Sting: My Songs Tour: 2021 - 2023

From "Englishman..." to "Every Breath You Take": Sting rocks the Leipzig Arena!

His fans had to be patient for four years, and on Tuesday evening the time had finally come: Sting was a guest at the Quarterback Immobilien Arena in Leipzig. In the baggage of the former "The Police" bassist were lots of hits, a great band and just as much joy of playing. So was the wait worth it?

Joe Sumner initially provided the opening act. The eldest son of Sting and actress Frances Tomelty emulated his father from a young age and later founded his own band. He is now also traveling solo.

The music legend's concert was originally announced for October 2020, but was postponed no less than four times. The reasons: Corona, illnesses within the band and finally the cult bassist and singer himself. So now, finally the big evening.

Joe Sumner started the support program at 8pm. Anyone who saw a certain resemblance to the actual star of the evening in the guitarist and singer was not wrong: the musician is the eldest son of Sting and actress Frances Tomelty. Little Joey emulated his father from a young age and has gone on tour with him. He later founded his own band and wrote his own songs. His first solo record “Sunshine in the Night” was released in October.

He's still going on tour with dad. The son delivers straight-forward rock songs, paired with singer-songwriter elements and soulfully accompanied by a violin. A bit of humor was also a must: “Jellybean,” a song that Sumner had written for his children, made it into the set list. The childishly playful melody and the many sweet nicknames in the lyrics provided a wonderful surprise at the end of the pleasantly entertaining set.

After four years, Sting couldn't wait any longer and was on stage with his band at exactly 8:45pm. He began with “Message in a Bottle” and “English Man in New York”, both performed with great power and enthusiasm. However, the audience initially reacted rather cautiously. Some stood up and clapped. However, the majority remained seated - in the arena, which was completely seated - as if they wanted to see what Mr. Englishman still had to offer after four years of waiting.

This was followed by "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic", "If You Love Them Set Them Free" and "Spirits in the Material World", but the good mood on stage didn't quite spill over to the crowd. Meanwhile, only a few women tried to get in front of the stage, but were stopped by security and led back to their seats. You couldn't blame them. The music and performance definitely made you want to listen, as did the following “Fields of Gold”.

When it came to lighting and the stage show, Sting kept it subtle and limited himself to a few elements. Instead, the focus was on music and the band - and both were impressive across the board! What's particularly nice is that the music legend always took a step back to give the members of his band room to shine. In "Heavy Cloud..." and "Shape of My Heart" the focus was on the background singers who took over the guest vocals. On "Brand New Day" it was Sting's longtime harmonica player Shane Sager.

With “Why Should I Cry for You?”, “All This Time” and “Invisible Sun” the band followed up with the next batch of hits. With “So Lonely” she let it rip again and increased the tempo quite a bit before things went oriental with “Desert Rose”.

During "King of Pain" son Joe Sumner came on stage again. The crowning finale was “Every Breath You Take,” which Sting and band delivered with just as much energy as the previous set.

Two more encores followed with “Roxanne” and “Fragile”, and Sting didn’t have to wait long to arrive. Instead of letting the crowd clap and cheer forever, he just briefly disappeared behind the stage and was ready again. Was it due to the joy of the evening finally taking place or just the Englishman's discipline? Hard to say. It was always pleasantly down-to-earth.

(c) TAG24 By Eric Mittman