Gordon Sumner (AKA Sting) made a very rare appearance in the Western New York area this past Tuesday as he opened up the concert season at Artpark. The physically fit 60 year old former Police bassist is currently on his “Back to Bass tour.” Backing him on the tour are drummer Vinnie Colaiuta, guitarist Dominic Miller, fiddle player Peter Tickell, keyboardist David Sancious and backup vocalist Jo Lawry.
Sting set the tone early by getting the crowd involved on the Police song “Every Little Thing She Does is Magic.” He stated he had a love for country music and was thrilled that Johnny cash covered one of his songs as he went into “I hung my Head.” Before a handful of tunes, Sting gave a story behind the story of how the song was crafted and where he got the idea. He also gave plenty of spotlight to each member by showcasing their talents on various songs. Tickell really stood out on “Driven to Tears” and “Love is Stronger than Justice (The Magnificent Seven.)” Miller did his best Lindsey Buckingham impersonation as he picked his way through on the acoustic during songs “Fields of Gold” and “Shape of my Heart.”
Sting also talked about how close he lives to Stonehedge and that during harvest season, he envisions the sea of gold and thought there was a “song in there somewhere” and came up with “Fields of Gold.” Sting did move about the stage and kept the crowd involved the entire time. His voice was the key standout for the evening’s performance. Sting effortlessly reached every note and had a smile on his face the entire time while doing it.
There were no complaints here, except maybe that he didn’t perform The Police classic “Wrapped Around your Finger” and his solo song “Set Me Free.” A classic performance indeed and by a true Classic Rock God!
Set List:
All This Time
Every Little Thing She Does is Magic (The Police song)
Englishman in New York
Seven Days
Demolition Man (The Police song)
I Hung my Head
Stolen Car (Take Me Dancing)
Driven to Tears (The Police song)
Fields of Gold
Message in a Bottle (The Police song)
Shape of my Heart
Love is Stronger than Justice (The Magnificent Seven)
The Hounds of Winter
The End of the Game
Never Coming Home
Encore 1:
Desert Rose
King of Pain (The Police song)
Every Breath You Take (The Police song)
Encore 2:
Next to You (The Police song )
We would like to thank Tim Tobin for his assistance in helping BackstageAxxess in reviewing the show.
