#joe sumner

Sting - Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner, Dominic Miller, Josh Freese, Jerry Fuentes, Diego Navaira, Derek James, Rufus Miller & Joe Sumner @ The Theater at MGM National Harbor, Oxon Hill, MD on Sunday, March 12, 2017.

Winter 57th & 9th Tour Setlist:

Heading South on the Great North Road (Sting solo before opening acts) Synchronicity II (The Police song) Spirits in the Material World (The Police song) Englishman in New York I Can't Stop Thinking About You She's Too Good for Me One Fine Day I Hung My Head Fields of Gold Down, Down, Down Petrol Head Shape of My Heart Pretty Young Soldier Message in a Bottle Ashes to Ashes (David Bowie cover) 50,000 Walking on the Moon (The Police song) So Lonely (The Police song) Desert Rose Roxanne / Ain't No Sunshine

Encore 1: Next to You (The Police song) Every Breath You Take (The Police song)

September 7, 2023 @ MGM Music Hall Fenway (Boston, MA)

In the history of rock music, I don't think there's any musician that can boost the listener's intelligence just by listening to them (or at least make the listener FEEL more intelligent) than Sting. Ok maybe Rush, but Sting both as a solo artist, with The Police and his numerous collaborations is truly a lyrical genius and you find yourself thinking a bit about the analogies and references he's making in ways you might not with just any artist, i.e. I'm not sure how many other artists made reference to Krushchev or Nabakov on Top 40 radio! The brilliance in Sting's lyrics is that he is taking these really big philosophical ideas and fitting them into melodies that are accessible enough for the masses. Musically, Sting is pure genius too. Bursting out of the London rock scene in the late 70s, The Police set the world on fire. They were truly bigger than the sum of their parts. Sting was the main songwriter, singer and bassist. For a group that incorporated various genres including punk, reggae, pop, new wave, jazz, and rock it takes a certain level of musicianship to excel at all of those sounds. Over the Summer I got to see former Police guitarist Andy Summers and I was blown away by the pure musicianship and reminded of how The Police were one of the great trios in history. Now I got to see Sting for the first time on his My Songs tour at MGM Music Hall Fenway, a venue that still has that "new car smell" about a year after opening.

Sting onstage

I never got to see The Police as I was too young to go to concerts in the early 80s and I'm kind of kicking myself for not going to The Police reunion tour in 2007. For one reason or another I've never gotten to see Sting live until now. I'm by no means the biggest Sting fan, but I've always had the utmost respect for him as an artist. 1991's The Soul Cages was one of the first CDs I got when I first got a CD player. Through this blog I've gotten the chance to review his 2021 compilation Duets and The Bridge, his most recent studio album. His solo work is often times in the shadow of his work with The Police and in the case of this concert, 7 of the 20 songs were Police songs. But seriously - do not underestimate his solo work. With the exception of one song from The Bridge, every song he played was from the 70s, 80s and 90s, which is playing the hits for the casual fans as well as the hardcore fans. Personally I kind of wanted for him to play "I Can't Stop Thinking About You", which was one of my Best Songs of 2016. Maybe next time!

Sting and the band rocking out

The entire band and backup singers were tight and Sting came out strong with "Message in a Bottle", one of my favorite Police songs. Among the highlights of this show was his between-song banter believe it or not. He addressed the shows he's played in Boston over the years starting with The Rat in 1978 (side note: one of the interviewees in my documentary Life on the V: The Story of V66 was Ralph Fatello who talked about how The Police played their first Boston show at The Rat opening for his band Vinny, that is featured on an extra feature on the DVD), the Paradise, the Orpheum, Fenway Park and more. He also had something interesting to say about writing a love song, saying "When a song is 'I love you, you love me', that's not interesting. But when it's 'I love you, you love somebody else' that's interesting to me!" That explains a ton about his numerous songs about unrequited love. Other highlights included "If You Love Someone Set Them Free", "Brand New Day", "All This Time" and "Walking on the Moon". One of the big highlights of the show was the performance of possibly my favorite Police song "King of Pain". Joining Sting for vocals was musician Joe Sumner of the band Fiction Plane, who opened the show, and happens to be Sting's son. I bring this up because it was somewhat surprising since Sting originally wrote "King of Pain" after the separation of his ex-wife, Joe's mother and now Joe was singing it with his Dad. Whoa!

Sting holding court at this epic show

This was a night of peak musicianship and performance! Just weeks away from Sting's 72nd birthday, I'm fortunate I got to see him. I know this isn't nearly the same as seeing the Synchronicity stadium tour in 1983, but boy does he still have that magic (pardon the pun and forgive me, but every little thing)!

For info on Sting: https://www.sting.com/

2018 Book #31: Everything is Teeth by Evie Wyld