Summer: 2012

Sting, a cocktail of sounds for 10,000...

The bass-driven rock of the former Police member - Padua, Hydrogen Festival. The English artist's 35-year career spanned by his old Fender guitar. An intriguing mix of reggae, gospel, rock, and punk.

Perhaps Sting is a magician. One of those who can even summon rain. One of those who can make a few drops fall from an almost clear sky during the final encore of a stellar concert, precisely when the song, "Fragile," sings, "On and on the rain will fall like tears from a star." Ten thousand people arrived in Piazzola sul Brenta on Tuesday evening to check on the (musical) health of Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner, aka Sting. At sixty, after a long tour based on the orchestral influences of the "Symphonicity Tour," Sumner decided to put his old 1950s Fender Precision bass back around his neck and prove that, as his colleague Neil Young sings, "rock and roll will never die." And he succeeded.

Twenty songs to recount a 35-year career (before his 25-year solo career, there were The Police) in just under two hours of a packed, well-played, and intriguing live performance. A live performance that retraces all of Sting's musical loves, evident in the arrangements but also in the raw nature of the songs: from the white reggae of "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" to the upbeat of "Englishman in New York," from the gospel of "I Hung My Head" to the blues of "Heavy Cloud No Rain," from the Middle Eastern of "Desert Rose" to the punk rock of "Next to You." Sting rediscovers the pleasure of playing The Police, eight of the twenty songs on the setlist, with the extraordinary "De do do do, de da da da" and, in the encore, "King of Pain." A mix of sonic ingredients passed through the creative shaker of an artist like Sting, who still manages to make us dream with every song (and not only that, seeing the enthusiasm and comments of many female spectators adoring Sting's tight T-shirt).

The concert's success also owes credit to a sumptuous band. In addition to faithful guitarist Dominic Miller, there's the meticulously crafted keyboardist David Sancious (a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band until 1974), Vinnie Colaiuta, introduced by Sting as "Vincenzo Pietro," the best drummer in the world (he's played with Frank Zappa, Jeff Beck, Herbie Hancock, Duran Duran, and Christina Aguilera), violinist Peter Tickell (his terrifying solo in the instrumental coda of "Love Is Stronger Than Justice" was truly spine-chilling), and powerful backing vocalist Jo Lawry. Sting (metaphorically) abandoned the elegant suits we saw him in last year in St. Mark's Square and donned the slightly tighter, rocker attire. And it's not a sign of madness that at times he resembled the character Ace in The Who's film "Quadrophenia." Over two hours of music, which concluded with a standing room and seating area invasion, Sting offered a vision of himself that blends talent, tranquillity, and the joy of sharing. Thanks to his stay at his home in Chianti, he now speaks a little Italian, addressing the audience exclusively in that language: "That house is beautiful," he jokes, pointing to Villa Contarini, "but mine is even more beautiful."

(c) Corriere del Veneto by Francesco Verni