Sting: My Songs Tour

Jul
14
2023
Rome, IT
Auditorium Cavea Parco Della Musica

Sting, cult songs, and nostalgic notes: the Englishman seduces Rome. His son, Joe Sumner, also takes the stage...


Those who, in the late 1970s, witnessed the birth - and explosion - of the Police phenomenon with Roxanne. And those who, in the 1980s, knew him as a solo artist, with If You Love Somebody Set Them Free and Nothing Like the Sun. Those who "discovered" him in the 1990s with his reinterpretation of Demolition Man, or in the 21st century with Desert Rose. And the many - perhaps the majority - who don't remember when or how they first heard his music, but today know and sing all the songs by heart, as if they were their own. It was an audience of diverse ages, backgrounds, and even tastes that welcomed, perhaps it would be better to say celebrated, Sting yesterday in the capital, with the live performance of "My Songs" in the Auditorium Parco della Musica - he last played here five years ago - as part of the Roma Summer Fest.


Track by track, almost in a resounding "dot to dot" game, Sting, accompanied by his band, selected some of the hits that have marked his career and - judging by the lyrics shouted out loud by those in attendance - the lives of many others. Indeed, his songs, underscored as such already in the titles, through sentiment, memories, and the desire to renew and transform them, have proven to be a collective heritage, pieces of a shared sonic - and emotional - memory, capable of reawakening or igniting powerful emotions. Here, then, are the nostalgics moved from the first notes of "Message in a Bottle." And the purists ready to turn up their noses a little, hearing slight variations in some musical passages, as if the reinterpretation, even by the author, were a betrayal. Then there are the lovers of good music, thrilled by the sounds of "Englishman in New York," the aficionados, animated by the debate over "Mad About You," recalling the Italian version, "Muoio per te" - here he sings "Amore" with Giordana Angi - and "Fields of Gold," of which Sting also recorded a version with Muvrini, a Corsican-language band. Even the curious, eager to hear him live, and the "I was there" crowd, never short of major events, ready, phone in hand, to post a story on social media with "Every Breath You Take" as the soundtrack.


More or less grown up, but always enthusiastic, his audience was there. And Sting, that self-created Englishman - even his family calls him that, "forgetting" his real name, Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner - revealed himself as the boy he always was: a delicate voice, sounds that skim the skin and touch the soul, the slightly sly smile of someone who has overcome the challenge of passing time and, above all, of overwhelming trends. He knows this well, and with his Peter Pan air - same magic but less naivety - he loves to play, so much so that he reiterated his desire to continue making music like Mick Jagger, who is only a few years older, does at his age.

 

It doesn't matter that the concert opens with his son, Joe Sumner, born in 1976 - the leader of Fiction Plane, who first came to music, captivated by Nirvana's Nevermind, and now performing in his footsteps - the "youngest" of the evening is still Sting, with his punk roots, rock spirit, melancholy that becomes pop ballads, and a few "dizzying" jazz flourishes. The rest is a show, literally. Dynamic, effervescent, rebellious, and seductive, capable of bringing everyone to their feet with "So Lonely" or inflaming hearts and memories with the tango-like sensuality of "Roxanne." And of bringing a tear to the eye, thinking of the conflict in Ukraine and wars of all time, with his performance of "Fragile." It's not just a matter of lyrics, judging by the audience's reactions. What thrills and shakes is a score of emotions from yesterday and the moment, the romantic-rock soundtrack of a starry night, in a multi-voiced courtship, where Sting is an irresistible Cyrano. Therefore, when he sings "If it's love" - "If it's love, you have to give in," the lyrics say - the audience surrenders, defeated, erasing every "if."


(c) Il Messaggero


Sting - Cavea dell'Auditorium Parco della Musica Ennio Morricone, Rome...


Tonight we're going for the classics, the tried and true. And yet, as I climb the steps of the Cavea on another scorching July evening in the "Infernal City" (cit. Times), I realize that a full thirty-five years have passed since the last Sting concert I attended. And it was also the first, on April 27, 1988, when the echoes of the reggae-rock vibes of the Police - who had disbanded four years earlier - still rang in the air, while their former leader, with two albums already under his belt, was practically at the peak of a solo career that from then on would continue to decline, save for a few classy touches here and there. In short, that evening at the Stadio Flaminio in 1988 could only have offered the most delicious fare: the entire Police saga plus excerpts from what remain - by ​​far - Sting's two best solo albums: the excellent debut "The Dream of the Blue Turtles" (1985) and the more verbose, but still compelling, "...Nothing Like the Sun" (1987). And what about tonight? The fear of a slew of songs from Sting's recent, bland repertoire was real, as was the risk of more questionable appearances, like that of Shaggy, an unlikely tour partner from five years ago. But fortunately, none of that (or almost none) will happen.


When Sting, returning to the capital after five years, takes the stage with his band and begins the first four songs at 9 p.m. sharp, the clock seems to have truly stopped on April 27, 1988. First up is Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner, 72 years old, but still in tip-top shape, platinum-skinned and skin-tight, in a tight T-shirt, light jeans, and tennis shoes, clutching his inseparable Fender Precision bass. Evidently, his obsessive mix of yoga, exercise, and a healthy diet must have paid off. He remains one of the coolest rock stars of all time - to his credit - although not immune to widespread antipathy, perhaps because of his easygoing demeanour, perhaps because of his political and social campaigns, which were sometimes perceived as insincere (but it's never been understood why musical stars who make an effort are more subject to criticism than those who never lifted a finger). In any case, the nearly five thousand people crowding the Cavea for yet another sold-out Roma Summer Fest happily shrug it all off (and I believe you, after paying those prices for tickets!), giving the English musician a standing ovation.


It's an energetic attack, mixing vintage Police and his solo debuts, with a rousing "Message In A Bottle" (Reggatta De Blanc, 1979), followed by the jazzy "Englishman In New York," then the pop-rock nursery rhyme of "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic," and the hit from the Blue Turtles' great album, "If You Love Somebody Set Them Free," a paean to sentimental independence that pairs, in reverse, with another of his classics, "Every Breath You Take" (which will also be featured). With Sting on stage, Dominic and Rufus Miller on guitars, Shane Sager on harmonica, Kevon Webster on keyboards, Josh Freese on drums, and vocalists Gene Noble and Melissa Musique. A mix of exuberance and craft, held together by the charisma of the frontman, who also appears to be in good vocal shape, albeit with the limitations of his range that he has always manifested.


After the formidable opening four-song set, however, he begins to descend into that solo middle ground that, ultimately, was the real reason why I kept away from his concerts. The songs are always well-crafted and arranged, but they have gradually lost the melodic inspiration and rhythmic drive of their early works, often taking refuge in a cloying and conventional soft pop. And it certainly can't be argued that the songs on the latest album, “The Bridge” (2021), have reversed course: from the stopped guitar surrounded by layers of voice of “Rushing Water” to the doubts about love of “If It's Love”, which sounds like a slowed down version of “All This Time”, which in turn seemed a little old already in 1991, or the new remake of “It's Probably Me”, namely “Loving You”, limping and resolved by a bridge that also performs the tasks of the refrain, to quote our reviewer, Davide Sechi.


Going back in time, old solo classics resurface, such as the velvety elegance of the ballad “Fields Of Gold” - brought home with a good vocal performance by our man - or the lively title track of the modest “Brand New Day” (1999) complete with a little sketch with the harmonica player (“Stevie Wonder played this in the original... how long have you been playing the harmonica? Eighteen years? Hmm, we'll see what you can do...”) and the hat trick from “Ten Summoner's Tales” (1993), with the morphine-like “Shape Of My Heart”, the more incisive “If I Ever Lose My Faith In You”, with its persuasive melody well interpreted by Sting on a solid bass figure, and a “Heavy Cloud No Rain” which offers the pretext for a vocal duet (admittedly a little over the top) with Melissa Musique, who takes centre stage and overflows with soul exuberance.


All in all, the tandem of excerpts from "The Soul Cages" is preferable, with the ringing "All This Time," which, beneath the euphoric refrain, conceals a melancholic reflection on the inexorable flow of life, and the broken melody of "Mad About You," which recalls the jazzy vertigo of his early solo work (and which Zucchero awkwardly translated into the unlikely duet "Io muoio per te").


Circumventing some of the cloying elements of this central phase - including the onstage duet with Roman singer-songwriter Giordana Angi, guest of the evening for the declaration of affection of "For Her Love/Amore" - the Roman leg of the "My Songs" tour offers a decidedly engaging finale, dusting off some of the Police's signature tunes once again. Starting with the reggae-influenced "Walking On The Moon," with that "keep it up" chant sung in unison by the audience, who leap to their feet when the glorious outburst of "So Lonely" (from the debut album "Outlandos d'Amour," 1978) kicks in, punctuated once again by Jamaican vibes with a brief homage to Bob Marley and his "No Woman No Cry" in the chorus. The Middle Eastern spices of "Desert Rose" pepper another fine vocal performance from the Newcastle native, who concludes the set with a breath-taking double from "Synchronicity" (a Police masterpiece, in my opinion), first tackling the rough edges of "King of Pain" alongside his son Joe Sumner (who opened the show) and then closing, almost on autopilot, with the flawless "Every Breath You Take."


Returning to the stage for the encores, the celebration of the timeless "Roxanne" couldn't be missed, in a hyper-expanded version, punctuated by new offbeat beats and the crowd's chants, incited by the Englishman on stage. A surprise, compared to the scheduled setlist, was the finale with a guitar-and-vocal rendition of the poignant "Fragile," an acoustic gem from "...Nothing Like the Sun," which reminds us, once again, of our precarious condition in the face of the overwhelming violence of weapons, wars, and abuse. Thus, after nearly two hours, another intergenerational concert concludes, with much craft but also a hint of heart. A jukebox of the passing of time, in which even Police fans had their share. And the eternal dilemma remains of what would have happened if Sting, Andy Summers, and Stewart Copeland hadn't parted ways after just six years. A dilemma that feels a lot like a gigantic regret.

 
(c) Onda Rock by Claudio Fabretti

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