57th & 9th: World Tour

Sting in Krakow: Like father, like son...

Sting sends mixed signals to his fans and the media. He says he wants his children to be independent, and he's taken his son on his current tour, opening for his shows. However, seeing the former leader of The Police on stage, perhaps even his biggest critic forgets these image flaws. He's Mr. Artist. The audience at Krakow's Tauron Arena found this out. They embarked on a rock-pop journey with the Briton, whose stops included over 20 songs.

Sting surprised many a few years ago with his announcement that none of his children would receive a single pound from his over 180 million fortune. The Briton argued that he wanted them to achieve something in life on their own. "I simply don't want to leave them trust funds that will set them up for life. They have to work." All my children know this and very rarely ask me for financial support, which I appreciate and respect," he said in an interview. But the former leader of The Police isn't exactly putting his plan into action. And we, the spectators at Tauron Arena, witnessed this.

The show was opened by Joe Sumner, Sting's son. He didn't appear on stage alone – he and his father performed the first song – "Heading South on the Great North Road" from the former Police frontman's latest album. It's rare for a star of the evening to open a concert with a support act. Indeed, promoting a son and using his own name clashes somewhat with the desire to support his independence. Of course, it's not like giving him a check for millions of pounds, but on the other hand, those who are more malicious might interpret taking their offspring on tour as an argument against Sting's image as a rational father who values his offspring's independence.

Joe Sumner's work combines the spirit of The Lumineers with the less depressing elements of Jeff Buckley's work. He has an interesting vocal timbre, especially impressive when singing in falsetto. Between songs, he would drop Polish lyrics into the audience, earning them a warm welcome. After his own show, he joined his father's band as one of the backing vocalists. I think Joe Sumner won over the Krakow audience. He certainly won me over.

After the stage was tidied up and adapted to the needs of the headliner, Sting took the stage. Dressed in a tight T-shirt and tailored trousers, he looked nothing like his 66 years. But decades of yoga practice don't go to waste. And a few gentlemen, seeing the Brit in such shape that evening, undoubtedly wondered, while sipping their brown beverage, whether continuing to grow their increasingly impressive beer muscles was worthwhile.

The concert began with a classic – "Synchronicity" from The Police. Gordon Sumner, as his real name is Sting, began his characteristic, sometimes even nonchalant, plucking of the bass guitar strings. A few shouts encouraged the audience to party, and the thousands of people in Tauron Arena were already his.

The Police fans were ecstatic during the concert. The musician played a series of the rock legend's biggest hits, starting with "Synchronicity," performed at the beginning, and continuing through hits like "Message in a Bottle" and "Roxanne" (with a snippet of Bill Withers' "Ain't No Sunshine" interspersed), and finally "Every Breath You Take." Needless to say, most of the Tauron Arena crowd helped the Briton with the songs? In total, there were over 20 songs – both solo and with his band.

 Personally, I especially enjoyed the beautiful rendition of one of the most wonderful compositions in the history of popular music – "Fields of Gold." I rarely get goosebumps on my forearms, but I practically had them throughout Sting's performance. Like at the very end of the show, when he bid farewell to the audience with "Fragile" during the second encore.

It's good that the artist's new album, "57th & 9th," wasn't just an excuse to embark on another tour, and we heard several songs from it during the concert. Personally, I was most pleased with the inclusion of the hit single "I Can't Stop Thinking About You," a classic '70s rock classic that's increasingly fading into obscurity.

Before Sting's visit to Poland, I read some negative comments about the artist's next concert in our country. It's no secret that the former member of The Police likes to come back. Many people complained that perhaps, instead of his "umpteenth" performance, it would have been better to invite someone who rarely appears in Polish arenas. On the one hand, I can understand these criticisms. On the other, I figure that if something's worth seeing, why not take advantage of it? It's a bit like "Kiler." I've seen the movie a dozen times and know the dialogue by heart, yet every time it airs on TV, I watch it with a smile on my face. Besides, let the audience for Sting's show be the best review – the Tauron Arena was almost completely packed.

In an interview, Sting once said that he can't listen to music. He analyses it every time. Fortunately, I don't have such problems – watching and absorbing the British artist's work was pure pleasure for me. Sting's performances are always a concert feast of delicious musical delights. And let him play in Poland even ten times a year. I bet the concert attendance would be satisfactory every time.

(c) Onet.pl by Kuba Koziołkiewicz