Live Review: Sting – My Songs Tour
10 February 2023, Perth Kings Park and Botanic Garden, Western Australia
Review by Sheldon Ang
Photo by Sheldon Ang Photography
The singer raises his arms as he leans forward, oozing an imperious charm at the edge of the stage. Standing shoulder to shoulder, the fans embrace his killer charisma, mimicking the suave motion and miming to the words, graciously manifesting into gentle incantation of a cult like gathering of six thousand. Adding to the sense-triggered ambience, the hypnotic lighting sweep across the floor as if partaking a life of its own, painting the sea of waving hands across the field under the celestial constellations of a cloudless night. For a fleeting moment, a light beam over the singer, carving a silhouette and projecting a human allegory, as he recites;
Hadaee mada tawila, Wa ana nahos ana wahala ghzalti, Wa Ana nahos ana wahala, Wa ana nahos anna wahala
A lady next to this photographer/writer wipes the tears running down her face. He nods as if he’s asking, Are you okay? She tells him, We are so proud of our heritage, we are proud of our song, we are so proud of Algeria and for North Africa.
Indeed, the virtuosity of Gordon Sumner LIVE resonates with his pseudonym, Sting.
With the register that floats like a butterfly, he cast a spell of mellifluous rock – churning through a cocktail of punk, reggae, folk, classical, new age, jazz and world music onto the capacity crowd at the opening night of Sting – My Songs Tour. The eclectic semblance projected through a fusion of solo repertoires and the subsequent aftermath of the band he once led possessed the crowd into a dance festival at Perth Kings Park & Botanic Garden. Though forty-five years have passed since The Police weaved through the channels of the British new wave scene, it will be some time before the vocalist rests on his laurels at bingo night as he donned in black denim and a muscle shirt, accentuating his lean and cut physique, while scintillating with the stage presence that defies the inexorable sweeping hands of time.
Sting sparked the night by turning back the clock to 1979 with one of The Police’s favourite hits – Message in a Bottle, followed by the jazzy and classy performance in Englishman in New York, and back to The Police hit in Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic, sealing a tri factor through an undulating display of emotions between loneliness and the sounds of reggae rock, before settling to the pain of an unrequited love.
The old school fans would have learned that Sting had recently released his fifteenth studio album The Bridge. If It is Love, Loving You and Rushing Water from the album were performed consecutively. For those who were listening them for the first time tonight, they would have realised the tracks encapsulate Sting’s past in The Police and his early solo years sonically through a finesses of rock music. But it wasn’t long before he sailed to the classics again.
“Thirty five years ago I bought a house, I wish it was a castle. It is near the Stonehenge. What’s nice about his house is that it is surrounded by barley field…”
The crowd roared in anticipation.
“And in summer time it’s surrounded by a sea of gold…I knew there was a song there.”
As the guitar bass entered sharply at the intro, followed by the low soulful voice, the audience knew the next four minutes would be a surreal highlight. The haunting key, countered by the soothing performance were delivered through an uncluttered arrangement, setting the moody tone, transcending the casually seductive vocal into a dreamy performance. Sting lyrically read the story of a 16th century English house surrounded by barley fields as the audience grappled to every word and note. Fields of Gold was a platinum masterpiece of the night; the serenity penned in 1993 has time travelled thirty years into 2023, and by then, there was no turning back from the point of no return.
Alluring, dreamy and rockesque would be one of the adjectives to describe Sting’s live performance, where the stylistic performance comes into mind in Desert Rose – which was probably the catalyst to the success of his sixth solo album Brand New Day. The counterpoint in Arabic in the studio version is by Algerian Cheb Mami, but tonight the honour was weaved angelically by Sting. His ability to maintain the sophistication throughout the performances bloomed into the notion that music is the universal language of solidarity, transcending the subconscious minds into a wistful tranquility in this imaginary duet.
Songs by The Police occupied more than one third of the set list, including Walking on the Moon, So Lonely and King of Pain – which was joined by Joe Sumner, the son of Sting. Sumner is genetically gifted in his own right as evident by his opening act, oozing the cadence of his father – yet ushering his individual repertoire and artistic flair in his singles You You You and Hope. The ratio of Sting to The Police songs were reasonable considering the artist has released 15 studio albums, and five with The Police.
So, THE moment has arrived for many; it has been forty years since the release of a song driven by possessiveness, jealousy, sinister, surveillance and control. Despite the technical simplicity, the bass riff intro of Every Breath You Take is one of the most recognisable guitar lick, and with that trigger, the crowd went into hysteria. Sting captured their attention through the gentleness and warmth of his vocal delivery, yet polarised by the haunting undertones to remind the audience that this is not a love song. Despite of the mellowed tone, the audience were dancing to the wonderment of an absolute timeless classic before the night temporary ended. It is no wonder this song is the most played tracked on the radio.
Roxanne from The Police’s debut 1978 Outlandos d’Amour was the first encore. The tension and release from the tight main verse to the explosion of the chorus Roxanne exemplifies the story telling virtues of the singer songwriter; afterall the track is about a man who falls in love with a prostitute, and tries to convince her not to sell her services, “you don’t have to sell your body to the night”. Sting oozes his frustration through honouring the high registers, considered to be beyond the comfort zone for most singers.
This is the same song…but done differently.
Indeed, Roxanne was performed with an extended version which includes a reggae rendition, enlightening the crowd for several minutes, before proceeding to a rockier version than the original.
The night ended with a Fragile, from the second album, a tribute to the Ben Linder who was an American civil engineer killed by the Contras while working on a hydro project in Nicaragua. It may be a mellowed ending, but it was also a timely reminder of the signs of times in Ukraine and for the women in Iran, and how lucky we are to gather in a peaceful surrounding.
This is the Gordon Sumner, also known as Sting.
The writer/photographer expresses his absolute gratitude to Live Nation Australia and Revolutions Per Minute (Nicole and Anouk) for the Press Accreditation and Reviewer seats. He also would like to thank Mellen Events (Camilla) for the onsite liaison.
Tickets and information for the Sting – My Songs Tour are available through Live Nation Australia
About the Writer/Photographer: Sheldon Ang Media (est. May 2022) have been accredited to photograph and review the hottest acts in Perth including KISS, Red Hot Chili Peppers, RnB Fridayz Live, The Kid LAROI, Midnight Oil, The Killers, Rufus Du Sol, with reviews shared by the likes of UB40, Delta Goodrem, The Fabolous Caprittos and Synthony on social media. He has interviewed rockers Ace Frehley (KISS), John Steel (The Animals), Frank Ferrer (Guns N Roses), Phil X (Bon Jovi), Andrew Farris (INXS), Floor Jansen (Nightwish), Ian Moss (Cold Chisel) and forty other legends.
