An English Man in Milan...

"Message in a Bottle," "Englishman in New York," and many more: Sing's concert in Milan brings the Police back to life.

The event had been eagerly awaited by hundreds of fans for well over two years, as the My Songs Tour was postponed from March 2020 due to COVID. The announced sold-out performance and the return to normality did the rest: the Assago Forum was a festive roar, with packed stands and a packed audience ready to stand up and invade the stage.

Sting's son, Joe Sumner, opened the show for a set lasting just over half an hour. After 9 p.m., Sting and his band took the stage. He wore a headband microphone, wore a casual grey t-shirt, and was in tip-top shape, with his biceps on full display. The concert kicks off with the cult songs “Message In A Bottle” and “Englishman In New York,” which confirm that the artist’s voice is still as perfect as it once was.

My Songs on Tour, which began in 2019, provided the bassist with an opportunity to revisit some of his best-known songs, as well as monumental Police hits, in a new vein. With the release of the album The Bridge (2019), while the tour's title remained unchanged, three songs ("For Her Love," "If It's Love," and "Rushing Water") from the new album were included. These, along with the song "What Could Have Been," composed for the Netflix series Arcane, bring a breath of fresh air to a set list heavily focused on classics.

Sting's show, lasting just over an hour and a half, demonstrated his remarkable charisma and energy. Often speaking in comprehensible Italian, he excelled in his spontaneity and charm, revealing himself as an artist of great calibre yet capable of stepping down from his pedestal. Confirming this, Sting invited his youngest musician, Shane Sager (only eighteen years old), on stage to play harmonica in place of Stevie Wonder on “Brand New Day.” Backing vocals Gene Noble and Melissa Musique joined him on “Shape of My Heart” and “Whenever I Say Your Name.” Finally, his son, Joe Sumner, joined him on stage for “King of Pain.”

The show's grand finale featured the band's most famous hits, which brought the audience to their feet: "Walking on the Moon," "So Lonely," "Desert Rose," and "Roxanne." A beautiful finale to the evening concluded with the melancholic "Fragile."

(c) Rockon by Stefania Clerici

Sting – Mediolanum Forum, Milan...

Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner, aka Sting, British singer and former frontman of the historic band The Police, sold out the Mediolanum Forum in Milan for his My Songs tour. Opening for him was his son Joe Sumner, who had also opened for the July 19th date in Parma.

I calmly decide to head to the Mediolanum Forum so as to arrive at least an hour before the start of Sting's concert, and fortunately, I manage.

After witnessing the terrible organization of the Deep Purple concert, I expected to encounter the same problems tonight. Fortunately, that wasn't the case; this time, there were staff members everywhere, ready to escort everyone to their seats.

I had the privilege of sitting in the stalls, very close to the stage, where the audience usually stands, ready to let loose and mosh. For this concert, however, numbered chairs were arranged in blocks.

In addition to all this, there were also two giant screens on either side of the stage, projecting high-definition images of the show, allowing even those furthest away to see what was happening on stage in the best possible way.

Enjoying the concert of a legend like Sting just a few meters from the stage... I couldn't have asked for anything better.

Around 8:30 PM, Joe Sumner took the stage to play some of his songs and prepare the audience for his father's show. After about half an hour, the mini concert ended and the lights came back on.

Another quarter of an hour passed, and finally it was time for the star of the evening. First up came the band members, consisting of keyboards, harmonica, guitar, drums, and backing vocals. Sting arrived immediately after, in enviable form, accompanied by his bass. The crowd cheered him loudly... and he reciprocated with a memorable start.

The concert began with three classics: "Message in a Bottle," from The Police's album "Reggatta LeBlanc," "English Man in New York," from the solo album "Nothing Like the Sun," and "Every Little Things She Does is Magic," also from The Police's album, "Ghost in the Machine."

After the first song, the audience couldn't stay in their seats and stood up to dance to the music. Only at the end of this first "round" did we all return to our seats.

It could be an image depicting one person, standing, a person playing a musical instrument, and an indoor space.

As was fitting, each member of the band was properly introduced by Sting: Dominic Miller on guitar, Kevon Webster on keyboards, Shane Sager on harmonica, Josh Freese on drums, and backup singers Melissa Musique and Gene Noble.

Then Sting decided to introduce the next song, showing off his Italian.

"Sometimes a song just starts with a... whistle."

And, after whistling the first notes, he begins to sing "If It's Love," from his solo album "The Bridge."

The concert continues with other wonderful songs like "Rushing Waters" and "Fields of Gold," but at a certain point Sting returns to speaking Italian:

"This song is called "Giorno Nuovo di Zecca" (visually confused audience, ed.)... Brand New Day, in Italian, right? With Stevie Wonder on harmonica. So, here's a guy, hoping to play Stevie Wonder's part.

Shane, how old are you?"

Shane: Eighteen

Sting: Eighteen! Stevie Wonder's part... are you sure?

Shane: Yes!

With great confidence, Shane begins to play his harmonica to introduce the song, and he does it brilliantly! Sting gives him the right amount of space, and he takes it all in, giving an excellent performance and honoring Stevie Wonder.

At the words "stand up" in the song, Sting invites the audience to stand up... we didn't need to be told twice.

Immediately afterward, it's time for other band members to take centre stage. During the song "Shape of My Heart," Sting duets with backing vocalist Gene Noble, who demonstrates incredible vocals and creates a perfect harmony with his mentor.

In the middle, we have one of Sting's most recent songs, written for the animated series Arcane, "What Could Have Been," which is presented with images from the series projected on the giant screens.

Next comes another duet, this time with the other backing vocalist, Melissa Musique, who also has an incredible voice, perfectly accompanying the singer on the notes of "Whenever I Say Your Name."

After transporting us to space with Walking on the Moon, thanks to beams of light that moved, illuminating the entire audience (and blinding me a couple of times, ed.), it was time to let loose again with "So Lonely," another Police song from the album "Outlandos d'Amour."

Then came Desert Rose, a song of unique power and poetry (inspired by Frank Herbert's novel Dune, which recently received its second film adaptation) that features Arabic phrases within the lyrics.

During this song, almost everyone left their seats to get as close to the stage as possible, with Sting inviting everyone to shake their hands.

Next came the final duet, with his son Joe Sumner, on the song "King of Pain."

It was truly moving to see father and son perform together on stage with such energy and mutual respect. Joe stayed until the end of the concert, excluding the encore.

Thus we arrive at the last song before the encore, perhaps the Police's most famous: "Every Breath You Take." What can I say? This song is beautiful in every way, but seen live, it's something else entirely. Sting wrote it, and Sting does it like no other. Sorry about the covers, but the original is the original.

After the formal group bow, all the band members, including Sting, step off the stage...but only for a moment.

In fact, a few seconds later, they're ready to play again and launch into another of Sting's most energetic songs, "Roxanne," during which the singer invited the audience to sing along, calling for a few choruses.

Sting dedicated the last song to the people of Ukraine, "Fragile." Just this once, the singer abandoned his bass for an acoustic guitar, which he played in a classic style: without a pick, using only his fingers, showing off his talent. Another moment of pure poetry.

Having a mother who is a huge Police fan, I couldn't help but grow up with a certain passion for Sting. This was a very important concert for me, one I would have loved to share with her or other equally avid fans. Unfortunately, that wasn't possible, but it was still a memorable show I won't soon forget.

Despite his 70th birthday, Sting manages to stay on stage beautifully, without even taking a break, singing like a god and entertaining the audience admirably.

He also proved that the older generation is always on point and, for now, has no intention of stepping back. Some were convinced that Parma might be their last concert, but apparently Sting had a completely different opinion. I don't know how many of the new generation we'll see playing sold-out shows at 70.

Mom, when I grow up I want to be Sting: incredibly cool even as an “old man”!

(c) The Soundcheck by Edoardo Iannantuoni

The Rockstar's concert at the Assago Forum: the review...

At 71, with over forty years spent composing music and performing on stage, Sting returns to his second home for the sixth time in three years to support "My Songs," the 2019 compilation of his solo and Police hits, and "The Bridge," his 2021 album of unreleased material. The concert at the Assago Forum is a rescheduled April date in Turin, which was cancelled due to COVID and has been rescheduled and moved to just outside Milan.

As has been the custom for several years, the opening act is Joe Sumner, Sting's eldest son, who, with voice and guitar and a few words of Italian between songs, delights the Forum with folk-inspired acoustic songs. Then he arrives: the audience is seated, but the bass kicks in at 9:15 PM with "Message in a Bottle" and everyone is on their feet. The opening sequence is seamless, transitioning from "Englishman in New York" to "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic," one of The Police's biggest hits.

A lean build, tight gray pants, combat boots, and a tight T-shirt are the hallmarks of the English singer's stage presence. His affection for Italy is demonstrated by frequent speaking in our language, greetings, and introducing the band. He also introduces one of his latest compositions, "If It's Love," with the phrase, "Sometimes a song begins with just a whistle." The audience returns to their seats to listen to "For Her Love," a song from "The Bridge," which we'll be able to hear in a new Italian version thanks to the collaboration with Tiziano Ferro, who will feature it on his album, coming out in November.

The band is stripped down to its essentials, consisting of just six members: in addition to Sting's bass, there's a drummer, a guitarist, a keyboardist, two backing vocalists, and most importantly, a young man of just eighteen who, thanks to a short sketch, always in Italian, is put to the test (obviously passed) by having to play the harmonica for Stevie Wonder's part in the 1999 song "Brand New Day."

"Stand up!" says Sting. The audience was just waiting for a gesture to stand up and break the restraints of seating. Fans flocked to the front rows of the stage to sing just a few meters away from the English idol. This was the period of the Police's career successes in the late '70s and early '80s. From "Walking on the Moon" to "So Lonely," from "King of Pain," sung as a duet with his son Joe, to the timeless hit "Every Breath You Take," filmed by everyone with their cell phones held high.

The encores opened with "Roxanne," another Police hit from 1978, and concluded with the intimate "Fragile," dedicated to the Ukrainian people, which was met with sustained applause. Sting and the band bid farewell to the audience, who applauded, thrilled to have witnessed a giant in the history of contemporary music. He recently reiterated his intention to retire in an interview, drawing comparisons with Mick Jagger, who at 79 continues to perform admirably, and for this reason, we'll surely see him again soon.

(c) Rockol by Gianmatteo Bruno