Sting keeps fans on their toes – and feet – at first of five Massey Hall shows

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Sting

Massey Hall

Friday night

RATING ***1/2 (3.5 out of four)
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Sting brought a power trio to Massey Hall on Friday night to launch an impressive run of five shows at the celebrated venue but it wasn’t the power trio you might have expected.

The British singer-bassist, who first broke through back in the late ‘70s as the commanding frontman of New Wave act The Police with guitarist Andy Summers and drummer Stewart Copeland at his side, is currently playing with longtime guitarist Dominic Miller – “he’s been with me for 35 years,” said Sting – and drummer Chris Maas on this stripped-down trek he’s calling the Sting 3.0 Tour.

The roadtrip sees the age-defying 72-year-old playing multiple nights in theatres of each city he visits and Sting was sure to mention on Friday night that he first played Massey Hall back in 1980 – “44 years ago” – not to mention the Horseshoe and the Edge before that.

“Who was there?” the singer asked of the various Toronto shows.

When the crowd screamed in the affirmative, Sting playfully chided: “You’re all liars!”

The idea this time out seems to be to loosen things up a bit with some jams and solos, changing song tempos and some unexpected songs in the middle of the hour-and-50-minute show that had lots of audience participation.

That’s where Miller, who Sting called “the archivist,” came in as his guitar led off a couple of surprise tunes including Why Should I Cry For You?, which is about Sting’s father with whom he had a difficult relationship.

With just the three musicians, along with some graphics and lights on stage but not much else, the focus really was on Sting as he began the show with The Police classic Message in A Bottle.

The vocals were a little too upfront off the top but by the second tune, If I Ever Lose My Faith In You, the mix had been fixed.

Hit after hit followed, both of solo and The Police variety, like Englishman in New York, Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic, Fields of Gold, All This Time, Driven To Tears, Can’t Stand Losing You, Walking On The Moon, So Lonely, King of Pain, Every Breath You Take, and the first encore song, Roxanne.

But there was almost more power in the “quiet and thoughtful” moments like the gorgeous Shape of My Heart, powered by Miller’s guitar, the Arabic-influenced Desert Rose with Sting subtly getting in some dance moves behind his bass – hips really don’t lie – and the show ending Fragile with the Hall of Famer on acoustic guitar.

Despite his yoga-toned body, Sting proved himself to be human too, sitting down on a stool for a few songs – Never Coming Home and Mad About You.

He also introduced a new single, I Wrote Your Name upon My Heart, that he described as both “romantic and noisy.”

The Sting 3.0 Tour was scheduled to return to Massey Hall Saturday and Sunday nights before taking a break Monday and then returning Tuesday and Wednesday.

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SET LIST

Message in a Bottle (The Police song)

If I Ever Lose My Faith in You

Englishman in New York

Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic (The Police song)

Fields of Gold

Never Coming Home

Mad About You

Why Should I Cry For You?

All This Time

Driven to Tears (The Police song)

Can’t Stand Losing You (The Police song)

I Wrote Your Name

Shape of My Heart

Walking on the Moon (The Police song)

So Lonely (The Police song)

Desert Rose

King of Pain (The Police song)

Every Breath You Take (The Police song)

ENCORE:

Roxanne (The Police song)

Fragile