Child Reunion (Paul Simon cover) - Fragile - America(Simon & Garfunkel cover) - Message in a Bottle - The Hounds of Winter - They Dance Alone (aborted) -Roxanne - Desert Rose (omitted) - The Boxer(Simon & Garfunkel cover)- Bridge Over Troubled Water (Simon & Garfunkel cover) - Every Breath You Take (omitted) - Late in the Evening (Paul Simon cover)- When Will I Be Loved? (The Everly Brothers cover)