An Englishman in Bangor, as Sting performs on Waterfront...

From the second the opening riffs of "If I Ever Lose My Faith In You" hit the air, the audience began to sing along to nearly every song played by Sting at his concert at Darling’s Waterfront Pavilion on the Bangor Waterfront Thursday evening. A laid-back crowd enjoyed a long string of hits and fan favorites from the British songwriter, who mined his more than 30-year career for gems.

''I love his music. I think he’s amazing and just so versatile and talented,'' said Carlie Armstrong of Biddeford. ''And he is so, so sexy.''

Sting opened the concert with a double shot including the aforementioned song, followed immediately by ''Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic'' and ''Englishman In New York.'' The hits continued, with everything from ''Demolition Man'' to ''All This Time,'' from ''Fields of Gold'' to ''Message in a Bottle.'' This tour was dubbed the ''Back to Bass'' tour, so of course, Sting played bass for the whole show and also indulged the crowd with a number of his hits from The Police, all backed by a loose, stylistically diverse five-piece band.

Austin Smith, a Bangor native, and his fiancee, Kendra Gould, originally from Old Town, were in town from Boulder, Colo., to prepare for their marriage in the Bangor area later this summer. As it happened, Smith’s father, Larry, bought them tickets to the show.

''I’m definitely a big fan of the Police,'' said Smith. ''It just so happened that this show coincided with our visit, so this was a really nice treat.''

The Thursday concert was just the second of the Waterfront Concert season, after Motley Crue’s concert on May 16. Friday night will see country musicians Darius Rucker and Trace Adkins take the stage, followed on Saturday by Bangor’s Beer Festival, set for noon until 5 p.m. The warm weather and gentle breeze attracted an early crowd of people without tickets camping out just outside of concert grounds, including Steve and Lisa Polich of Bangor, who were sitting underneath a crabapple tree at 2 p.m. with a cooler full of beverages.

''We come out and sit out here for most of these shows,'' said Steve Polich. ''If people are going to buy a ticket, they’re going to buy a ticket. Even if you don’t buy a ticket and you’re just coming to sit across the street and listen, you’re still going to spend money at the stores. You’re still getting food and drinks and contributing. I think it’s just all-around great for the area.''

(c) Bangor Daily New by Emily Burnham