57th & 9th: World Tour

Englishman in Barcelona - The British singer kicked off the European leg of his 57th 9th Tour at the Sant Jordi Club...

Sting resumed his love affair with Barcelona last night, kicking off the European tour for his recent album, 57th 9th, with an intense, emotional evening, perfectly connected to his devoted fans. He appeared at eight o'clock in the evening, armed with an acoustic guitar, youthful, beardless, and singing with his unmistakable voice "Heading South on the Great North Road," from his aforementioned latest album. At the end of the song, his son, Joe Sumner, appeared, providing some vocals, and remained as the first opening act. His father left, not reappearing for an hour.

More than 36 years after his first performance in Barcelona as a member of Police (at the Monumental, a few months after his world premiere at the Joventut de Badalona pavilion), Sting returned to the Catalan capital in a costume reminiscent of his early days, performing solo but in a rock band format, with an attitude of direct, electric, guitar-driven connection with his audience. He did so at a Sant Jordi Club packed with (4,620 parishioners according to the organizers) an expectant and happy crowd, mostly made up of people in their forties and older.
 The stage and sound presentation of this Sting project is highly commendable. After his past aesthetic exercises of various kinds and rather modest reception, it seems that for the past couple of seasons he's returned to a code closer to his musical origins, where the priorities are music and effectiveness.

Based on these premises, and supported by a pair of virtuoso and fundamental guitarists (Dominic Miller and his son Rufus) as the figurehead, Sting enthusiastically reviewed an extensive songbook divided into two main sections: the Police's greatest hits and the highlights of his tour motivation album, and a smaller one containing some small gems from his solo output.

The appearance of the two opening acts, despite taking place while the audience was still arriving at the small Sant Jordi, was interesting but brief, starting with Joe Sumner, Sting's son, and the protein-rich group Last Bandoleros. They then joined in - effective accordion included - as support for the rest of the evening. The magic set in, as it happens when Sting is in sync, when he kicked off the evening with a vibrant performance of the razor-sharp "Synchronicity II," a piece with sombre contours that fused with "Spirits in the Material World," also from the Police album, and "Englishman in New York," from his glorious album "Nothing Like the Sun."

At the end of "I Can't Stop Thinking About You," he introduced his band and from there he delved into his own material from both then and now, using guitars, splendid lighting, and a subtle yet forceful delivery as weapons of mass conviction. The final part of the evening returned to the Police's brilliant repertoire, although one of the most intense moments was when father and son came together to unite voices and spirits in their particular tribute version of David Bowie's Ashes to Ashes, which they fused with one of the cuts from their last album, 50,000, written in memory of Bowie himself, Prince and Motörhead's Lemmy, which says "... rock stars never die, they just fade away."

Towards the end, Roxanne couldn't be missed (what a perfect song, here skilfully linked with Bill Whiters' unforgettable Ain't No Sunshine) and as gifts, other wonders such as Next to You, the always moving Every Breath You Take and an unexpected Fragile, with him using the acoustic and his voice as weapons, just as at the beginning; oh! And, above all, seeing Sting in such outstanding form.

(c) La Vanguardia by Esteban Linés

Sting rescues Sting - The British singer shows his most vigorous side at the Sant Jordi Club...

Sting missed Sting, the first version of himself, akin to the urgency of The Police, and, after a decade recording acoustic and symphonic albums, he presents a vigorous and, above all, pop work, about time, '57th & 9th', which he presented last night at the Sant Jordi Club. A title that doesn't imply any high-flying concept: it's simply the name of the crossroads where the New York studio where he recorded it is located. Urbanity, then, a bit of urgency and an excuse to recover the classics of his younger days.

On previous visits, Sting usually stopped at the Palau Sant Jordi, but now he has to settle for the adjoining hall, which was packed to the rafters: 4,620 people, according to the organizers, for a recital that marked the debut of his European tour. A good part of the audience was already there when Sting came out to perform one of his new songs, 'Heading South on the Great North Road', acoustically, before giving way to the opening act, his son, Joe Sumner, and the group The Last Bandoleros.

Joe then joined the trio of backing vocalists that supported his father from the very first song, none other than The Police's "Synchronicity II," with its guitar riff slightly modified by Dominic Miller. A four-piece band, without softening keyboards, and a script that continued to look back with "Spirits in the Material World" and a playful "Englishman in New York," with its chorus echoed repeatedly by the audience: "Be yourself, no matter what they say." A bare stage, without props or video, and a pared-down, essentialist Sting confirmed the vigorous direction of that summer 2015 tour that stopped in Cap Roig. Honourable mentions go to the Argentinian Miller, who, as the boss noted, has been acting as a squire for almost 30 years, and who took on a large part of the instrumental role at the Sant Jordi Club.

New songs, naturally, didn't rival The Police's, but they conveyed the feeling that the artist has shaken off some layers of dust: the dynamic "I Can't Stop Thinking About You" and, above all, the acerbic "Petrol Head," both of which sounded alongside reprieves from his mid-season albums, such as the Latin accordion-laced "She's Too Good for Me," "Fields of Gold," and "Shape of My Heart." The room was exalted with "Message in a Bottle," reliving the old days with a Sting rediscovered in the spirit of new wave and calling for an "S.O.S." in acceptable vocal conditions.

Then, a strange moment: a tribute to David Bowie with "Ashes to Ashes," sung not by the star but by the always willing Joe, a jack-of-all-trades. First solo on electric guitar, then backed by the entire band, he guided this enigmatic, galactic song to rock edges that would have made Major Tom frown. Another nod to the new album, the fifth and final track of the night, "50,000," preceded a series of greatest hits that opened with the Jamaican stealth of "Walking on the Moon" and led to the conflagration of an enjoyable acceleration in "So Lonely." A return to the Sting of the 1978-79 season, or almost.

 The detour through the exotic paths of "Desert Rose," a 1999 hit he recorded with rai star Cheb Mami, here with percussion reinforcement, led to a "Roxanne" that incorporated soulful notes with a reference to Bill Withers' "Ain't No Sunshine." A full stop followed, followed by an encore that moved from the frenetic "Next to You" to the hit of hits, "Every Breath You Take." And one more encore that, unlike the American tour, where he closed with "The Empty Chair," from his latest album, featured another classic, "Fragile." An hour and 40 minutes, slightly less than usual on previous tours, with Sting getting straight to the point, condensing his resume and trying to merge his present with his best past.

(c) El Periódico by Jordi Bianciotto