57th & 9th: World Tour

Back to Guitars: Sting at the Fabrique in Milan...

This isn't the Police's Sting. This isn't the one with the extended band featuring violin and keyboards we saw last summer. And this isn't even, not even remotely, the singer with a penchant for folk or a jazz lover. What we saw last night at the Fabrique in Milan was the pop-rock musician that audiences love, the one behind the Police's greatest hits, the one from an album called "57th & 9th," which mimics the greatness of his time and is only available at 70% capacity. This is the band that makes the difference, the typical rock quartet: two guitars, those of Dominic and Rufus Miller, father and son; Sting's bass; and Josh Freese's drums, a man who's played with everyone from Nine Inch Nails to Guns n' Roses.

The show adds nothing to what we know about Sting, but who cares: at 65, the former Police singer still commands the stage and proves once again that he knows how to choose his collaborators. If Sting's 25th anniversary solo tour was called Back to Bass, this one is a kind of Back to Guitars, even if he only takes up a six-string for "Fragile."

 When Sting takes the stage, the lines outside the Fabrique are still long. Don't panic: the English rocker doesn't start the concert early, but introduces his son Joe Sumner's performance and, before leaving the stage, sings with him "Heading South on the Great North Road," a song about his journey from Newcastle to fame. After about twenty minutes, the Americans Last Bandoleros arrive, solid musicians with a sound that blends Tex-Mex country and '70s rock.

They have little to do with Sting, but it doesn't matter. In fact, the singer returns to the stage to sing "Where Do You Go?" with them, accompanied by Dominic Miller and Joe Sumner. That's the beauty of this concert: there's a desire to play, to share, to be together. The crowd enjoys it, and at the end of the concert, at the merchandise stand, they stop to take souvenir photos with the Texans. They met Sting two years ago, they tell us, and they find him a true professional. 

Within three songs, Sting has already won: "Synchronicity II" makes it clear that this will be a very rock concert, "Spirits in the Material World" doesn't need synthesizers, and "Englishman in New York" wins everyone over. It's hard to go wrong with these songs, with this band. And even "I Can't Stop Thinking About You" is greeted with the same enthusiasm and seems to have been written specifically to fit in with their old repertoire.

Sting sings well, there's the energy that was missing from last year's beautiful and refined concert, and there's a real desire to have fun playing together. And that's the beauty of this quartet, joined by Joe Sumner and the Last Bandoleros on backing vocals: the intertwining instrumentals, the backups, the prominent bass sound, and Freese's dynamic drumming. In short, there's no boredom, despite the setlist being fairly predictable. A little thrill is provided by the introduction to “Fields of Gold” during which Sting sings an excerpt from Bob Dylan’s “All Along the Watchtower”.

After "Message in a Bottle," comes the tribute to David Bowie, only it's not Sting who sings, but his son. The audience chants "Walking on the Moon," screams "So Lonely," and gets fired up for "Desert Rose," featuring doubling the percussion, an oriental-style guitar solo, and, unfortunately, a pre-recorded loop that's out of place at a concert like this. No big deal: The Police's greatest hits - always the same, but oh so cool - send everyone home happy. "Fragile," the final encore, is dedicated to the "people of London." It's repeated in July: on the 25th in Cividale del Friuli (Udine) and on the 28th in Mantua.

(c) Rockol by Claudio Todesco