STING - ACCORHOTELS ARENA - OCTOBER 18, 2019...
Barely five months after his visit to the Paris region (La Seine Musicale – Boulogne Billancourt), Sting is back in Paris, this time at the immense Accordhotels Arena at Porte de Bercy. The date is almost sold out, which demonstrates the popularity of the former bassist and singer of the band Police in France.
This concert is the first of a long series in France (Orléans, Nantes, Lille, Lyon, Nice, etc.) and is part of the "My Songs" world tour, which began at the end of April.
There are few surprises to be expected, as this concert promises to be a Best Of and a great, choice recap of Sting's career.
When the lights go out in the hall, around 9 p.m., after Antoine Elie's opening performance, the audience is champing at the bit. The room is ready to welcome the Newcastle (GB) native and his band to a triumphant performance. All eyes are directed toward the main stage as Sting appears on a small stage located at the back of the pit behind the console, accompanied by one of his guitarists. Once the surprise dissipates, the audience is overcome with shock. Indeed, Sting appears with his left arm in a sling.
Stage play? No way! An accident the day before in his bathtub prevents him from using his arm, and therefore his bass guitar... Sting explains this in excellent French and goes on to recount (still in French) some memories of his early days as an artist and the genesis of the song "Roxanne," somewhere in a seedy Paris hotel, long before he became the global star he is today.
With that, he continues with an acoustic version of the song that will certainly leave many fans wanting more. The song, thus stripped down to its bare essentials, has lost the wild and energetic edge of the original version of the hit that made the Police famous.
This "unplanned" interlude over, String finally takes over the main stage for a set (including an encore) of twenty songs that will transport the audience through time and emotions.
The set list (the same, with three exceptions, as five months earlier) obviously features the Police's hits (10) ('Walking On The Moon', 'Every Breath', 'So Lonely', 'Message', etc.) and major tracks (11) from his solo career ('English Man', 'If You Love Somebody', 'Russians', etc.).
The band at his side delivers an impeccable performance.
The sound is crisp, clean, and full of energy. A special mention goes to Nicolas Fiszman, who quickly replaced Sting on bass.
The show moves at breakneck speed, yet it doesn't fail to stir strong emotions. The audience is spellbound and mesmerised by the English artist. Everything is perfect, and the audience forgets that Sting isn't playing his favourite instrument tonight. The 1 hour and 50 minutes of the show are pure bliss. Let's wish Sting a speedy recovery, and hopefully, he'll be able to captivate us again, and as soon as possible, to thrill us to the sound of his legendary bass guitar, with his characteristically stripped-down yet powerful playing.
(c) Musicwaves by Christophe Meng
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