Ok folks, I am mildly if not totally exhausted at this point, but I know that usually people want to know what the hell is going on, so. this is how it went. Deb, Maggie, Ross and I flew in from Houston to Paris arriving around lunchtime today. Deb and Maggie were brave and strong, and went to the venue to pick up tickets, Ross and I were weak, pathetic, tired and grumpy and went to the hotel and slept. Out of all the events that Deb and I have gone to, this show was the most attended Sting get-together as far as the Usual Suspects go. Everyone was there, it was a veritable Sting geek fest. There was not really enough time to catch up with everyone, but as I have said in the past, there are many people that you run into at the shows, and virtually everyone that you can imagine was there. Usually I make a list of everyone, but I am scared to omit someone, so I won't. Ok, 9pm, the lights drop, and.. Walking On The Moon - Started by Jason on the piano, and one by one the band members came out as their parts of the songs started. The band tonight consisted of Sting, Dom, Kip, Jason, Vinnie and a percussionist whose named escaped me. There were also two backing singers who were very good. Send Your Love - More raw than the album, and while it sounded good, it hasn't yet found its flow yet, they did the 'no religion' with vocals only. Sting commented that he was surprised we all knew the words considering that the album just came out today, and asked if we bought bootlegs, a few people commented that the songs are on his website. and to think I went to Tokyo for nothing. Inside - I love this song, and while it was great live, the chorus does not have the same power live as it did on the album Dead Man's Rope - Fantastic song, fantastic version, and Sting dedicated it to Kim Turner. Whenever I say your name - No Mary J Blige, but the backing singer Joy was utterly fantastic and deserves the credit for a great performance in her own right as opposed to being."the one who sings instead of Mary J's part..". This was really good live which surprised me. Sting said that Joy (Backing singer) had actually done the original vocals on the demo to send to Mary J Blige Forget About The Future - To me this is the weakest song on the album, played live improved it quite a bit, but just so so. This War - Great live, interesting video clips Book of my life - Lovely song, Dominic and the percussionist sat together at the front of the stage and played together., no sitar player, but it worked well all the same. Mad About you - Reworked version, a little faster and more danceable to fit in with some of the new material Sacred Love - Also very good live. Dominic plays the guitar solo from Jeremiah Blues in this, and while I could be wrong and it could have been in another song as I was totally wiped out at the time, it was a nice touch. Fields of Gold - Funniest part about this is that when it started, you could hear the cheers from the back of the theatre, and groans from the front. The version was hilarious, Dominic messed up the solo, and sting made him do it again, and then Sting totally messed up all the words and was laughing all the way through it. When it finished, it was probably the biggest cheer of the night. Desert Rose - Cheb came out to much applause and did a nice rendition, Vinnie changed the drums a little on this, and it changed the feel of it a little. The version finished with Cheb yodeling all over the place Never coming Home / When the World solo thing - Great song, even better live and just flows really well. It isn't as clubby live Many of you don't seem to like this, and this baffles us. If I ever lose my faith in you - Same as always, except that Vinnie knows how to do triplets :-) Every Breath you take - Same as always Fragile - Same as always, not even the All this time version Notable, yet welcomed omissions included: Roxanne, Englishman and Bring on the night, If you love somebody set them free. But, please remember these shows are more album launches than actual concerts, and when the tour starts in January, I would expect to see these back in the set.. unfortunately Everyone played well, but standouts were the backing singer on the left, Vinnie because he is great and is just so much more comfortable than Manu. Dom, Kip and Jason were as they normally are. There were large video screens behind the band playing some rather interesting, although sometimes out of place videos. During This War, it was all oil wells and soldiers marching etc, and sting commented during Inside that it is easier to start a war than say I Love you (unless you're a politician) Goodnight folks Jer