Sting honored Pardubice with his visit. He brought hits and world sound...

The Czech Republic is no match for Prague. Foreign music productions are slowly running out of things to do and big music names are heading to other cities as well. So this year Paradise Lost played in Pilsen, Deep Purple and Hollywood Vampires last weekend in Brno and Sting in Pardubice on Wednesday. The concert was great, but it had a few buts.

Sting was almost sold out in Pardubice. It's no wonder, there aren't that many music stars of his stature in the city with half a horse in its emblem - although better times are coming: Manowar played here this year and Megadeth is next, even though they are quite genre-defining acts.

In any case, the crowd was packed in front of the hall, but what was striking was that the arena absorbed the arrivals so slowly that they were streaming onto the field even when the main star had already started playing. Not to mention Sting's son Joe Sumner, who was opening the show. There were still a lot of people outside. It's hard to say whether this was because everyone arrived late or because of some organizational uncertainty that was simply noticeable.

The Enteria arena is primarily a hockey hall, the multifunctionality of the O2 arena is clearly missing here. The area is so ugly with the barriers, and the only way to get to the standing areas is through a relatively narrow entrance down a single staircase. A bit of a problem from a security point of view, and also from a check-in point of view. Moreover, the security staff were relatively indiscriminate in pushing people into the area defined by the barriers, while the ring between the seating sectors and, let's say, the ice surface remained theoretically unused.

There were quite a few conflicts and the area itself was uncomfortably crowded. But everyone learns, maybe next time fewer tickets will go on sale or the security guys will understand that by cramming everyone into a defined perimeter with a minimum of exits, they are creating problems for themselves.

However, quite a few negatives. What really succeeded was the world-class sound, detailed, understandable, despite the not-quite-acoustically ideal venue.

Sting stopped in Eastern Bohemia as part of his "My Songs" tour and brought with him essentially the same setlist as he did two years ago in Slavkov and last year in the O2 arena. However, there were some minor changes this time. Visitors finally got to see twenty-two songs, he personally was pleased with the return of "All This Time" to the setlist and the three appearances of the great album "Soul Cages". There was still a somewhat tired block of songs from the current album "The Bridge", which simply doesn't work live and, to be honest, the band didn't have much fun either.

The Pardubice audience naturally responded best to the hits. "Englishman In New York" or "Brand New Day" with great harmonica solos, the emotionally played exotic "Desert Rose", the throbbing "If You Love Somebody Set Them Free",... well, and of course to the obligatory items from The Police's repertoire. Balanced and, most importantly, delivered with believable enthusiasm and heart in the palm of your hand.

You simply believe Sting, even though he has been playing basically the same set of songs night after night for years. The freely moving musician - thanks to a microphone mounted on his face - communicated lively with fans and the group. And despite his (especially initially visible) fatigue, he had a good time. Still good for seventy-one years. Damn good.

Sting's concerts are simply a joy. They don't surprise, that's for sure. But at the same time, you can be sure that you will get quality that almost does without cotton wool and dead spots. It was a great evening, although the venue itself still has a lot to learn.

(c) Naživo by Jiří V. Matýsek