Paul Simon & Sting / On Stage Together In Washington / 2DVDR

Paul Simon & Sting / On Stage Together In Washington / 2DVDR / Uxbridge

Live at Verizon Center, Washington DC, USA 13th March 2014

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The “ON STAGE TOGETHER Tour” was realized in 2014. A video work that allows you to fully experience a gorgeous night that could not be realized in Japan is now available.
This work was filmed at the “Washington D.C. performance on March 14, 2014”. It is the superb view audience shot. The two men have known each other since the late 80’s, but they performed together for the first time at the charity concert “Robin Hood Foundation” held on May 13, 2013. There, we hit it off and a co-starring tour was realized. In order to evoke memories of those days, let’s first look back at the whole view of the project.

●2014
・ February 8-March 16: North America (21 performances) ← here
●2015
・ January 30-February 22: Oceania (10 performances)
・ March 16-April 18: Europe (21 performances)

This is the overall picture of the “ON STAGE TOGETHER Tour”. Although the world was excited with 3 legs, the Washington D.C. performance of this work is, so to speak, “the end of the beginning”. It was a concert that was the 19th performance at the end of the opening “North America” leg.
This work, which is a vacuum-packed version of such a show, is a masterpiece video that became a hot topic at the time. It is a one-camera image captured from the left side of the stage, but the bold zoom and beautiful image are amazing. You can see that there is a good distance when you pull it all the way, but from there it gets closer and closer, and at the highest zoom, Paul Simon and Sting’s waits and ups fill the screen. If the zoom is so intense, the image quality tends to be sweet, and it tends to be difficult to see due to camera shake, but the amazing thing about this work is that it does not. I guess it uses the latest equipment at the time, but it is so beautiful that I think, “Is the camera in 2014 so high quality?” I’m surprised that even the very slight edges have a film-like beauty.
And the stability that is easy to see even with super zoom is shocking. As you can see in modern times where the anti-shake function has been developed, this work is an image before that. Moreover, it seems that he does not use a tripod. Although Sting and Paul do not move much from their fixed positions, the entanglement of the two is firmly tracked and kept in the center of the screen without blurring. The coupling concert is about 2 hours and 40 minutes long, but the photographer’s extraordinary concentration is completely caps off.
A treasure trove of masterpieces by both men is depicted in such a superb view. The show has three major sections, “Paul / Sting co-star”, “Sting solo” and “Paul solo”, and they are repeated in rotation. The number of songs varies depending on the section, so let’s roughly organize them here.

* Paul / Sting co-star # 1 (3 songs)
・Sting Solo #1 (5 songs)
* Paul / Sting co-star #2 (1 song)
・Paul Solo #1 (5 songs)
* Paul / Sting co-star # 3 (1 song)
・Sting Solo #2 (6 songs)
* Paul / Sting co-star # 4 (1 song)
・ Paul Solo # 2 (6 songs + α)
*Paul / Sting co-star #5 (4 songs)

A long co-star section is placed at the start and encore (Co-star #1 + 5), and solo sections are alternately arranged in between. When switching between each other’s stages, each song has a co-starring part (co-starring #2-4). What songs are played in each section? Let’s sort it out.

●Paul/Sting co-starring stage (10 songs)
・ Paul Simon songs: The Boy In The Bubble / Mother And Child Reunion / The Boxer / Bridge Over Troubled Water / Late In The Evening
・ Sting songs: Brand New Day / Fields Of Gold / Fragile / Every Breath You Take
・Cover: When Will I Be Loved?

● Sting’s solo stage (11 songs)
・ Police songs: Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic / Driven To Tears / Walking On The Moon / Message In A Bottle / Roxanne
・ Solo songs: Englishman In New York / I Hung My Head / The Hounds Of Winter / They Dance Alone / Desert Rose
・Cover: America

● Paul’s solo stage (11 songs + α)
・Graceland: Graceland／That Was Your Mother／Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes／You Can Call Me Al
・Other: 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover/Dazzling Blue/Still Crazy After All These Years/Me And Julio Down By The Schoolyard/Hearts And Bones/The Obvious Child
・Cover: Mystery Train (Wheels)

… and it looks like this. Sting and Paul’s stage is basically close to the usual solo performance, but Sting also plays Simon & Garfunkel’s “America”. The highlight is still the “Co-star” section. While a masterpiece of hissatsu is selected with a slight emphasis on Paul, a twist like “Brand New Day” is also effective. And at the end of the day is the cover of THE EVERY BROTHERS, which is also famous for Linda Ronstadt, “When Will I Be Loved?”. While strumming the acoustic guitar with just the two of them, they overlapped their voices into one microphone. This work ends with a famous scene that symbolizes the significance of the “ON STAGE TOGETHER Tour”.
Both men have created a large number of masterpieces in the history of popular music. This work is a cultural heritage where you can experience the superb view of the scene of the gorgeous co-star. What’s more, it’s not just precious, it’s also a musical masterpiece that allows you to fully enjoy a huge amount of famous songs for 2 hours and 40 minutes. Whether you immerse yourself in it, keep staring at it, or just let it flow as VGM, it’s the best video work. It is a blissful 2-disc set that heals the regret of not being able to come to Japan.

★ Spectacular audience shot of “March 14, 2014 Washington D.C. Performance”. Anyway, a bold zoom and a beautiful image are splendid. While Paul and Sting’s waiting and close-ups fill the screen, the image beauty without blurring and the sense of stability that does not cause camera shake are tremendous. While repeating the three sections of “Paul / Sting Co-star”, “Sting Solo”, and “Paul Solo” with an animation, you can fully experience the treasure chest of 32 songs and 2 hours and 40 minutes.

2014年に実現した世紀の共演ツアー“ON STAGE TOGETHER Tour”。日本では叶わなかったゴージャスな夜をフル体験できる映像作が登場です。
そんな本作が撮影されたのは「2014年３月14日ワシントンD.C.公演」。その絶景オーディエンス・ショットです。両雄は80年代後半から知り合い同士ではありましたが、2013年５月13日に行われたチャリティ・コンサート“Robin Hood Foundation”で初共演。そこで意気投合し、共演ツアーが実現する事になりました。当時の記憶を呼び起こす為にも、まずはプロジェクトの全景を振り返ってみましょう。

●2014年
・２月８日ー３月16日：北米（21公演）←★ココ★
●2015年
・１月30日ー２月22日：オセアニア（10公演）
・３月16日ー４月18日：欧州（21公演）

これが“ON STAGE TOGETHER Tour”の全体像。大きく３レッグで世界を沸かせたわけですが、本作のワシントンD.C.公演は言わば「始まりの終わり」。冒頭「北米」レッグの終盤19公演目にあたるコンサートでした。
そんなショウを真空パックした本作は、当時大いに話題となった名作映像。ステージ左側から捉えたワンカメ映像なのですが、とにかく果敢なズームと美しい映像が見事。思いっきり引くと結構な距離があると分かるのですが、そこからグイグイと迫りまくり、最ズームではポール・サイモンやスティングのウェイスとアップが画面いっぱいになる。そこまで激しいズームだと画質が甘くなったり、手ブレで見にくくなりがちですが、そうはならないところが本作の凄み。当時の最新機材を使っているのでしょうが、「2014年のカメラってこんなに高画質だったっけ？」と思うほどに美しい。極わずかに生じるエッジもフィルム的な美しさになっているから驚きます。
そして、超ズームをしても観やすい安定感も衝撃的。手ブレ防止機能の発達した現代なら分かりますが、本作はそれ以前の映像。しかも、どうやら三脚も使っていない模様。スティングやポールが定位置からあまり動かないとは言え、２人の絡みなどはしっかり追って画面中央に収めつつ、ブレない。カップリング・コンサートは約２時間40分という長丁場なのですが、撮影者の常人離れした集中力には完全に脱帽です。
そんな絶景で画かれるのは、両雄による名曲の宝箱。ショウは大きく「ポール／スティング共演」「スティング・ソロ」「ポール・ソロ」の３つのセクションがあり、それらをローテーションで繰り返す構成。セクションによって曲数も異なりますので、ここでざっくり整理しておきましょう。

＊ポール／スティング共演#1（３曲）
・スティング・ソロ#1（５曲）
＊ポール／スティング共演#2（１曲）
・ポール・ソロ#1（５曲）
＊ポール／スティング共演#3（１曲）
・スティング・ソロ#2（６曲）
＊ポール／スティング共演#4（１曲）
・ポール・ソロ#2（６曲＋α）
＊ポール／スティング共演#5（４曲）

スタートとアンコールに長めの共演セクションを置き（共演#1+5）、間はソロ・セクションを交互に配置。互いのステージを切り替える際に、１曲ずつ共演パートを挟む（共演#2-4）ようになっています。では、それぞれのセクションでどんな曲が演奏されるのか。整理してみましょう。

●ポール／スティング共演ステージ（10曲）
・ポール・サイモン曲：The Boy In The Bubble／Mother And Child Reunion／The Boxer／Bridge Over Troubled Water／Late In The Evening
・スティング曲：Brand New Day／Fields Of Gold／Fragile／Every Breath You Take
・カバー：When Will I Be Loved?

●スティングのソロ・ステージ（11曲）
・ポリス曲：Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic／Driven To Tears／Walking On The Moon／Message In A Bottle／Roxanne
・ソロ曲：Englishman In New York／I Hung My Head／The Hounds Of Winter／They Dance Alone／Desert Rose
・カバー：America

●ポールのソロ・ステージ（11曲＋α）
・グレイスランド：Graceland／That Was Your Mother／Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes／You Can Call Me Al
・その他：50 Ways To Leave Your Lover／Dazzling Blue／Still Crazy After All These Years／Me And Julio Down By The Schoolyard／Hearts And Bones／The Obvious Child
・カバー：Mystery Train (Wheels)

……と、このようになっています。スティングとポールのステージは基本的に普段のソロ公演に近いものの、スティングがサイモン＆ガーファンクルの「America」を演奏したりもします。目玉なのはやはり「共演」セクション。ややポール重視に必殺の名曲がセレクトされつつ、「Brand New Day」のような捻りも効かせている。そして、最後の最後に登場するのはリンダ・ロンシュタットでも有名なTHE EVERLY BROTHERSのカバー「When Will I Be Loved?」。２人だけでアコギをかき鳴らしつつ、１本のマイクに向かって２人声を重ねていく。まさに“ON STAGE TOGETHER Tour”の意義を象徴するような名シーンで本作は幕を閉じます。
ポピュラー音楽史に大量の名曲群を刻んできた両雄。本作は、その豪華共演の現場を絶景体験できる文化遺産です。しかも、単に貴重なのではなく、膨大な名曲を２時間40分に渡ってお腹いっぱい味わえる音楽傑作でもある。浸りきっても、見つめ続けても、VGMとしてただ流しても最高な映像作品。来日が叶わなかった悔しさを癒してくれる至福の２枚組です。

★「2014年３月14日ワシントンD.C.公演」の絶景オーディエンス・ショット。とにかく果敢なズームと美しい映像が見事。ポールやスティングのウェイスとアップが画面いっぱいになるほど迫りつつ、ボケない映像美も手ブレを起こさない安定感も絶大。「ポール／スティング共演」「スティング・ソロ」「ポール・ソロ」の３つのセクションをオーテーションで繰り返しつつ、32曲・２時間40分に及ぶ名曲の宝箱をフル体験できます。

Disc 1(80:17)

PAUL SIMON/STING

1. Brand New Day
2. The Boy In The Bubble
3. Fields Of Gold
STING
4. Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic
5. Englishman In New York
6. I Hung My Head
7. Driven To Tears
8. Walking On The Moon
PAUL SIMON/STING
9. Mother And Child Reunion

PAUL SIMON
10. 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover
11. Dazzling Blue
12. Graceland
13. Still Crazy After All These Years
14. Me And Julio Down By The Schoolyard

PAUL SIMON/STING
15. Fragile
STING
16. America
17. Message In A Bottle

Disc 2(78:52)

1. The Hounds Of Winter
2. They Dance Alone
3. Roxanne
4. Desert Rose

PAUL SIMON/STING
5. The Boxer

PAUL SIMON
6. That Was Your Mother
7. Hearts And Bones
8. Mystery Train/Wheels
9. The Obvious Child
10. Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes
11. You Can Call Me Al

PAUL SIMON/STING
12. Bridge Over Troubled Water
13. Every Breath You Take
14. Late In The Evening
15. When Will I Be Loved?

Paul Simon – Guitars, Vocals
Mark Stewart – Guitars, Saxophone, Wind Instruments, Vocals
Bakithi Kumalo – Bass, Percussion, Vocals
Vincent Nguini – Guitars, Vocals
Jamey Haddad – Percussion
Jim Oblon – Drums, Guitars, Vocals
Mick Rossi – Piano, Hammond Organ, Harmonium, Percussion, Celesta
Andy Snitzer – Saxophone, Synthesizer, Flutes
C.J. Camerieri – Trumpets, French Horn
Bruce “Sunpie” Barnes – Accordion, Harmonica, Vocals

Sting – Vocals, Bass, Guitars
Dominic Miller – Guitars
Vinnie Colaiuta – Drums
David Sancious – Keyboards
Peter Tickell – Electric fiddle
Jo Lawry – Vocals

COLOUR NTSC Approx. 159min.

Uxbridge 1789