Second night in Wantagh...
There was an energy throughout the set that was very exciting, regardless of which songs he sang and which ones were missing. Sting may not have had time to engage himself with the audience with conversation, but he certainly took the time to connect with his band. He & Joy held hands in a very natural way throughout most of 'Whenever I Say Your Name' and they have really taken that song to an almost orgasmic level! The songs are evolving nicely and Sting certainly has loosened up with some more dance moves than I've seen in the recent past. No complaint about that.
Since there's been such dispute over his wardrobe, I'll have to comment on it and hopefully stop this nonsense we've been caught up in the last few days. When he came out to sing 'Shape of My Heart' with Dom, he was wearing black pants & a black t-shirt. Very nice!! Same outfit when he came out to introduce the fabulous Annie. He wore his suit when he came out for his set & in a few seconds, the jacket was gone. So there he was in black pants & a black dress shirt with white cuffs & collar, looking both dapper & comfortable. He rolled up the sleeves at some point, looking even more comfortable. The man is gorgeous, he can do no wrong - almost. He could use a haircut, I must admit.
Because I was sitting quite a distance from the stage in stadium 2 (but directly in the centre) I was able to see what not have been in view to many in the orchestra section. While Sting was singing 'Fields of Gold' the most magnificent gold full moon emerged from behind the clouds & over the stage area & stayed there for the rest of the evening, with the exception a few minutes when it was hidden for awhile. It was spectacular watching the concert with this gold moon hanging in the sky above the stage. My first thought when the moon came out was the obvious I suppose. If only he had been singing 'Sister Moon' or 'Moon Over Bourbon Street'.
During the encore, Sting started singing 'Every Breath You Take', and of course everyone screamed in joy & then the camera focused on Billy Joel who was playing keyboards. Being so far away from the stage, I didn't see him sneak in, but it was an unexpected surprise. I suppose he was in the neighbourhood...
One more thought & then I'm off to sleep. We all love Sting or we wouldn't be here & we have such high expectations of him because he has given us so much over the years. When he doesn't meet our individual expectations we almost take it personally because we've made such an emotional investment as well as the investment of time, energy & money to be supportive fans.
Yes I wish I could hear him sing 'I Burn For You' in concert & yes I'd also love to hear him sing 'The Bed's Too Big Without You', 'Shadows in the Rain', 'Something the Boy Said', 'Driven To Tears', 'Hounds of Winter' & on & on. But even so, I had the same kind of time tonight that Noel had when she went to see Jamie Cullum!! Do you remember what she said? Go look it up if you don't remember. I danced, I screamed, I sang, I smiled, I was brought to tears and I celebrated Sting!
(c) MimiMPH for Sting.com