Sting - Be Yourself No Matter What They Say

At the stroke of half past nine, with the precision of a Japanese express train, the first notes of a concert by one of Britain's greatest musical legends began. Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner, better known by his stage name Sting, was at that moment about to play a ninety-minute set at Prague's Metronome music festival.

Those who have seen Sting more than once understand his genre evolution as something that logically accompanies the life of an intelligent rocker who has had a difficult childhood and complex personal development. A superbly equipped vocalist, for whom it is no problem to play the whole show on bass guitar and cut a challenging part on the spaniel at the end. A skilled songwriter and lyricist who handled the transition from being a member of The Police to a solo career with aplomb. A writer and occasional actor who can make fun of himself. That's Sting at 60.

The concert was supposed to be a promo for the new 57th & 9th album, but it's not. The main new hit "I Can't Stop Loving You" is played at the end of the night as part of the encore, fueled by the megahit "Every Breath You Take" (Synchronicity, 1983). Along with "50,000", these are the only things from the current album. Compared to the tried-and-true songs from the eighties, nineties, and even late seventies, they seem a bit out of place, as if they lack the hallmark of innovation and musical rebellion. But they do not spoil the overall impression of the concert. Sting has a lot to offer. In a blue T-shirt, jeans, with a tea cup propped up on a wire, he alternates slow and brisk songs from the Police era with those he released solo. Aside from the band's introduction and a few coyly whispered "Prague," the show dispenses with moderation and political or activist proclamations, which is sympathetic. Virtually everything important and essential from Sting's oeuvre will be played, except perhaps some hilarious jazz fusions from his collaboration with American saxophonist Branford Marsalis. There is "If I Ever Loose My Faith In You", "Englishman In New York", "Shape Of My Heart" and "Spirits In The Material World". The band plays confidently, with gusto, and the family ties between the members apparently help the interplay. A refreshing touch is the plucked harmonica replacing the keyboards, which comes into its own in "She's Too Good For Me" (The Summoner's Tales, 1993). But for me the highlight of the evening is "Roxanne" (Outlandos d'Amour, 1978) by The Police, which documents Sting's influence on the development of music over the last four decades. The twangy stumbles and hoarse tenor are probably not indicative of the disrespect for authority that accompanied the wave of new wave and punk, yet the genius of these combined elements symbolizes the "musicianly defiance" of Sting and The Police. Counterpoint, the use of odd time signatures, and simple harmonic lines without instrumental equivalencies are the hallmarks of Sting's musical expression. The audience is satisfied and clearly having a good time.

When the show seems to have ended with a cheerful encore, we get an extra encore in the form of "Fragile" (Nothing Like The Sun, 1988). A fragile ballad containing a touching story crowns the piece. Sting and his six bandmates managed to create a great atmosphere for the nearly ten thousand spectators who not only applauded enthusiastically and lit up their mobile phones, but also took away a great musical experience.