A TRIBUTE TO STING, ADAMS AND U2

Sheer brilliance! (Review by Mandlakayise Mlotshwa)

Vintage Productions SA is new production company created by husband and wife Aaron and Andrea Nel. Their first show, A Tribute to Sting, Adams and U2 was staged at Sibaya Casino & Entertainment Kingdom’s iZulu Theatre from May 11 to 16.

“Sheer brilliance”. This would be the fairest way to describe the show and its music. Aaron Nel displays unquestioned maturity in his arrangements, guitar and vocals works. From the start, one sensed that this is a show staged by highly professional musicians who have passion for the subject.

The show kicks off with three U2 numbers, Vertigo, Even Better than the Real Thing and Discotheque, well-interpreted by Scott McConnell. In the three excellent Sting hits, Desert Rose, Englishman in New York and Fields of Gold, Zach Hill virtually sounded like Sting himself. By this stage, the atmosphere was almost electric and the scanty audience was already captivated and singing along with the performers.

Aaron Nel then commanded the stage with his mellow voice, performing a superlative acoustic guitar rendition of Bryan Adams’ Summer of '69 to an ecstatic audience who danced to the raunchy chord sequences. U2’s Ever really loved a woman and Where the Streets Have No Name were instant hits and this was followed by the beautiful Roxanne originally sung by Sting & The Police. The band did justice to the song and brought back memories of clubbing and open dance floors.

Another Bryan Adams classic, Run to You and his Kids wanna Rock! as well as U2’s One Love (which featured Mary J Blige in the original recording) brought the well-structured first set successfully to a close.

The second set started with a classic U2 & Green Day tune, The saints are coming followed by Sting’s famous trio - Fragile, If I ever lose my faith in you and All this time. By now, the audience had become part of the show and virtually owned the atmosphere in the auditorium as they danced to U2’s New Year's Day and Sunday Bloody Sunday as well as Bryan Adams’ All for Love (which featured Sting & Rod Stewart in the original recording).

The energy continued with Bryan Adams’ Baby when you're gone (Mel C in the original recording) and his It's only Love, with Kieran O'Brien doing a sterling job as Tina Turner (in the original recording). Next was Bryan Adams’ classic, Everything I do (I do it for you), U2’s Desire and When Love Comes To Town (BB King in the original recording).

It was a sad moment when U2’s With or without you marked the end of a beautiful musical journey of three great bands, U2, Sting and Bryan Adams, presented by a great group of musicians. With Aaron Nel as musical director, the group included Durban-based musicians and singers: Bryan (Scott) McConnell, Zach Hill and Aaron Nel on lead vocals with backing and female vocals by Kieran O’Brien. There’s also Grant Halliday on drums, Steve Murray on bass, Aaron Nel on guitar and Melissa Chaplin on keyboards. Andrea Nel provided the dance sequences and directed the show.

The lighting was splendid, the choreography pleasant and the whole ambience quietly nostalgic. The technical team performed greatly to manage both sound and lighting in instances where technical hitches threatened to disturb the flow of the show.

Congratulations again to Vintage Productions SA and their sponsors for staging such a splendid “Irish” journey. Their hard work managed to pitch the show at an international level. - Mandlakayise Mlotshwa