Back to Bass Tour: 2011/12

Sting on the routine - Another night at the office for the superstar...

On Monday night, Sting gave a concert in the Falconer Salen in Copenhagen. And it was a concert where the seasoned superstar let the routine run the show.

Sting has been a big name on the international music scene for many years, first as lead singer and bassist in 'The Police' and later under his own name. And you can tell, because even when he performs a concert on the routine, it is high class.

But on Monday night, there was just that extra something missing that could have given the sold-out Falconer Salen a truly unforgettable evening. Because there were few outbursts that were beyond what you would otherwise expect.

And several times it was actually the band he brought with him that stole the biggest applause from the 2,156 seated audience, which the hall can accommodate at maximum capacity, when you have to sit down during the concert.

Almost at 8:00 PM, the world star entered the stage with his band. Sting dressed, as so many times before, casually in a tight white t-shirt and tight jeans. While the rest of the band was wearing an all-black outfit.

Sting was thus set to take centre stage in what can best be described as a large intimate concert.

And the intimate concert seemed to be it. After the first song 'All This Time' from the album 'The Soul Cages' from 1991, all five band members were introduced to a very grateful audience, who seemed to have been very happy to experience Sting himself up close.

It is not without reason that the English Sting, born Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner, has become a big international star. Because he can sing. And the 60-year-old singer-songwriter can still reach the very high notes with his crisp sandpaper voice.

And it is a great pleasure when the man, who will soon reach retirement age, really unfolds. As was the case with the second song of the concert. One of the great 'The Police' hits, 'Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic'.

In front of a completely black background and with only white lights coming out of the projectors, the concert was a static affair during the first few songs, as far as movement was concerned.

Sting stood with his bass in front of the microphone and sang, while his traveling band stayed in the background. When he finally ventured away from the microphone, which was located exactly in the middle of the stage, it was often to do a simple dance move, mostly with his hips.

Or when he rarely managed to move all the way to one of the sides, it was with slow and Sting-cool movements. No rush here. As if to emphasize the intimacy of the concert.

After the first few numbers, the audience was completely ready, which was best illustrated when a number was finished. Because here the applause was long and loud. But as the concert progressed, they became shorter and weaker.

Maybe it's because they weren't presented with some of the great classics for a large part of the concert.

The best picture of that is perhaps the woman who sat in front of me during the concert. Because she was in a clear party mood from the start. And undoubtedly a big Sting fan. Because she had found a pair of pants with the British flag Union Jack on the back for today's occasion.

During the first few numbers, there was a lot of Union Jack, but the further we got into the concert, the less movement there was from the otherwise party-minded woman and the Union Jack.

The times the audience really got going during the slightly over two-hour concert were actually when one of the band members was allowed to give a demonstration of his or her violin/singing/guitar skills.

And although an intimate one-man show was perhaps planned in advance, the very talented musicians were given plenty of space to show off their amazing skills.

In fact, you had to get very far into the concert before the applause was surpassed. In fact, all the way to the encores, which took place over three rounds. But then Sting really showed what he was made of.

Because here the songs were played with the spark that you had been waiting for all evening. The band was all over the stage. And so was Sting, who finally came out of the boring shadow of routine. Among other things, with songs like 'Desert Rose' and perhaps the biggest hit of them all 'Every Breath You Take'.

But it only became truly fantastic and extraordinary when Sting stood alone in a single beam of light on stage for the evening's last number and sang the beautiful Police song 'Message In A Bottle'.

Here the Union Jack and all the others in the hall were completely up and ringing over one of the long-awaited magical moments. Which unfortunately there were far too few of, on a routine evening.

(c) B.T. by Jeppe Elkjaer Andersen