A former Police Officer without a brace...

In October 2019, Sting performed at the Arkéa Arena and delighted the Bordeaux crowd. To everyone's surprise, he "benefited" from a brace following an accident in Paris a few days earlier, forcing the former police officer to abandon his bass guitar in favour of an additional musician.

Three years later, the Englishman, now in his seventies, returns to finish the "My Songs" tour, which was cut short by Covid, offering a few variations to the set list while maintaining a core of legendary hits, each more famous than the last.

Joe, 45, is the lead singer of the band Fiction Plane and, incidentally, the son of Gordon, better known as Sting. For this new French tour, Jo is opening for his father and will deliver a folk-solo performance that becomes interesting on the last two tracks. Entertaining while waiting for the former Police frontman

At 8:45 pm, he takes the stage to the sounds of "Message In a Bottle," "Englishman In New York," and "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic." Suffice it to say, Sting sets the bar high from the start, even if it takes a good fifteen minutes for his voice to really get going! The opening is different from 2019, as are the following three tracks from last year's album "The Bridge." The concert becomes electric as soon as the singer performs songs from the Police (who performed from 1978 to 1983) or when he's accompanied by his talented musicians. As proof, backing vocalist Gene Noble stuns hearts with his velvety voice ("Shape Of My Heart"), as does harmonica player Shane Sager when he imitates Stevie Wonder on "Brand New Day." Motown gives way to reggae with a revisitation of "Walking On the Moon" / "So Lonely," which includes a snippet of Bob Marley ("No Woman No Cry"). Suffice it to say that musical class matches Sting's physical class, proudly displaying his 71st birthday with the silhouette of a young man in a tight T-shirt. The singer briefly shares his story in French and introduces the musicians twice with undisguised pride.

"Desert Rose" is captivating as Jo Sumner returns to the stage to assist her father with the encore. "King of Pain" is pleasant but not up to the standard of "Wrapped Around Your Finger," performed in 2019, which won the Palme d'Or of the concert on the "Diego live!!!" scale. For the finale, Sting skips "Russians" (probably in connection with current political events) and closes his set with the timeless "Roxanne" and his most beautiful solo song, "Fragile." An acoustic guitar sound instantly recognizable...

His enormous career reveals uneven releases of hits that have been sorely lacking since the early 2000s. Where have the groovy "If You Love Somebody" and the melody of "Fields of Gold" (performed tonight) gone from his recent albums? Nevertheless, the singer ventures into all musical styles (pop, rock, jazz, reggae, etc.) and his performances live up to a partly legendary discography. A universal artist who's always a pleasure to revisit.

(c) Luxe Infinity