Sting: My Songs Tour: 2021 - 2023

Sting, 70, performing in Finland is in for a big hit – "When the work ethic is right, there's not much to complain about"...

One can only speculate whether Gordon Sumner, born in Wallsend, England in October 1951, could have thought that he would still be touring the world at the age of 70. He has one good justification and reason for that: songs that span several decades, in a variety of styles and, to put it bluntly, for every occasion.

So let's talk about Sting, who will be performing at the Helsinki Ice Hall on Thursday. Based on Tuesday's gig, we can only recommend that if it's possible to go to a gig, it's definitely worth going there.

At Tampere's Nokia Arena on Tuesday, Sting also offered many surprises. The man's key songs are familiar to the whole world, but the practically sold-out arena was amazed, among other things, by how great Sting's vocals are. Many people who have reached the age of 70 have had their voice suffer many times, but Sting's voice still showed no sign of old age.

Likewise, every Finnish man could look in amazement at what a 70-year-old man can look like: judging by his eyes, one could say that at least Sting has not looked at a glass songbook too much during his career – if one did not know his age, one would think that the man is close to the same age as several of the players in his band.

The tour, which bore the name My Songs, has been planned with confidence. The approximately one and a half hour set is not wasted on interludes, but the music speaks for itself. In that time, there is easily time to play 19 songs and the opening track, Message in a Bottle, one of the Police's biggest hits, shows in terms of composition, lyrics and band playing that tonight's maestro is really not playing or messing around. When the set reaches the eighth song, Fields of Gold, which is played a little too loudly thanks to Tapani Kansa's Finnish translation and has unintentionally taken on comical tones, it is easy to understand why Sting's career continues into his sixth decade. And it's so popular that the man's world tour will continue until the end of the year.

Let's recap the most important reasons: the man understands music with a rare open mind. This means that the man is able to take influences from many different styles and make music that sounds specifically like Sting. When the work ethic is in order and the musical talent is there, there's not much to complain about. Reggae, new wave, rock, jazz, pop and world music are all raw materials that the artist knows how to use skilfully and also choose his players accordingly. The gig band was naturally a collection of the best musicians, and Sting's son Joe Sumner also played along with him.

When you've made your own songs and your own career, you can also play them casually when you're confident. The man can't be accused of being egotistical in any case: the skilled backing musicians were given proper space during the gig and black jeans and a grey t-shirt were enough for his own performance attire. There were no rockets exploding on stage, but the lighting design relied on an almost understated elegance.

Even artists who have seen it all may have original versions of the biggest hits that they can't do a second time in their career. On the other hand: they don't have to. The Police's biggest hit, Every Breath You Take, which is often misinterpreted as a love song, was performed faster than the album version and with less drama than Sting did in the 1980s. On the other hand, at the time, there was a love triangle drama related to civilian life and a tense band relationship, in which Sting and Police drummer Stewart Copeland could get into fights even in studio conditions. Perhaps the tension was worth it, considering the results of the social fire that reached a blaze.

Over time, Copeland and Sting have become friends again, and it seems that Sting's civilian life has also been in order for some time. Based on the stage performance, it can also be said from many perspectives that, based on Tuesday night's performances, Sting will easily be touring the world for another decade.

The best thing about the performance was noticing that the artist still enjoys performing immensely. At the same time, it also contains lessons and correction for us younger people, no matter what our own background is.

Go to the show on Thursday if possible. Sting, 70, is in a tough spot.

(c) Tamperelainen by Pekka Ruissalo

Familiar, skilled and fun. Sting & My Songs in Tampere...

The relaxed superstar's concert at Tampere's Nokia Arena was a great success. The audience got to sing along and enjoy the band's incredible talent. Even the familiar songs had new, surprising elements.

Already during the first bars, the Tampere audience started to perform for Sting, as the group started singing along right from the first song, the Police-era classic Message In a Bottle. 

Sting was relaxed, and the whole band was in a good mood. Each artist took turns waving to the audience and showing the crowd how to clap. 

A fun detail is that there are no less than two father and son pairs on the tour, meaning the strong-voiced Joe Sumner, who performed as an opener, is Sting's son. Towards the end of the gig, he returned to the stage to sing the song King of Pain.

Rufus Miller, the son of guitarist Dominic Miller, who has toured with Sting for over 30 years, is now also in the band. 

From start to finish, we were able to enjoy the band's incredible talent. After the Police hits, the band played a few songs from Sting's new album. With Fields of Gold, the band returned to Sting's classics. As an encore, a very Police-like performance of one of the most anticipated hits, Roxanne. It once again got the Tampere audience dancing. 

In Roxanne, Sting also had the audience laughing out loud. “I heard you guys have a drinking game where you always have to take a sip when I sing ‘Roxanne’,” he announced mid-song. “And I sing it 17 times in this song.”

Even the familiar songs had new, surprising elements. The only blunder of the concert was when Rufus Miller’s guitar completely lost its tune during Fields of Gold, where he was playing the melody. Fortunately, the stage manager came to change the instrument in a hurry – but surprisingly only after the song had ended. There were no new blunders.

The overwhelming highlight of the concert was Brand New Day. On the album, it starts with Stevie Wonder's iconic harmonica line, but Sting's current harmonica player Shane Sager showed how he can replace Wonder with just that. Sager played his own version even better than Wonder's familiar line sounds. Even before this song, Sager had played great backing tracks, as the saxophone lines on many songs had been replaced by harmonica.

The most dramatic transformation of the songs was Desert Rose, which suffered a bit from the fact that the live band did not include the North African musicians for whom the album version is famous. Still, Desert Rose now had a furiously swinging Arabic groove kick, thanks to drummer Zach Jones and keyboardist Kevon Webster. The Tampere crowd bouncing to the beat of Desert Rose was a spectacle worth experiencing.

Backing vocalists Melissa Musique and Gene Noble had their own riffs. This time, Noble was more ferocious, singing in a funk and rap style to his own tune, close to the melody, on the song Shape of My Heart.

“If I ever lose my faith in you, there’ll be nothing left for me to do”, sang the audience and Sting and his band. And neither side betrayed the other’s trust.

(c) Voima by Lida Simes