With the support of his son, Sting made its way to Vienna on the My Songs Tour. The city is known for its musical heritage, and it was a fitting backdrop for a great show. Sting showcased his incredible voice and his talent in front of over 16,152 excited fans.
On our own little European tour, we went from seeing Coldplay last night in Amsterdam, to Sting tonight in Vienna. Although I always appreciated his solo and The Police songs, it was my wife that made me enjoy his music even more. It was safe to say I was looking forward to him live, and we got amazing tickets, sitting on the second row.
JOE SUMNER
Tonight’s support kept it in the family with Sting’s son Joe Sumner. However, that doesn’t mean Joe isn’t a talented singer-songwriter on his accord. In the past, he was bassist and lead vocalist of British rock band Fiction Plane, but currently he is out supporting his solo career.
His debut album will be coming out later this year, and we were treated to a 7 song strong set list. Apart from the look, you can hear some similarity with his dad, but the songs are very different. Joe Sumner’s set is made out of folk-pop songs that sound catchy. Some of the highlights for me were Looking For Me, Looking For You, Hope and Jellybean. I really enjoyed Joe’s set and it was a great way to get ready for Sting.
STING
The British singer-songwriter and bassist has joined the big amount of artists that re-recorded his hits and re-released them. To promote this, Sting went out and played his biggest hits from The Police and his solo catalogue. Together with his long time guitarist Dominic Miller, Sting opened the night immediately strong with Message in a Bottle.
From the get-go, his onstage presence is highly energetic, and his voice seemed to sound the same as the records. An incredible performance that felt due to our close seats as an intimate show instead of an arena gig. Englishman in New York (or rather Vienna followed suit with more The Police afterwards with Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic. Fans of The Police had to wait till the end of the show to get more, but that didn’t bring the mood down.
I loved the powerful moments like If You Love Somebody Set Them Free, which just sounded beautiful. If It’s Love, Loving Your and Rushing Water were songs less familiar to me, but were highly entertaining. If I Ever Lose My Faith in You brought back the hits I knew and Fields of Gold was outstanding.
Throughout the show, Sting shared stories, anecdotes and jokes, including his introduction of Brand New Day that featured Shane Sager on harmonica.
A CLASS ACT
As a true gentleman, Sting gives each of his band members the time and applause they deserve. It goes without saying, but a class-act artist like Sting will make sure to have the absolute best on stage. During Heavy Cloud No Rain, backing vocalist Melissa Musique took centre stage together with the master himself.
What I loved about tonight’s show is that Sting was wandering around the stage a lot whilst singing. It made the show so much interactive. Shape of My Heart offered a goosebump worthy performance, followed by Why Should I Cry for You? Sting shows of an impressive versatility in his music, shifting easily from soulful ballads, to pop and reggae like tunes. All This Time and Mad About You closed the main part of the solo material as we shifted straight into The Police section again.
And with that shift we also went from a seating concert to standing right up the barrier to experience Walking on the Moon and So Lonely up close and personal. The latter included a great snippet of No Woman No Cry. The Middle East vibes came alive during Desert Rose, before we saw Joe Sumner join his dad for King of Pain. Every Breath You Take closed the main set with Joe Sumner on backing vocals.
Roxanne and Fragile ended this amazing show. An incredible performance by Sting and his band left me amazed. The shows where you don’t really know what to expect are usually great ones, but the musicianship, voice and overall show were outstanding. My wife and I had a great night out, and the set list from the show was a nice bonus.
