So I've managed another unplanned gig within the space of a few weeks. I have 'come to the rescue' of my mate Rachel who has found herself without a gig buddy when her husband-to-be was unable to extract himself from work to get to the Hammersmith Apollo to catch singer/songwriter/forest saver - Sting.
I had the opportunity to go and see the reformed Police a few years ago at Twickenham but I frankly could not stomach the price tag and took a pass. I've never seen either The Police or Sting so was more than happy to tag along and get an opportunity to see whether this infamous 60 year-old still had something to give live.
Looking around the Apollo, Rachel and myself were pleased to be amongst the youngest in the crowd as it's normally the opposite for me! The tour is called Back to Bass and I wondered whether this entailed acoustic interpretations of his songs - it didn't! His show started at 8pm (there was no support) and was accompanied by a full band - two guitars, drums, female backing vocalist, violin player and of course Sting on bass.
Two classics open proceedings - All the Time and Police tune Every Little Thing She Does is Magic - sounds pretty good to me so far. There has always been a persistent allegation that Sting is, well, boring. I've never been subjected to this personally, but to be fair I haven't taken a huge interest in his solo career since The Dream of the Blue Turtles (which was his first solo album from 1985).
A few further songs in we get two tunes of Sting's which he says have been covered by none other than Johnny Cash (I Hung My Head) and Toby Keith (I'm So Happy I Can't Stop Crying) - neither song really does it for me but the band sound good and I'm not bored so we push on.
Next is one of my Police favourites - Driven To Tears - I actually think the song is underrated by many and it is good to hear the original writer and singer perform it - there is also a mad fiddle solo tacked on which I love.
It occurs to me that Sting's extra-curricular activities outside music have somewhat overshadowed his rather significant song contributions. The fact is the man is responsible for a decent amount of very good songs - I just hope that I'm going to get to hear them tonight.
I am almost instantly rewarded following this thought with my favourite Sting solo song - Fortress Around Your Heart. Given that I know sweet fuck all about writing songs I always give bonus points to songwriters who can entwine unusual words within their songs. For this song, the bonus scrabble word is 'chasm':
"And if I built this fortress around your heart,
Encircled you with trenches and barbed wire,
Then let me build a bridge,
For I cannot fill the chasm,
And let me set the battlements on fire"
'Chasm' - tidy work Sting - although certainly not as good as Neil Finn's unbeatable triple word score use of 'cumulonimbus' (from When You Come).
Another big Sting track in the form of Fields of Gold then follows. It is introduced as a track written whilst walking through the fields surrounding his "fucking big castle" - well at least he's not going to lie to us!
This honesty continues further on when discussing the ability of his wife (the lovely Trudi Styler) to completely destroy him whilst simultaneously save him at the same - apparently this aptly describes the balance of their marriage - mmm ok did I really need to know that?
This is where the evening starts to slip somewhat away from me. We are subject to a run of tracks which delve into subject matter which can only be described as bizarre - one is written from the point of view of a petty thief stealing the car of a wealthy businessman and the another is written from the point of view of a fox whose mate is killed by hunters - ok now I'm bored. This is indulgent even by my standards and the songs are nothing to write home about - so not even the music can save them!
The last song of the main set is subject to some mixing problems - he's really gonna have to pull it out to get this show back on track. This silent challenge from me is apparently accepted and the first song of the first encore is crowd-pleaser Desert Rose which is a lot more robust live and really sounds great. This is followed up with probably Sting's most well known song - Every Breath You Take - it remains a lesson in songwriting for anyone.
This very decent double shot is only surpassed by the last song of the night which forms the third encore - a completely acoustic (Sting & guitar only) version of Message in a Bottle - it is magnificent and makes me wonder why the whole show hasn't been similarly presented.
Overall the 'Sting experience' is ok - the great songs have made up for the over-indulgence and I'm glad to have seen the original in the flesh. I can't say I would be forking out £75 myself to see him again - he has enough castles in my view!
Setlist
All this time
Every Little Thing
Seven Days
Demolition Man
I Hung my Head
I'm So Happy I Can't Stop Crying
Driven to Tears
Stolen Car
Fortress Around Your heart
Fields of Gold
Sacred Love
Ghost Story
Heavy Cloud, No Rain
Inside
Love is Stronger than Justice
Hounds of Winter
The End of the Game
She Was Never Coming Home
Encore
Desert Rose
Every Breath You Take
Second Encore
Next to You
Third Encore
Message in a Bottle (acoustic)
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