Everyone wins in Peter Gabriel and Sting's Rock Paper Scissors tour...
The two legends were thoroughly invested in collaboration, not competition, at their joint concert Tuesday at the Bell Centre.
By titling their joint tour Rock Paper Scissors, Peter Gabriel and Sting set up the expectation of a healthy rivalry. And walking into the belly of the Bell Centre on Tuesday, the lines appeared to be drawn: a split screen depicting settings from their respective English childhoods (a village field for Gabriel, a shipyard for Sting), and colour-coded banners bearing the signatures of 14 immaculate musicians, evenly divided in number.
The singers met at the lip of the stage early on to outline the battle-of-the-bands concept (and to poke good-natured fun at Gabriel’s physique and aversion to yoga), in the first of several French scripts read by Gabriel. He would lead Équipe Rouge, Sting would lead Équipe Bleue, and their teammates’ outfits boasted the appropriate pops of colour. But by then, the real point of the night was already known: Gabriel, Sting and their musicians were thoroughly invested in collaboration, not competition.
You could tell as much by Gabriel’s opener, The Rhythm of the Heat, which featured almost the full cast on stage (with a notable absentee). The sinister fever dream’s mystery was deepened, the delirious percussive climax was heightened, and it was immediately apparent that the principals had approached this tour as a challenge, not a cash grab.
Gabriel withdrew when Sting bounded out for the sunny If I Ever Lose My Faith in You, allowing both men to enjoy strong introductions. But what appeared to be a simple one-for-you, one-for-me setup quickly became more complex and inspired. Gabriel and Sting often yielded the stage to one another, but they just as often wove themselves into each other’s songs, traded band members and generally kept everyone guessing.
The lack of clear division was reflected by the stage setup, with Blue and Red players intermingling rather than quarantined in blocks. There were familiar faces with clear allegiances: longtime Sting guitarist Dominic Miller, for example, and bassist Tony Levin, whose epic resumé is crowned by his four-decade association with Gabriel. But the band formation constantly mutated; when Sting took a breather during Gabriel’s Red Rain, his violinist Peter Tickell remained to add shades of scarlet. Even when one team mostly cleared out, their presence could often be felt: the best part of Sting’s celebratory Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic may have been the sight of Gabriel and some of his bandmates grooving well out of the spotlights.
There was as much trust as chemistry involved in Gabriel and Sting’s interactions. (A shared history may have helped foster that trust: they shared stages during Amnesty International’s concert tours in the 1980s.) Neither one was precious about his own songs. When Sting took a verse of Gabriel’s tense No Self Control, three songs in, it was a novelty; by the time Gabriel delivered a creeping mutation of his colleague’s If You Love Somebody Set Them Free - with Sting nowhere in sight - you simply wished more A-list artists were brave enough to follow their example and treat the stage as a playground.
That sense of play helped keep the nearly three-hour show clear of nostalgia - remarkable when you consider that, aside from one new Gabriel song, the most recent number dated back to 1999. Sting drew heavily from the Police’s catalogue, and dammit, if Gabriel won’t sing Genesis, he’ll do that too: an abbreviated Dancing With the Moonlit Knight was the concert’s most left-field number, buoyed by Tickell’s violin before a counterintuitive but masterful segue into Message in a Bottle.
You could hear Gabriel’s pleasure in trading lines with Sting on that one, and that sentiment dominated the night. The relish with which Sting commandeered Kiss That Frog suggested he was the one who pushed to include the funked-up Gabriel number. When he chomped down on the “which connection I should cut” verse in Solsbury Hill, Gabriel’s mystical farewell to Genesis, one could sense his own history with the Police being seized upon. Both singers found parts of themselves in the other’s music.
The mutual admiration was evident regardless of whether the spotlight was shared or whether someone was in a supporting role. The pair’s camaraderie as they comically prowled the stage in the closing Sledgehammer was priceless, but so was Gabriel’s subtle harmony in Fragile. Best of all may have been the sight of Sting gleefully dancing amid the backup singers during Gabriel’s climactic In Your Eyes, before trading exultant calls with Red vocalist Jennie Abrahamson.
The spirit of generosity was extended to band members. Gabriel walked the perimeter of the stage as Abrahamson offered a honeyed take on Kate Bush’s part in Don’t Give Up. And if this had indeed been a competition, Sting’s vocalist Jo Lawry would have come close to upstaging everyone when her wordless hurricane tore through The Hounds of Winter’s windswept blues.
Occasionally, a collaboration didn’t click, or a song came across as too insular for the occasion. Sting’s smooth vocal tamped down the raw nerves that run through Gabriel’s Shock the Monkey. Gabriel’s new song Love Can Heal was intensely moving, especially noting the dedication to slain British MP Jo Cox, but felt extracted from a solo gig. So did San Jacinto, even as Gabriel - the biggest of big dreamers - limited the brooding number’s necessary theatrics to a mirror that sent a beam of light ricocheting across the arena.
These stood out as potential missteps only because of the unbridled enthusiasm both stars brought to each other’s music, and to the evening’s concept. Anyone in the 16,460-strong crowd expecting a rote co-headline show received so much more from what has turned out to be a daring, presumably once-in-a-lifetime tour (inspired in part, it should be noted, by Sting’s 2014-15 dates with Paul Simon).
Sting may have exaggerated when he promised a night of spontaneity: you can’t meld two outstanding bands so tightly and leave a substantial margin of error. (Witness the way the lineup subtly changed shape as Don’t Give Up led into The Hounds of Winter.) All the more remarkable, then, that the absolute joy on stage masked whatever painstaking work led up to this adventure. Regardless of whether someone came in cheering primarily for Équipe Rouge or Équipe Bleue, everybody won this game, and everybody clearly had a blast playing it.
(c) Montreal Gazette by Jordan Zivitz
Sting and Peter Gabriel...
Though their recent run of dates was given the name "The Rock Paper Scissors Tour," Sting and Peter Gabriel's headlining slot at Festival d'été was more about collaboration and reflection than individual looks at their catalogue. Gabriel's backing band wore red while Sting's wore blue, and the two seasoned stars delivered on their promise of musical exploration and experimentation Thursday evening (July 7).
The collaborative nature of the tour delivered some of the more interesting results of the set. At times, Sting and Gabriel would swap vocal duties on verses — or entire songs — of each other's material: Gabriel handled a good portion of the lead vocals for Sting's "Fragile," while Sting took the reins on a sleeker rearrangement of Gabriel's "Shock the Monkey." Now both in their mid 60s, their voices were still very much in fine form and complemented each other more nicely than many might think in moments of harmony.
"Shock the Monkey" wasn't the only track that got a bit of a facelift. Sting led the bands through a rework of the Police's "Drive to Tears," its reggae tendencies almost entirely pushed aside to feature a prominent violin solo. Gabriel reworked Sting's solo hit "If You Love Somebody Set them Free" to remove the urgent nature of the original, opting for a blues-rooted arrangement in its stead.
Of course, there were plenty of hits that made an appearance too. Gabriel's "Red Rain" remained just as powerful live as on record, while a three-song run of his other So smash "Big Time," Sting's "Englishman in New York" and Gabriel's "Solsbury Hill" pleased the crowd. Even a tease at some Gabriel-era Genesis was worked in, with Sting singing the opening lines of "Dancing With the Moonlit Knight" before launching into the Police classic "Message in a Bottle."
The enjoyment that Sting, Gabriel and their bands were getting from the evening was palpable, all smiles in driving right through to the finish with powerful renditions of Sting's "Desert Rose" and Gabriel's "In Your Eyes," setting the crowd up for a blowout encore of the Police's "Every Breath You Take" and Gabriel's "Sledgehammer," the latter of which saw the two Englishmen bust a few dance moves at the stagefront.
(c) Exclaim by Calum Slingerland
An electric evening - Sting and Peter Gabriel thrilled 16,460 fans at the Bell Centre with their Rock Paper Scissors tour...
Two music legends joined forces on stage at the Bell Centre Tuesday night. Sting and Peter Gabriel delivered a flawless and memorable concert to their Montreal fans. In short, a concert that reflected both singers.
Even though they've been in their sixties for a few years now, Sting and Peter Gabriel haven't lost any of their passion or poise. Quite the opposite. Even in front of a crowd that was clearly already sold, the two British singers worked tirelessly to deliver a show that lived up to expectations, even exceeded their expectations.
And they succeeded.
At the start of the concert, the first notes of The Rhythm of the Heat sounded like a ton of bricks, shaking the packed Bell Centre. The fans leapt to their feet to give Peter Gabriel a proper welcome.
The excitement escalated when Sting appeared to deliver "If I Ever Lose My Faith in You," which he even interrupted to say, "Bonsoir, Montréal!" in near-perfect French.
Between them, Sting and Peter Gabriel have over 90 years of combined experience. And it shows. They delivered an electrifying show, worthy of the greatest masters; it's difficult, in fact, to find anything negative about this concert, which will surely remain etched in the memory of their fans.
Throughout the evening, the two men delved into their respective repertoires to revisit, sometimes solo, sometimes as a duo, the hits that helped elevate them to musical icons.
In total, nearly 30 songs are scheduled for the Rock Paper Scissors tour. From Shock the Monkey to Message in a Bottle, including Roxanne and Games Without Frontiers, the two men gave an exhaustive overview of their prolific careers.
Although their musical worlds are quite distinct, an unexpected kinship was revealed when the voices of Sting and Peter Gabriel (still as impressive as ever, by the way) united on pieces such as "Englishman in New York."
The complicity between the two men was palpable Tuesday night. Longtime friends, Sting and Peter Gabriel never attempted to steal the show. They also gave their musicians and backing vocalists several opportunities to shine in turn.
Truly, it was a pleasure to witness camaraderie from two true gentlemen.
Of course, Sting and Peter Gabriel had saved the biggest hits for the end of the evening; at press time, we were still waiting for the megahits "Every Breath You Take" and "Sledgehammer," scheduled for the encore.
(c) Le Journal de Montreal by Bruno Lapointe
Peter Gabriel and Sting: Double the fun...
Peter Gabriel and Sting graced the Bell Centre stage Tuesday night as part of their joint Rock Paper Scissors tour.
The risk with a joint tour is that you end up bored for half the show because only one of the artists interests you.
Not so with Sting and Peter Gabriel: from the very beginning, when the intense percussion of Rhythm of the Heat followed the riffs of If I Ever Lose My Faith In You, to the encore of "Every Breath You Take" and "Sledgehammer," the former Genesis and The Police frontmen served up hit after hit for the audience, seamlessly alternating between each other's repertoire, accompanying each other or swapping pieces (Sting, for example, made Gabriel's "Shot the Monkey" his own, and the two sang "Solsbury Hill" together), sharing the stage with obvious pleasure.
In total, Peter Gabriel and Sting performed nearly thirty songs to the 16,460 spectators gathered at the Bell Centre.
Speaking to the crowd in French throughout the evening, the two British stage performers were flanked by six musicians each, Gabriel's "reds" and Sting's "blues," breathtaking artists who even stole the show a few times. It was a crowded stage, and it sounded like a ton of bricks.
One thing's for sure: in this game of "rock, paper, scissors," the audience came out on top.
(c) Journal Metro by Jessica Émond-Ferrat
Sting and Peter Gabriel: Everyone's a winner...
We almost felt like we were watching a sports competition Tuesday at the Bell Centre. In the left corner was Peter Gabriel's "red team." On the right, Sting's "blue team." But ultimately, this Rock, Paper, Scissors tour was above all an opportunity to see two of the most popular figures in music history share their immense repertoire.
It had been 28 years since we had seen Peter Gabriel and Sting on the same stage in Montreal, since the Amnesty International tour stop on September 17, 1988, at the Olympic Stadium. But that night, they took turns on stage without ever singing or playing together.
Tuesday, the intention was quite different. With the 12 veteran musicians from their respective bands, the two Brits wanted to share everything: the stage, the music, the songs, and the fun. It was actually a bit dizzying to see the armada of instruments on stage and to measure the careers of the artists present: Gabriel (Genesis), Sting (The Police), Tony Levin (King Crimson), Vinnie Colaiuta (Frank Zappa), David Sancious (E Street Band) and alouette...
At 8:15 p.m., a roar was heard, and the artists' signatures appeared on the 14 suspended rectangular screens. A great idea. As soon as the lights went out, the first notes announcing "The Rhythm of the Heat," from Security (1982), were heard. Gabriel and his colleagues delivered a dense rendition of the song, bathed in red light, then Sting came on to offer a lively version of "If I Ever Lose My Faith In You," under blue lighting.
Gabriel, who did all the introductions and introductions in French (the texts were written beforehand on sheets of paper), then explained the genesis of the "twin brothers'" show. English humour.
For nearly three hours, Gabriel (66) and Sting (64) played leapfrog with the decades (1970s, 1980s, 1990s) and their repertoires. Gabriel impressed with the solemn tone, raw power, and intensity of his performances (No Self-Control, Games Without Frontiers, Red Rain, and San Jacinto). Serious stuff.
Even more so when he performed the only new song of the evening, Love Can Heal, written in memory of British MP Jo Cox, who was murdered just days before the Brexit vote. I've rarely seen a crowd so attentive to a song they've never heard before. It felt like a minute's silence, but in musical mode.
In contrast, Sting was as relaxed as could be. He bounced to the galloping tempo of "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic," swayed his hips during a South American-flavoured "Walking in Your Footsteps," and whipped the crowd into a frenzy with "Message in the Bottle."
Sting clearly enjoyed singing Gabriel's songs with him and even making a few of them his own. It was Sting who sang a tiny bit of "Dancing with the Moonlit Knights" and the famous line "Selling England by the Pound." Gabriel, who has been coaxing himself back into Genesis for decades, didn't even want to grant his long-time fans this small favour. Holy Peter, go... Sting made the highly successful "Kiss That Frog" his own, and he did most of the heavy lifting on Shock the Monkey, accompanied by Gabriel and backing vocalist Jo Lawry.
The latter, Sting's backing vocalist, showed off her chops with a vibrant rendition of "The Hounds of Winter," while Jennie Abrahamson, who does the same work with Gabriel, shared a sublime version of "Don't Give Up" with him.
Gabriel returned the favour to Sting by taking on "If You Love Somebody Set Then Free" in a slowed-down sonic envelope, worthy of a slow blues. A daring and magnificent reinterpretation, but one that irritated my friend Manon, who so desperately wanted to hear this song performed by Sting in its original form. This is one of the risks of this kind of joint performance; you never know who's going to sing which song, or in what form.
This all-out sharing sometimes causes some low points in a two-hour-and-50-minute performance. Although Sting and Gabriel have a similar sensibility, their sonic aesthetic is different. Gabriel's music relies primarily on two keyboards (his own and Angie Pollock's) and Levin's stick. Sting's vibrates with a more organic bass, two drummer-percussionists (Coliauta and Rhani Krija), and Peter Tickell's violin, which stole the show during "Driven to Tears."
One way to avoid tone disruptions is to do what Elton John and Billy Joel used to do: play four songs together, play separately for an hour, and then do six songs together to conclude. This ensures greater cohesion and better transposes the universes. Except that doing so deprives oneself of the pleasure of sharing.
And there were some memorable performances: Sting, who stepped in on bass to maintain the tempo of Big Time, Gabriel, who began An Englishman in New York with his deep voice, as well as Solsbury Hill, during which the musicians followed one another in single file onto the stage, with the 14,460 spectators standing from the stalls to the top balcony.
Roxanne, during which Sting performed Ain't No Sunshine by Bill Withers, was worth the trip. Absolutely beautiful. And Gabriel, Gabriel, who offered us his choreography during Secret World (dynamite), when he twirls around with Levin and guitarist David Rhodes, and during Sledgehammer, when everyone follows his rhythm. Even the Arab-influenced world of Desert Rose and the African-tinged world of In Your Eyes coexisted perfectly in succession.
This tour is called Rock, Paper, Scissors... I guarantee you that no one lost at this little game on Tuesday. Especially not the spectators, who were treated to one of the most successful exercises in musical cohabitation ever.
(c) ICI Radio-Canada by Philippe Rezzonico
Sting and Peter Gabriel: Happiness is in the music...
Paul Simon's brilliant idea of putting on a joint show with his friend Sting was taken a step further by the same Sting and another friend named Peter Gabriel in front of a sold-out crowd of 16,460 yesterday at the Bell Centre.
We knew that these tantric twins—the expression comes from Gabriel, the joker—have always had a strong desire to put their art at the service of a cause, as they once did when they sang for Amnesty International. But we had no idea how willing these two English Francophiles were to share their music on this tour entitled Rock Paper Scissors.
We had striking proof of this when Sting—the cheeky one—started singing the intro to Genesis' Dancing With the Moonlit Knight. The audience couldn't believe their ears, as Gabriel had long since left his old band's songs in the dressing room. The element of surprise was still in effect when Sting launched into an ultra-energetic version of Message in a Bottle, a song that has never shied away from The Police's repertoire. The most astute fans may have seen this juxtaposition as a comment on Brexit, but it was more a time for the ecstasy that exceptional rock shows sometimes provide.
Until then, it was Peter Gabriel, more theatrical than Sting, who seemed to have the crowd's favour by a slim margin. But it certainly wasn't a competition, as Sting thoroughly enjoyed singing "Shock the Monkey," just as Gabriel naturally lent his voice to the gentle "Fragile" and "Englishman in New York."
No, it wasn't a popularity contest, but we had the distinct impression that one was stimulating the other.
In any case, it had been a long time since we'd seen Sting and Peter Gabriel, separately, as convincing as they were last night.
Their fans were elated when Gabriel, Tony Levin, and David Rhodes played the whirling dervishes during Secret World, and things turned downright delirious during the joyous "Solsbury Hill" performed by the two stars and their entire band. This generous audience gave a standing ovation to even obscure heroes like violinist Peter Tickell during Driven to Tears, which followed the spectacular Secret World. And they even seemed to appreciate Gabriel's restrained, not-at-all-danceable bluesy version of If You Love Somebody Set Them Free, which he borrowed from Sting.
It was the kind of show filled with hits but in which anything seemed possible, including pairing the immense Roxanne with Bill Withers' Ain't No Sunshine, followed by a sweet new song, Love Can Heal, which Gabriel dedicated to MP Jo Cox, recently assassinated in Great Britain.
Now it's the turn of our friends from the Quebec City Summer Festival to have the pleasure of attending this musical celebration tomorrow evening on the Plains of Abraham. The lucky ones! We wish them good weather.
(c) La Presse by Alain de Repentigny
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