Sting brings his solo and Police hits – and his physique – to Toronto

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Sting
Budweiser Stage
Tuesday night
RATING: (***1/2 out of four)

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Sting struck quite the impressive figure on Tuesday night as he opened his hour-and-45-minute show on a sweltering late summer evening at Budweiser Stage with his Police hit Message in a Bottle.

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The 71-year-old’s toned arms, among other things, stood out as Sting and his six piece band — which grew to seven when his son and opening act Joe Sumner later joined dad for another Police classic King Of Pain and his three backup singers for Every Breath You Take — brought the massive crowd to its feet early and often.

Let’s put it this way, Sting may be the only person to wear white pants after Labour Day and get a pass.

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Magnificent physique aside, the musician was in great voice too as he took the audience through his biggest solo and Police hits as part of his My Songs World Tour and reminisced about such early Toronto stops with his former New Wave band at both the Horseshoe and The Edge.

“Toronto, how are you?” asked the charismatic musician.

The show, otherwise, was propelled by such standout solo songs as Englishman in New York, If You Love Somebody Set Them Free, If I Ever Lose My Faith in You, Fields of Gold, Shape of My Heart (with special mention to Dominic Miller’s beautiful guitar playing), Desert Rose, and Fragile and Police chart-toppers Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic, Walking on The Moon, Every Breath You Take, and Roxanne.

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Sting even mixed in some early reggae influences as he inserted Bob Marley’s No Woman No Cry into The Police’s early hit So Lonely.

He also joked about his home in the English countryside — “It’s really a castle” — and claimed if anyone stopped by he’d make them tea.

I’d be the first in line.

Most of all though, as he ran through many but not all of his major hits, you couldn’t help but be impressed by the 17-time Emmy winner’s back catalogue and wish he’d played even more.

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SET LIST

Message in a Bottle

Englishman in New York

Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic

If You Love Somebody Set Them Free

If I Ever Lose My Faith in You

Loving You

Fields of Gold

Brand New Day

Heavy Cloud No Rain

Shape of My Heart

Why Should I Cry for You?

All This Time

Mad About You

Walking on the Moon

So Lonely / No Woman No Cry

Desert Rose

King of Pain

Every Breath You Take

ENCORE

Roxanne

Fragile

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