Fanzine:Milwaukee 7/25/08 & Detroit 7/26/08
I made it back home after a fun-filled Midwest road trip. I logged a grand total of 1,109 miles. I don't usually drink much caffeine but Mt. Dew & I became friends that weekend. I had a great time at the concerts & the Milwaukee meetup.
Milwaukee:
I had fun at the pre-concert meetup. The food was good & I had a great time talking with tamalynx, tamalynx jr, Lynne & her friend. The concert venue was located right next to Germanfest so the entire area was packed full of people.
The venue was about 75% full for Elvis. He was enjoying all of the crowd participation. There was a collective gasp from the crowd when Sting walked out on stage for "Alison".
I was trying to get a picture of Stewart's drum kit after it was assembled on stage but there was no light on stage yet so it was difficult. That was when the guy next to me asked me if I was the official Police tour photographer. It took me a moment to realize that he really thought I was but I told him that I wasn't although that would have been a great job to have. Lynne & her friend were 1 row & about 10 seats from me so we were fairly close to each other. I explained the Flag to the guy next to me & he was impressed. The amphitheater was completely full. Time for gong.
As soon as Andy started the opening guitar riff to "Message In A Bottle" and the stage lights went on, I was almost blown down by a wave of heat coming from the stage lights. I was in the 5th row directly in front of Sting's mic & the wave of heat stayed that way for the entire concert. It was brutal. I'm not sure why the lights were so hot. It wasn't the temp because the air temp was only around 80 degrees with a slight breeze.
Later in the show, Sting mentioned it was really hot & we all should get a beer. The thing is, I bet at least half of the folks at the concert had already been drinking beer at Germanfest. I have a feeling that influenced the crowd participation. It was a great audience! The first time Sting asked everyone to sing, he was met with a roar of sound from the crowd. He stepped back & smiled when he heard it. Because the lights were so hot, I'm surprised Sting, Stewart & Andy didn't fall over from heat exhaustion. I give props to them for giving it their all under adverse conditions.
Sting's voice sounded the best I'd heard during the tour. I never heard it crack & he was holding notes for a long time. He sounded great. Andy's guitar playing sounded very good. Stewart was giving at least 200% & was doing a wonderful job. The guys seemed to be having a lot of fun feeding off of the energy from the crowd. I was glad to hear 2 rounds of "Reggatta de Blanc". "Driven To Tears" sounded really strong.
I saw Stewart smiling a few times at Lynne & the Flag when he was too busy drumming to point. Stewart first spotted them during "Message In A Bottle". I tried taking point pics but it can be tough to tell when he is going to point. I have 1 point pic that is a little blurry but it was the best I could get & I have 1 pre-point pic from when Stewart was twirling sticks & then pointed. I thought he was going to point but instead he twirled before he pointed.
I wanted to try to get video of the bow but there were too many arms in the way. Stewart pointed to Lynne & then he was waving to the crowd. He had turned around & was starting to walk to Sting's side. He smiled & pointed as he passed by me. Thanks, Stewart. It was a great concert!
Detroit:
There was a big traffic backup so I didn't arrive at the amphitheater until near the end of Elvis's set. There were a lot of people there already. The crowd enjoyed Elvis.
I ended up in the 3rd row instead of the original 5th row that I assumed I would be in. The first row started with CCC instead of AAA so I was closer than originally thought, yayyy!
The vibe was different that evening. It was more laid back. Sting & Andy were joking a lot with each other & laughing. I saw Stewart crack a few smiles during his drumming. They all seemed to be enjoying themselves. The crowd wasn't as loud as Milwaukee but Sting still had audience participation.
During the opening gong, Stewart threw the mallet over his shoulder but he didn't throw it high enough because when it fell, it struck the gong almost in the middle. Stewart didn't see it because he was heading to the drum kit but he heard it because I saw him wince when it hit the gong. It was actually kind of cool to have the mallet hit the gong on its own & folks may have thought it was planned. Stewart, keep that part in. Good gong, I like it.
"Hole In My Life" had lots of Sting echoes in it. I think it was only supposed to echo back once but it echoed back twice one time & Sting looked startled. Andy started "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" but Sting said that he didn't remember the song so Andy stopped for a few seconds & then started playing. Sting again said that he didn't remember the song so Andy stopped playing. After a few seconds Andy started again & then Sting said that he thought he might be remembering the song. I think the crowd enjoyed it.
I didn't start taking photos until about half way through the concert. I had a real issue trying to take photos because just about everyone in front of me was at least 6 feet tall which meant I was dodging heads, arms & hands to try to snap a pic. Andy was challenging to shoot because I was in front of Sting & had to shoot sideways between arms. Stewart was very difficult to shoot because he had a bright spotlight on him. Actually the light was so bright on his face that I was surprised he could see anything at all.
Sting sounded great. He had a good vocal range. He was playing to the crowd. Lots of hip shaking going on. Andy's guitar playing was wonderful. Stewart was fantastic. I really enjoyed "Next To You".
I ran into a girl on the way out of the amphitheater that noticed my SC.net pledge shirt & she said, Oysterhead. She is looking forward to them touring again. We had a conversation about it.
I was lucky being able to obtain Sting's setlist after the concert. Thanks, Danny.
Thank you for 2 great concerts, Stewart, Andy & Sting!!!
