57th & 9th: World Tour

Sting enchants Friuli despite the storm...

The English star thrills his Italian fans, who sing along loudly to his best songs, especially when the encore is a smash hit like "Every Breath You Take."

There's little to say. What makes an artist a global star is evident on stage, it's true: the music, the attitude, the hits sung by everyone, the career, and the history. But the real difference, the one that marks the unbridgeable gap between the star and the rest of the world, lies in the anticipation. In what happens before everything happens, in that suspense that precedes the event, weighed down again this year by sullen weather, as it was last year for Carlos Santana, in the widespread electricity that short-circuits glances and gestures, voices and thoughts. And this is what happened with Sting, and his closing concert of the 2017 Mittelfest, in the Parco della Lesa in Cividale. 

The internet was almost static in the weeks leading up to the announced date, with few comments, a few fans filling the usual blogs, but nothing more. Then, all of a sudden, the world was buzzing with activity just days before Sting's arrival in Friuli. Around seven thousand tickets were sold, a good percentage of them in the final hours, and everyone was there to be there, and above all, wanting to be there. As announced by the incredibly strict organizers, the first notes on stage were played by John Sumner, a handful of months old when his father was rising to success with the Police. It was a rock that heralded the duet with his father, Sting, and that invited the audience to prepare for a captivating performance.

And so it is. The story of the Police, the entire journey that Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner has travelled as a solo artist, teaching the world how to combine cross-cultural influence and pop, how to transform punk into a global force, how to turn success into a tool for social engagement, unfolds before everyone's eyes and bodies. His "57th & 9th World Tour" is rock as it should be, the impact created by his "trusted" guitarist Dominic Miller, Josh Freese on drums, and Rufus Miller on guitar, is more balanced, precise, and clear than measured. Perfection, above all, seems to be the watchword. 

And Sting's music is absolute. The audience quickly gets caught up in it, singing along, following, calling, screaming, getting emotional, looking around—it's fun. There's a lot of The Police, inevitably, from "Synchronicity" to "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" and then "Message in a Bottle" to the collective chorus of "Roxanne." A setlist that intertwines with "his" hits, "If I Ever Lose My Faith in You," the undying "Englishman in New York," and a playful "Mad About You." There's also a tribute to the Duke, with "Ashes to Ashes," a duet with John; David Bowie must have heard them, father and son, together once again.

The gifts continue in the encores, with the Police again performing "Every Breath You Take" and then "Fragile," a heart-stopping farewell. Tomorrow the tour continues; Friuli has already had its share.

(c) Messaggero Veneto by Gabriele Giuga