Selected Miscellaneous Shows

Wherever his fans go, Sting will be there...

Before 10,000 people who gave him a standing ovation at the inauguration of the DirecTV Arena, the English musician returned to the country with a concert dominated by the hits from his extensive career.

Sting looks at his audience and sings, "Every time you breathe, every move you make, every bond you break, every step you take... I'll be watching." The attentive audience looks back and sings the same. "Every day, every word you say, every game you play, every night you're out, I'll be watching." That paranoid, Big Brother-esque song that Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner composed in 1983, and which, deliberately misunderstood, became one of the most perverse love songs of the 80s, today seems to reflect better than any other the essence of the timeless relationship that Sting maintains with his fans. He's always there, with his timeless songs. Now, at 64, his voice and spirit are intact, with a little less hair and a much longer hipster beard. But he's still there. And every time he steps onto a stage, his fans will be following him.

The other night, the English musician returned to the country, eight years after his last visit, when he and his former bandmates from The Police performed as part of their reunion tour. The reunion with his Argentine fans was tailor-made for this unbroken relationship: almost two hours of a musical journey comprised of many of his most memorable hits, more than half of them from the discography of the trio he formed with Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland. A simple, stripped-down show, with the music as its sole conceptual focus.

Accompanied by four exceptional musicians (virtuoso drummer Vinnie Colaiuta, who once played alongside Frank Zappa; "friend of the house" Dominic Miller, a guitarist born in Hurlingham who has played with Sting since the 1990s; keyboardist David Sancious, who was once a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band; and backing vocalist Jo Lawry, who joined Springsteen's band during the Symphonicities era), Sting effortlessly controls the show's pace, seamlessly integrating his jazz sensibilities into the pop melodies of his simpler songs.

The setlist opens and closes with songs from his solo career ("If I Ever Lose My Faith in You" and "Fragile," respectively), but it's The Police's hits that dominate and form the backbone of the concert: "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic," "So Lonely," and "When the World Is Running Down, You Make the Best of What's Still Around" at the beginning; "Message in a Bottle," "Wrapped Around Your Finger," "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da," and "Roxanne" in the middle; and "King of Pain," "Every Breath You Take," and "Next to You" at the end.

All of these are proven hits, which on this occasion vary depending on the segment they're in. The first few allowed the band to experiment with extended versions and jazzy harmonies with rehearsed improvisation; The middle songs were specifically intended for the karaoke of the 10,000 people who filled the DirecTV Arena (see separate section); and the final segment leads with rhythmic precision and wise maturity toward the acoustic closing of the always moving "Fragile."

From his solo repertoire, the beautiful "Shape of My Heart" (co-written with Miller), "Fields of Gold," and "Desert Rose," among others, stood out—all songs that demonstrate that Sting's voice has lost almost none of its unique range (where it doesn't reach, and even beyond, is the delicate Lawry, who earns a standing ovation on "The Hounds of Winter").

Perhaps one could criticize a certain lack of intensity in Mr. Sting's show (he doesn't sweat, it's true), but, strictly speaking, nobody came here looking for that after so many years of a loving relationship. Or at least none of those fans who know that wherever they go, every step they take, Sting will always be with them.

(c) La Nacion by Sebastián Ramos