Keith Carlock with Sting & ,Billy Kilson w Chris Botti

saw both of these amazing drummers last week, and posted my reactions on a couple of Sting newsgroups, with little or no reaction other than 'didn't Sting look good in his great shirt?' type of comments...then it occured to me that my reactions would have been better suited to discussion on this nobel forum...so, here it is, a week late....After 7 months waiting, much negative postings about the band/sound/set list etc., on here and other
newsgroups,I was in a fairly non- positive state of mind as we
battled through the rush hour traffic of Manchester on a grey Monday
evening.My ebay-sourced tickets turned out to be at the side of the
stage, about 20 rows up, affording us a behind-the-scenes view into
the monitor mixing area, and for the geeky drummer in me, a clear view
of Keith Carlock's kit!
What a show!!! Chris Botti's opener was astoundingly full of energy
for a 'laid-back' jazzer, and I was totally blown away by Billy
Kilson's unbelievable
vocabulary of fills and flourishes - none of which got in the way of
the oh-so-deep groove. Then, when Mr Sumner & entourage took the stage, all of the
last year's doubts melted away....the 'new' material from Sacred Love
sounds much,much better live than I'd ever imagined.Sting was in great
form...good strong vocals, high energy ( shame about the hair
thoughj!, and the band sounded fantastic - tight, strong and what a
groove they can kick up!
The undoubted highlight for me was the inclusion of two of my all-time
favourite songs, both from Mercury Falling: Hounds of Winter, and I
was Brought to My Senses. Jason Rebello was amazing, especially in
WTWIRD....echoes of the lat Kenny Kirkland in his phrasing; Dominic
was as ever , even Kipper contributed some great Hammond sounds -
BUT.....the eye opener was Keith's playing. I've read lots, watched
the videos on his site and in the Sting site. Nothing could have
prepared me for the way he just plays the perfect groove for each
song...he IS a worthy Vinnie replacement - his emulation of Vinnie's
grooves is to be lauded, but at the same time, he has his own voice on
every song. He is such a powerful muscular player, yet with such touch and
restraint -and, the break he takes in the outro of Roxanne is jaw
dropping...I must try and get hold of a recording of this leg of the
tour (?)Yes, the mix doesn't do him justice - his toms were virtually
inaudible all the way through ( because we were so close, I'm sure a
lot of what we heard was the ambient, unmiked sound of his kit,
particularly in the quieter songs. A great concert!!!