Sting has played with some great musicians over the years starting with those two blokes Copeland and Somers but his current Symphonicity world tour with the world’s greatest orchestras is truly a benchmark to his remarkable career.
I can’t imagine that all those years ago as a young “Police” man singing a song about a prostitute called Roxanne that Sting would have ever dreamt that one day he would be on stage with orchestras performing the same song.
The Symphonicity tour is quite unique and last night with the world renowned Melbourne Symphony Orchestra conducted by Steven Mercurio Sting gave an amazing and memorable show.
The setlist crossed his entire career. Songs from The Police like ‘Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic’, ‘Roxanne’, ‘Next To You’, ‘King Of Pain’, ‘Every Breath You Take’ and ‘Message in A Bottle’ were interspersed with the known solo hits ‘If Ever I Lose My Faith In You’, ‘Englishman In New York’, ‘Russians’ and ‘Fields of Gold’ and the lesser known ‘My Ain True Love’ and ‘A Thousand Years’.
Sting is also using these shows to bring to life two songs that never really made it. ‘End of the Game’ was a 1999 b-side and ‘All Would Envy’ was an outtake from the same ‘Brand New Day’ sessions.
What goes into a Sting song and comes out the speaker at the other end is rarely documented in the press. The greatest thing about this show for me was that we got to learn something about Sting the songwriter and performer as opposed to the inane interviewers questions he is most often subjected to asking about him about tantric sex and Australia table wines.
Sting explained how love songs can be divided into two categories – “I love you and you love me” which is boring and “I love you and you love somebody else” which is interesting.
The song ‘Russians’ came around the time of Reagan and the Cold War between the USA and Russia. He told the story of watching Russian television one day and seeing a children’s program. He noticed the care and detail that went into the production and from that realized that “the reason we didn’t blow each other up was because we both had a stake in the future for our children”.
The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra gave a spin-chilling dynamic performance during ‘Russians’.
Johnny Cash once covered ‘Hung My Head’. Sting said it vindicated him as a country songwriter. As for saying “Skippy the Bush Kangaroo was not a Western”, well lets not debate that on Australian soil Mr. Sumner.
On ‘Why Should I Cry’ he told the story of how his dad wanted him to “go to sea” because he wanted him to see the world. He said he later took a job as a singer on a cruise ship “I fucking hated it,” he said.
‘Tomorrow We’ll See’ was his other song about a prostitute but this time it is about a male transsexual. He said he was originally uncomfortable with the story but a voice told him to not be so judgmental. The character could be anyone in another life and another set of circumstances.
Sting’s remaining Australian and New Zealand dates are:
January 31 and February 1, Sydney, Opera House Concert Hall
February 3 and 4, Sydney, Opera House Forecourt
February 5, Hunter Valley, Hope Estate Winery
February 7, Brisbane, The Riverstage
February 10, Christchurch, Canterbury Arena
February 12, Napier, Mission Winery
Check out the Undercover Photo Gallery from the Melbourne show.
The setlist from Melbourne, January 27, 2011 was:
If I Ever Lose My Faith In You (From Ten Summoner’s Tales, 1993)
Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic (from Ghost In The Machine, The Police, 1981)
Englishman In New York (from Nothing Like The Sun, 1987)
Roxanne (from Outlandos D’Amour, The Police, 1978)
Straight To My Heart (from Nothing Like The Sun, 1987)
When We Dance (from Fields of Gold, 1994)
Russians (from The Dream of the Blue Turtles, 1985)
I Hung My Head (from Mercury Falling, 1996)
Shape Of My Heart (From Ten Summoner’s Tales, 1993)
Why Should I Cry For You (from The Soul Cages, 1991)
Whenever I Say Your Name (from Sacred Love, 2003)
Fields of Gold (From Ten Summoner’s Tales, 1993)
Next To You (from Outlandos D’Amour, The Police, 1978)
Interval:
A Thousand Years (from Brand New Day, 1999)
Tomorrow We’ll See (from Brand New Day, 1999)
Moon Over Bourbon Street (from The Dream of the Blue Turtles, 1985)
End of the Game (Brand New Day single b-side, 1999)
You Will Be My Ain True Love (from Cold Mountain soundtrack, 2003)
All Would Envy (outtake from Brand New Day, 1999)
Mad About You (from The Soul Cages, 1991)
King Of Pain (from Synchronicity, The Police, 1983)
Every Breath You Take (from Synchronicity, The Police, 1983)
Encores:
Desert Rose (from Brand New Day, 1999)
She’s Too Good For Me (From Ten Summoner’s Tales, 1993)
Fragile (from Nothing Like The Sun, 1987)
Message In A Bottle (from Regatta D’Blanc, The Police, 1979)
