STING - HERODOS ATTICOS CONSERVATORY, Athens Friday 1 October 2021

And why hide it, anyway? Reading the set lists of My Songs a few days ago, I dislocated the index and middle fingers of both my hands from finger crossing. Not that I didn't expect it, but I saw what, in my opinion, is the crowning glory of Mr. Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner's creation and one of the top songs of the 70s “Message in a Bottle”, as well as my long-time favorite and almost “invisible” for its level “So Lonely”, which I couldn’t say for sure if it was more punk than reggae. I couldn’t believe my eyes though, when I saw “Next to You” among them, which took on every trace of the anyway-anticipated sense of loss of “Can't Stand Losing You” (cry, lest the terrible “I see you sent my letters back / And my L.P. records, and they're all scratched” be heard: reason for divorce, friend, period…), not to mention the elusive dream of “Fall Out”. Would I hear any of this on Friday night? Tick tock, tick tock... The moment was approaching.

Bad lies. The audience of “Commander of the Order of the British Empire” Sting never fully identified with that of space (not only because of Walking on the Moon - let alone the “kitten” Neil Armstrong who got the glory because he had walked there ten years earlier…) of his band, The Police. And this was not impossible by definition, but it was certainly very difficult. Need I remind you of the other two amazing musicians who participated? Guitar was played by the great Andy Summers (Soft Machine, Robert Fripp, The Animals, Zoot Money's Big Roll Band, Dantalian's Chariot) and drums - percussion the incredible and unwavering Stewart Copeland (Curved Air). And if over the years there has been a convergence beyond all expectations of the "two sides", do not doubt that this is due to the inexhaustible inspiration of Mr. Sumner, who finally convinced many skeptics that even its pop side was structured to such quality standards, that for the most part it could satisfy even the most demanding rock audiences. Now in 2021, when even the last memories of this "rivalry" have almost disappeared and sales have exceeded the a hundred million albums, My Songs comes not to bridge the gap or prove how meaningless the division was, but to tell a beautiful story that knows no (musical) borders. After all, that's exactly what The Police advocated and demonstrated in practice since the "Outlandos d'Amour" era. Really, what kind of music did we say they played? Rock, reggae, pop, punk? What did you say? Yes, well. A bit difficult, right?

Of course, last Friday night Summers and Copeland were not at Sting's side, but the already irreplaceable void was filled as successfully as they could by the Dominic Miller (guitar), Rufus Miller (guitar), Josh Freese (drums), Kevon Webster (keyboards), along with Melissa Musique, Gene Noble and his son Joe Sumner (vocals). The latter started the evening with just his electric guitar at 10:05 p.m. He was only five minutes late, as the show had been postponed. for 22.00’, so that it ends a little after midnight. Why? Simply, to wish Sting a happy birthday on his seventieth birthday. What did you say? Didn’t he blow out the candles? Well, he did. But let’s see what happened before.

If Joe had stayed in Athens a little longer, he would have analyzed the Homeric question for us. In Greek, I mean. Yes, you read that right. Besides the typical "Hello Athens, good evening" etc., in the gaps between the seven songs he played, he said various phrases in our language, which you don't often hear at concerts, like "beautiful people". And I emphasize: not immediately after he came on stage, when you constantly repeat a phrase from backstage so you don't forget it and you say it right away, but after a long time. You'll tell me now, okay, you were flattered by this and you'll say you liked Joe. Of course not, but he liked the audience, which responded very warmly due to the songs, but also to his vocals, which were clearly influenced by the DNA he carries. He was an electric singer songwriter of our days, who sings mainly of love, without conventional clichés, with an immediate aura of optimism that must have something to do with his character. His last song was “Jellybean”, which, although not musically related, brought to mind Simon & Garfunkel’s “Feeling Groovy” in its overall approach.

At 22.31 Joe said goodbye to us, put down his guitar and jacket and took a seat behind a microphone. His dad had already said goodnight to us and was starting to play “The Bridge” alone on his acoustic guitar, which will be released in about a month and a half along with his eponymous new album. Finally, acoustic guitar and bass in hand for “Message in a Bottle”, So. How do you take a song like that and perform it with due respect? Sting, to his credit, chose throughout the set not to copy the studio performances, but to give that something different, which a concert that respects "itself" needs. In this case, he took a big risk, as the He sang with the voice he had in his personal career and with the guitar sounding more discreet. As you can imagine, the audience adored him, while I was urgently asking the wounded side of myself to calm down.

As I soon realized, the castaway's message was made lighter just to welcome "Englishman in New York". In this track, the very important second vocals were probably the most beautiful of the evening, which didn't stop me from imagining what would have happened if Melissa Musique had been in her place was Dee C. Lee, now that she is no longer bound to Paul Weller or The Style Council.

“If You Love Somebody Set Them Free”. Great truth and a very good song. Especially with the awesome jazzy twist, which we had the pleasure of hearing. Coincidence? I don’t think so. The whole evening was enriched as much as possible with jazzy mood.

We also saw this in “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic”, in the excellent “Wrapped Around Your Finger”, where Sting gave bass lessons, and also in “Walking on the Moon”, with the jazzy drums winning at points over the imposing reggae, although it was enriched with pieces from the greatness of Bob Marley's "Get Up Stand Up". As time went on, Sting's voice got better and better, as did the band, which relaxed with the warm reactions of the audience. Sting reminded us of his previous concert at the Herodion, the heavy rain (which he hoped would not happen again) and the struggle he had with the broom to get the water off the stage. However, he indirectly introduced his second “related” new song titled “Rushing Water”, while the also new but old “If It’s Love” had preceded it.

I assure you that “Don't Stand So Close to Me” was not heard due to compliance with measures against the pandemic, since everyone was dutifully wearing their masks (with their noses in, of course). We had the pleasure of listening to it because it is a beautiful and very “pliable” song, which in this beautiful slow-paced performance had a progressive rock twist that would definitely make Steven Wilson smile with pride. The ladies were moved when, with the stage flooded with golden lights, they heard that the song dedicated to his wife “Fields of Gold” was written for her, but, on the contrary, I appreciated the guitar that reminded me of that of the great Mark Knopfler.

And since we are talking about emotions, the younger ones were moved by his interpretation more modern Gene Noble in “Shape of My Heart” and the older ones with the cut and sewn for a concert and crazy with joy “So Lonely”, which before fading out was joined by “Desert Rose”. “No, don’t” I went to shout, but the applause of the crowd cut me off, vindicating Sting for his audacity.

And from the applause we went to the screams of women. No, we didn't have a DJ interlude with The Beatles, but “Every Breath You Take”, which also leaves no hint of breathing through masks. Many, instead of lighters, turned on the flashlights of their mobile phones and swayed to the rhythm. What if the organizers had begged us not to take pictures, even without a flash? “No, it's enough that we did you a favour, we wore the mask" or "Another flash and another lens", they would answer a hypothetical question. Who was pleased with this? Yes, of course the ones who did it, but even more so the musicians. You could see it on their faces. The time had passed 23.43' when they bowed for the first time, only to come out again after two minutes.

The first (oops, isn't that what they call pre-economics?) encore began with “King of Pain”, which stood out for its good guitar solo and continued with the unique “Roxanne”, which simply reminded those who had forgotten that the bass (in the hands of Sting) can roar better than a lion. The stage, according to the lyrics, was bathed in red light, while the reggae sounded more rock than ever and Sting sang like the great Ray Charles. Then came the hurricane of “Next to You”, to carry away even the most “properly”, with incredible dynamics and today's aura. I can't describe it anymore, as did the band that bowed for the second time exactly at midnight.

A minute later, it wasn't Dracula who came out, but Sting, who sat in front of the stage with his guitar, to close the evening with "Fragile", before blowing out the candles we were talking about and renewing his appointment with us once again.

(c) Rock 'N' Roll Monuments by Kremmydiotis Takis