The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, March 04, 1991, Page 4, Image 4
Sting captures souls I
in arousing concert I
By JOHN GLANCY
Staff Writer
Carolina Coliseum became a sensory feast of sights and sounds Saturday
night as Sting took the stage in support of his Soul Cages tour.
"I think it's (my) job as an artist to make every basketball arena as
infimafp. an nrrasinn . as I can." Stinff said recently in Rollins Stone.
He kept his promise.
The audience was an even mixture of the "thirty-something" and
"twenty-something" crowds, with an obvious lack of hairspray in the atmosphere.
The stage was interesting ? spartan by rock standards: a
hand-painted backdrop and abstract geometric stage props, highlighted by
an intricate light show. The absence of flashy distractions allowed the
audience to focus on the music.
Concrete Blonde opened the show with a dynamic and powerful performance.
Their sound was clear (which is rare for an opening act), and
Johnette Napolitano's voice was inspiring.
Vinx took the stage next and almost stole the show. As a solo performer
who Sting discovered in L.A., he knows how to entertain with only
a commanding voice, an African hand drum and a wry sense of humor.
Vinx insulted Clemson people and won the audience. He was funny, but
his music was his real talent.
Sting took the stage around 9 p.m., and the crowd went predictably
crazy. Accompanied by an impressive lineup of musicians consisting of
Dominic Miller on lead guitar, David Sanchez on keyboards and L.A.'s
studio drum god Vinnie Colaiuta, Sting strapped on his fretless bass. The
band then launched into the new hit single "All This Time" from The
Soul Cages.
The band covered three more songs from the new album, including a g
rocking hip-hop version of "Jeremiah Blues" and then Billy Wilder's *
"Ain't No Sunshine When She's Gone. ?
Finally, the moment that everyone was waiting for arrived. Knowing ?
what the audience's response would be, he announced with British
cheekiness that he was taking requests. Eight thousand-plus voices
howled "Roxanne" in unison and shook the building. The band got a
chance to stretch and show their chops, even slipping into a tangential
reggae version of the song for a chorus.
It's good that beer wasn't sold, in light of the amount of sips required
to get through "Roxanne," though I did see some people pretending with
their sodas.
The rest of the show was a mixture of Police tunes and songs from
Sting's three solo albums. The band was tight and covered all of the
tunes with creativity, but they should have been in the spotlight more.
"Purple Haze" was jammin' (though I'm partial to Voodoo Chili's
version).
The encore was a moving rendition of "Fragile," but something a little
less docile and more energetic, "Demolition Man" for example, would
have been nice. Sting has done well to return to his rock'n'roll roots by
going back to a smaller band. His bass chops were together, his voice
never sounded better, and there was a level of energy that made me feel
like my money was well spent L_
fne queeN of comet
BeRflce B6RR
Wednesdag, march 6
$1.00 urith student ID
$3.00 for general public
Rh Ballroom 8:00 pm
This program is paid for, in part, by student activities fees.
1Operation Desert Cl<
| "(I job well don
Eric Glenn/The Gamecock
ting mesmerizes the coliseum audience at his The Soul Cages
>ur, which hit Columbia Saturday.
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0005 "" H
j^^RICIA TITUS i
1
By TRICIA TITUS 1
Staff Writer i
People seem to enjoy taking potshots
at Sinead O'Connor. And
who can blame them? After all, 1
she's an easy target, and she gives ]
"nil tho ommnnitinn hprsp.lf hv hfi
J\J W U1V UUUllWUlWVtl vy
ing one of the few celebrities who
has had enough courage to express '
herself.
Many people hate Sinead because
of her musical style and
voice. Everybody has their own
tastes, especially in music. Of
course, some people do love her
music and the way she sings, myself
included.
On the other hand, there are
some people who hate her because
of her unique look. So she shaved
her head! Not a day goes by that at
least one woman is not tempted to
cut her hair off. It was that kind of c
day, coupled with the image her c
managers told her she should have t
(mini-skirts, high-heeled boots and 1
long hair), that made her shave her c
head. \
However, much of the controversy
is over what she does and t
T i*c*??? L
says, i-ei s sum wiui uic ouu l
Spangled Banner" issue. This r
one's hard to defend. The issue is r
one of freedom: in this case, her c
freedom not to have the national
anthem played before her concerts, t
She has stated that her refusal to J
allow it to be played was not in- r
tended to be disrespectful, but was f
a result of the musical incongruity \
of the song with her concert and \
modern music. i
She does not allow any anthems c
to be played at her shows, not j
even the Irish anthem. The flag- ^
wavers, and Frank Sinatra in parti- <
cular, took the move to be anti- ^
American and responded with boy- \
cotts, insults and threats, even {
threats on her life. 1
nrHViA^ f!
LJf XllCU v
nbia. Be part of it. We are 1
ibers for Rosewood Dr. Iocj
nd K.F.C. APPLY NOW!
:rformance reviews
mncement c0mpe1
LI vlliWIivll
Dr. ?
Sinatra wanted to deliver what
le considered a much needed
ipanking to a rock'n'roll brat. I
nean, God forbid she actually express
her opinion, let alone in a
lation that prides itself on democratic
freedom! Sinead responded
vith the widely accepted knowledge
of Sinatra's tendency toward
/iolence with women. So they
jnipe at each other every so often.
Then there's the Prince con^oversy.
Sinead accused him of
threatening her with violence after
ihey argued over her cover of his
'Nothing Compares 2 U." While
no one can know what really happened,
the fact that she has told
this story publicly, that Prince has
basically refused to comment and
that the press has all but buried the
story makes me wonder if maybe
there isn't some truth to it
We also have the Grammy controversy.
She boycotted the ceremony
and refused to accept an
award because they were decided
on the commercial success of the
music, rather than the artist's talent
It's hardly a new charge.
And she's not the first to boy:ott.
You may remember the boy:ott
a few years ago by most off
he rappers who were invited,
rhey said that it was racially dis:riminatory
because the rap awards
uptp nr\t chnwn nn tplpvicinn
Now, despite the fact that one of
he biggest reasons Sinead has for
>oycotting was the fact that comnercialism
supports racism in the
nusic industry, everybody jumps
>n her.
And the controversy will coninue,
especially if people read the
darch 7 issue of Rolling Stone. Silead
talks about the albums she
lates and will no doubt offend a
vide range of people with her
>icks (M.C. Hammer, Vanilla Ice,
Vhitney Houston and AC/DC).
To end the lecture, take it easy
m Sinead. Whatever you think of
ler, she has the legal right to say
vhat she wants. And, there is
;ome truth in what she says. She's
i courageous human with endurince
and will make mistakes, and
;he has feelings. Grant her that at
east
liring experienced
ition. Be part of a
HTIVE SALARY
Ipp I