The Mutual Admiration Society

I've been absent from my blog for awhile but am once again inspired by another artist so I must emote my lovelies.   I want to share my experience seeing STING at the Commodore Ballroom in Vancouver, BC.   For people not familiar this venue holds a mere 1000 people - quite an intimate setting for such a big name.

I saw the Police back in 1983 at the Pacific Coliseum and sat in the nosebleeds happy just to be there at 17. In 1992 I saw Sting solo, again at the Coliseum for the Fields of Gold tour. In 2001 I saw him at what is now Roger's Arena and then again there in 2004 with Annie Lennox.   Annie stole the show that night.  Although always a huge fan even the most hardcore fan can get put off by Sting as he does have a reputation of being a perfectionist, self-indulgent - bit of a Prick really. Wednesday night was NONE of that - it was phenomenal. He appeared to have a genuine affection for Vancouver and when the crowd was particularly appreciative of a song he said, "...and that's why you start a tour in Vancouver."  He genuinely appeared to love us as much as we loved him.

The greatest surprise of the evening was him nonchalantly strolling onto the stage when the lights went down casually bantering like an MC.   He let us know the plan for the night - he would sing a song, then the opening band, then his son, Joe Sumner and finally in his own words, "then the old man will come and finish things up."   At 65 Sting is nobody's definition of an old man!   He has energy and better muscle tone than I have seen on men in their 30s.   He was funny. His voice was ON POINT. He treated the opening act, his fellow-band mates, and his son, with total respect. We were lucky enough to score a table off to the right of the stage, close enough for a great view but also far enough to act of a bit of a buffer from the enthusiastic crowd. I really debated shelling out this much money for a concert especially with no guarantee of which facet of Sting's personality would make an appearance. I made the right decision. I would not trade the experience of Sting at my favourite venue for anything in the world. What made it even sweeter was our friends/neighbours who had  a) never seen Sting live or b) never been to the Commodore, were with us - and I told them they are now ruined for regular concerts. The opening act, "The Last Bandoleros," had great energy, their sound unique and their voices flawless - and who doesn't enjoy music that includes a squeezebox?   I enjoyed them so much I bought their CD.  Joe Sumner, Sting's son, a younger, taller, better looking version of his Dad with a voice smooth as silk.   He only sang a couple of songs which was enough to leave a good impression. I am very pleased I had the good fortune to score tickets and commend the way in which they were sold.  The scalpers were foiled because no tickets were issued.  Entry was granted by scanning the credit card you bought the tickets on and your Identification - if ONLY they had done this for THE HIP. I likely won't see Sting play again and am at peace with that given it was such an amazing performance.   I do look forward to seeing the others again.

When I was asked how the concert was I responded, "transcendent," and that was no exaggeration.