Saturday night in the capital we were given a lesson in ‘that’s how you do it‘ as STING took to the stage as part of TK MAXX PRESENTS DEPOT LIVE. To say the three piece band came, saw and conquered would be an understatement.
At 73, Sting is every bit the classic rock star with his tight T Shirt, trusty old bass and two of the best musicians you’ll hear anywhere in his band. Guitarist DOMINIC MILLER and drummer CHRIS MAAS, make up STING 3.0.
The set was a real a no-frills, belt out the hits affair. It was all great music, with a few twists on the old classics. For those of us who have been with him from the start, this felt like it did in the early days of The Police.
I’ve got a little bit of history with Sting, but those stories are for another day. Needless to say I’ve seen him many times, most recently at RADIO 2 in the park last year. As great as the band were then, there’s something about having him back in the capital which tops every other live show, and you could tell he was pleased to be back.
I would hate to call this a ‘Greatest Hits‘ show but as the band opened with a crowd-pleasing ‘Message in a Bottle‘ followed by ‘If You Love Somebody Set Them Free‘ the tone of the night was pretty much set. And as the trio rattled through hit after hit including ‘Every Little Thing She Does is Magic’, ‘Every Breath You Take‘ and ‘Englishman in New York‘ I couldn’t help notice the age range in the audience.
My favourite phrase when it comes to music, particularly with kids who won’t explore out of the current roster of artists, is ‘a great song is a great song no matter when it was released‘. The younger fans had clearly listened to some of the old Police albums but it was us seasoned fans who showed them how to do it as we stomped and sang through the rock classics and pulled our loved one close to the stunning ‘Fields of Gold‘.
Sting did chat a little later in the set, relieving some of the old days and a few tales of home, but when he looked at the audience and said ‘Oh, you lot want to sing tonight do you‘, it clearly made him feel welcome, until he said ‘it’s my turn now‘ and got back to delivering some incredible vocals.
In times when we’ve grown accustomed to a stage filled with backing singers, dancers, pyrotechnics and all manner of hi-tech stuff, it was nice to see a band deliver one of the best live shows of the year with nothing but guitar, bass, drums and a catalogue of songs which will withstand the test of time.
I do want to mention the support acts as they really kept the crowd entertained before Sting took to the stage. SOPHIE GREY has been supporting Sting on a few of these UK dates. And Hull band THE LILACS built on their Isle of Wight Festival success with a crowd pleasing set as the city sunshine faded.
I was wondering what a man who has seen and done it all over the last 40 years does with his time, the answer to that was given on Saturday night in Cardiff. You get out, do it all again and make it look and sound better and fresher than ever.
As the lights dimmed and the band launched into the song that really started it all for Sting, every one of the Cardiff Castle audience sang ‘Roxanne‘ at the top of their well worn voices. What a night, what a show, what a band.
This is one of those gigs we’ll be talking about for a long time to come, perhaps until two years from now when DEPOT LIVE invite him back again (please)?
TK MAXX PRESENTS DEPOT LIVE AT CARDIFF CASTLE 2025
JUL 8 – THE HUMAN LEAGUE + THOMPSON TWINS’ TOM BAILEY + BLANCMANGE
JUL 10 – JAMES + SHED SEVEN + JAMIE WEBSTER
JUL 13 – RAG’N’BONE MAN + ELLES BAILEY
JUL 19 – ROCK THE CASTLE – FUNERAL FOR A FRIEND, THE BLACKOUT, PUNK ROCK FACTORY + MORE
JUL 20 – UB40 FT. ALI CAMPBELL + BITTY MCLEAN + REGGAE ROAST FT. MR WILLIAMZ
JUL 26 – DEPOT IN THE CASTLE – JESS GLYNNE + MAXIMO PARK + SIGMA + KATE NASH + PROFESSOR GREEN + GLC + BLUE DOLPHIN WRANGLERS
JUL 30 – FONTAINES DC + KAE TEMPEST + HIGH VIS
JUL 31 – PET SHOP BOYS + DAVE PEARCE
AUG 1 – FAITHLESS + KOSHEEN + CHICANE
AUG 20 – TOM JONES + STONE FOUNDATION
AUG 21 – TOM JONES + STONE FOUNDATION
AUG 24 – BASEMENT JAXX + EZRA COLLECTIVE + EATS EVERYTHING
AUG 25 – WILL SMITH + NILE RODGERS & CHIC
