Sting on autopilot for his Paris concert...
Last night, Sting stopped at the Accor Arena in Paris for his "My Songs Tour." While the legendary singer played a string of hits, he delivered an effective concert, albeit one lacking emotion or much interaction with the audience. We were there, we'll tell you all about it!
It's 8:50 pm when the Accor Arena goes dark and a roar echoes through the venue. One by one, the musicians take the stage, and of course, Sting brings up the rear, cheered on by the 15,000 or so spectators present tonight. Barely had he stepped onto the stage when the opening chords of one of his biggest hits, "Message in a Bottle," brought the audience to their feet, chanting the iconic lyrics at the top of their lungs. All this before he followed up with his biggest solo hit, "Englishman in New York," and then another classic from The Police: "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic." This is how Sting kicked off all the concerts of this "My Songs Tour" with a bang, a world tour that has been going on since May 2019 and has already taken place on 170 dates.
We would have liked the entire concert to have been as fervent as this opening, proving that at 71, the singer still has the form and the power to unite the crowds. Unfortunately, this was not the case. After this introductory trio, Sting will play yo-yo between soporific and energetic quarter-hours. In the first case, we find the three songs from his last album "The Bridge" ("If It's Love", "For Her Love", "Rushing Water") politely received by the audience or the uninteresting "What Could Have Been" and "Whenever I Say Your Name". In the second case, the older "If I Ever Lose My Faith In You", "Shape of My Heart" or "Fields of Gold" that nostalgic fans recognize from the first note.
A disappointment, especially since last night, Sting was on autopilot. The bassist played his usual show, with almost no emotion in his performance or even interaction with the audience. Except for a "How are you?" shouted at the beginning of the concert and an introduction of his musicians. Even when Joe Sumner, his son who is the opening act on the tour, joined him on stage to sing "King of Pain," no introduction was made by the singer. After a long tunnel of unexciting ballads, it was finally during the last half hour that Sting managed to hook us when he belted out—at full speed—the hits that have made his name since the late 70s: "Walking on the Moon," "So Lonely," and of course, "Every Breath You Take."
As the audience finally warms up, Sting will treat them to an encore with the inevitable "Roxanne" and the ballad "Fragile," which he concludes with a scathing "Allez, au revoir" before leaving the stage. The message is clear. Last night, for the first time, Sting disappointed us at the Accor Arena. While the singer played timeless hits for an hour and a half, the British artist kept things bare on stage, delivering a concert without surprise or emotion, as he did Monday night in Zurich and will likely do Friday in Dijon. All this while limiting interaction with the audience, who paid up to 200 euros to be in the front rows. Seeing Sting on stage is always a pleasure, but seeing him smiling and engaged would have made for a better evening.
(c) ChartsinFrance by Théau Berthelot
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