A Touching Journey Through Time with Sting at Sparkassenpark...
The British musician and his band gave an impressive and emotional concert at Sparkassenpark.
Four minutes – that's all it takes for Sting to send the audience at Sparkassenpark on an emotional journey. He opened his concert on Tuesday, June 20, 2023, with "Message in a Bottle," a song full of melancholy and hope, full of beautiful guitar melodies and a chorus that lingers in the mind for hours. And because Sting is Sting, the next global hit, "Englishman in New York," followed immediately.
These two pieces alone have shaped generations, evoking memories of bygone days for many in the audience. Today, Andreas Hinterthan stands arm in arm with his wife, Emmanuelle, in the Sparkassenpark. In the 1980s, he made the drive to Paris almost every weekend to visit her. Hinterthan would spend hours driving at night on the autobahn. "The songs of Sting and his band The Police always accompanied me on the journey," says the 62-year-old. To this day, the British musician's works have lost none of their quality and sophistication for Hinterthan and his wife.
Paul and Julian wholeheartedly agree. The two 21-year-olds are seeing Sting for the first time today, and they're here primarily for one thing: "really good music." And that, they say, is timeless. "For someone who's already 71, his voice has developed impressively well. It has audibly matured over the years," says Julian. On stage, Sting himself leaves no doubt about that this evening. His vocals and the warm tone of his bass guitar envelop the audience, the oppressive summer air giving way to a light breeze that sweeps through the hockey park. To breathe deeply, to listen, to let go – that's why people are here today.
The crowd in front of the stage sways back and forth to the beat, singing "Be yourself, no matter what they say" in unison. The message gets through, the spark ignites by the next song: "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" invited people to dance back in 1981, and the audience gladly accepts the invitation again today. A father carries his son on his shoulders, and they both jump up and down. Despite all the nostalgia, it's also an evening that spans generations.
"We always had Sting playing at home," says Julia Buschhausen, and her father, Gert, smiles. "Good music has always been a part of our lives," says the 72-year-old. "Not to mention that Sting is a great guy. Always calm, always disciplined, and with a clear political stance." The musician himself doesn't say much this evening, preferring to let the songs speak for themselves.
On stage, decades of experience and musical future blend seamlessly: many of Sting's band members are in their mid-30s at the most. Sometimes full of energy, sometimes deeply emotional, they interpret the songs, each getting a chance to shine. The audience cheers them on, their collective applause echoing through the Sparkassenpark. And by the time touching classics like "Fields of Gold" are played, lovers embrace, and more than one person sheds a tear.
With "Roxanne" and "Fragile," Sting sends his approximately 13,000 listeners off into the summer evening. People leave the hockey park with smiles on their faces and a warm, fuzzy feeling in their chests. Outside, a few gather around a guitarist who starts playing "Morning Has Broken." Everything is good in this moment – Sting has impressively ensured that.
(c) Rheinische Post by Christoph Wegener
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