Summoner's Tales: 1993/95

Sting demonstrates wide appeal at Greek...

Often, when watching an "aging" artist in concert, all one can think of is how much better he was way back when, or how silly he looks now. This, however, was not at all the case Sunday amid the woodsy setting at the Greek Theatre where 41-year-old Sting looked like a mere embryo in the womb of rock.

And the large demographic of his fans provide a living testimony to his seemingly ageless appeal.

Placing himself front and center of a simply constructed stage, the former leader of the enormously popular power trio known as the Police exuded a well-managed confidence while charming the likes of Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks and Marilu Henner. But the stars were not only of the Hollywood variety, they could also be found in the eyes of any number of the 15- to 50-year- olds who packed the venue.

The former Gordon Sumner (all his friends call him Sting) played a large majority of the songs from his recent, rather mediocre release, 'Ten Summoner's Tales', opening the show with the best and most widely aired cut, 'If I Ever Lose My Faith in You'. But he also played full, rather hip, versions of his older material, thereby satisfying the keen appetite of many of the fans.

And by older material, we're not talking the likes of his 1991 release 'Soul Cages', the concept LP about the death of his parents. We're talking, you guessed it, one of the many songs that put the Police on the map, 'Roxanne' The anthem to which everyone and no one can sing along.

Dressed in a white cotton peasant shirt and Civil War-like pants tucked into boots, the lean, youthful looking showman was sur rounded by a crack band and guest artist Branford Marsalis playing sax. Bandmate and guitarist Dominic Miller brought a lovely feel to the acoustic guitar, while ripping on bass and alternating with Sting on lead. Keyboardist David Sancious played an absolutely astonishing solo to garner an standing ovation from an audience who moments prior only had eyes for Sting.

The best deliveries of the evening combined myth and metaphor in a typical, playful Sting-like fashion. Songs like 'Englishman in New York' and 'It's Probably Me' reveal an artist fully engaged in an intelligence both contemplative and active enough to grapple with the joined spheres of the political, the personal and the psychological. The weaker numbers, and they did exist, are magnified examples of the music icon's cross pollination gone awry, offering a confusing mix of beats and chords.

Whether one relishes in or rebels against the curves Sting throws into his arrangements, his live performance at the ripe old age of 41 is definitely worth the effort.

(c) Pasadena Star News by Mary L. Tartaglione