57th & 9th: World Tour

The veteran policeman shows muscle...

The audience that filled the Jardins de Pedralbes Festival venue on Thursday wanted to hear the greatest hits of the Police, and Sting seemed to have it very clear. Every time he started a classic from his old band, the musician's fans, all of them of a certain age, vibrated and applauded and he recreated himself: he extended the choruses, asked them to sing along... The five minutes of Message in a bottle, about halfway through the concert, were one of the culminating moments. The people, who had remained disciplinedly seated until then, began to get up, dance and record with their mobile phones, and things continued to be lively with Walking on the moon (ieooo, ieooo...), an intense So lonely and of course with the powerful and long-awaited Roxanne, in between which the soft Ain't No Sunshine was interspersed.

The singer, who had just performed successfully at the Teatro Real in Madrid, felt like family at a friendly summer festival in Barcelona where three months ago he began the European tour of his latest album, 50th 9th (the name of the Manhattan streets that crossed his way to his studio). But also in literal terms. Because Sting is now accompanied on vocals by his firstborn, Joe Sumner (born from his first marriage to actress Frances Tomelty), and his two guitarists, Dominic and Rufus Miller, are also father and son. The group, which is completed by drummer Josh Freese and Percy Cardona on accordion (the only keyboard), works like clockwork.

Sting allows the musicians to shine and also leaves his space to “Mr. Joe” with Bowie’s song, Ashes to ashes, at the end of the gruelling Message in a bottle: “Father is tired, son sings”, he announces. But no one quite believes that his stamina is failing. At 66, dressed in a simple T-shirt and jeans, the veteran music policeman’s good physical shape was surprising. Legend has it that yoga helps him stay toned (in addition to allowing him to have sex for hours) but it is clear that a good part of the secret to eternal youth is to stay active. And Sting, who has sold more than a hundred million records, enjoys the stage. "I don't do it to win awards, nor for the money, I do it because I love it. I've always been very curious and I've fed my interest and my passion," explained a creator who has experimented with whatever he wanted, even searching for Renaissance essences.

Now, with a new album on the street, citizen Gordon Sumner seems proud of his musical past, and of the present. He revived without trauma eight songs by Police, made his classics shine alone like the well-known Englishman in New York (“Be yourself, no matter what they say”, chanted the enthusiastic crowd while recording with his mobile phone) and the melodic Fields of gold, Shape of my heart and Fragile. He also did not forget current songs like Petrol head and I can’t stop thinking about you.

The concert, which started on time and ended on European time (before 12), smelled of rock, jazz, funk, blues... Sting in its purest form, without any sound or stage inventions. The Sting of memory. More than two thousand people vibrated to his rhythm in a round night. At the time when Cinderella loses her shoe, in the subway the mobile phones rang with nostalgia for the eighties. Be yourself...

(c) El Punta Avui by M. Josep Jordan