Sting, the british singer/songwriter of the band The Police, as well as a successful solo artist, entertained a nearly sold out Moda Center on Tuesday. Bringing an ensemble of highly talented musicians and backup vocalists, Sting performed a 24 song set list. In a worn T-shirt riddled with holes and his classic Fender bass guitar, he engaged with the crowd through anecdotes from his musical history.
Somewhere between “If It’s Love” and “Loving You”, Sting said “I’ve been in love, and out of love. So, I’m not a lad that knows not of.” He also goes on to describe his home on the english countryside. “I want to sing a little song about my house. A little cottage on the english countryside. It’s more of a castle really, near Stonehenge.” He even goes on to describe how to find his house giving general directions. “It’s surrounded by fields of barley and I thought to myself. There’s a song here.” After which, he goes on to play “Fields of Gold”.
His humor is light and engaging, but his real message came through his music. The stage arrangement and lighting did nothing to distract from the intimate feel of the performance. Sting introdued many of the songs and he would proceed to play them. Others spoke for themselves. When they played “King of Pain”, the entire arena erupted in song right along with the band. From there, the band rolled right into “Every Breath You Take” and the sing-a-long got louder.
After a brief pause for the time-tested Encore, Sting finished up with “Roxanne” and “Fragile”. It was an incredible evening of family friendly, musical perfection. The “My Songs” tour continues through mid-October here in the states before going overseas to dazzle western Europe.
