Sting at Chambord, a majestic concert in an enchanting setting: we were there...

An unchanging voice and figure. A cascade of hits from his solo career and his Police days, in rock versions, with the incredible façade of the Château de Chambord in the background (despite heavy scaffolding on the tops)... Sting gave a spectacular concert on Tuesday, June 28th.

While he no longer leaps across the stage like in the heyday of his former rock trio, The Police, his voice, his appearance, and his charisma retain a bold freshness and youthfulness. Sting, 70, one of the most famous English singers and bassists in the world of rock—and beyond—for over forty years, gave a memorable show on Tuesday, June 28th, just a stone's throw from the Château de Chambord, in front of over 20,000 spectators.

Originally scheduled for 2020, but postponed twice due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the concert by the co-founder and songwriter of The Police was finally held in the regal setting of the "Chambord Live" festival. He succeeded three bands and artists who had been performing since the afternoon, including his own son Joe Sumner, who performed a set combining pop, folk, and French-language secrets, and whose voice sometimes reminded us of his famous father.

Initially, Sting's 2020 tour was supposed to closely follow the release of an album entitled My Songs (2019), for which the singer re-recorded several of his hits, both from his Police era and his solo career. Much of this revisited repertoire made up the setlist for the Chambord concert, supplemented by three songs from his latest album, The Bridge (2021).

Sting, wearing a yellow jacket over a red and black striped T-shirt, kicks off his set with a vengeance with Message in a Bottle, one of the flagship tracks from the Police album Regatta de Blanc (1979), an absolute classic recreated with the original rock intent. It's a far cry from the slow, stripped-down, rubato (freed from rhythmic constraints) guitar-voice version that the artist used to perform on stage in the early years of his solo career. The concert is all about rock, groove, beautiful improvisations from the group, and tributes to the aesthetics Sting loves. The singer continues with Englishman in New York, a nod to jazz and a huge solo hit, where the harmonica replaces Branford Marsalis' soprano saxophone, followed by a marvel from the Police era, Every Little Thing She Does is Magic. Enough to deeply move those over (twice) twenty.

Sting has surrounded himself with a powerful and eclectic band featuring artists with whom he has already performed in recent years, led by guitarist Dominic Miller, a loyal partner for thirty years, but also the latter's son, Rufus Miller, also on guitar, the excellent Shane Sager on harmonica, Zach Jones on drums, Kevon Webster on keyboards and vocal soloists: Joe Sumner - this tour is also a family affair -, Melissa Musique and especially Gene Noble whose airy vibes and velvet voice will cause a sensation later on Shape of my Heart. In the meantime, Sting, with his feline silhouette and warm smile, continues his festival of gems with If You Love Somebody Set Them Free, a big groove sound that was Sting's first solo single, still effective 37 years after its release, with its invigorating arrangements, its choruses and its refrain that makes the audience sway. Meanwhile, as night gradually falls, the Château de Chambord changes color according to the concert lighting: parma, peach, sky blue, vermilion...

After a series of songs from the latest album The Bridge (including the opening track Rushing Water), Sting reminds us of a 1993 gem, Seven Days and his "Thousand Rainy Days" in the final seconds, a nice self-quotation from Every Little Thing She Does is Magic... Two other big hits from this era (Ten Summoner's Tales album), Shape of my Heart with its famous melancholic guitar intro (the song was used for the film Léon de Besson), and of course Fields of Gold, delight the crowd. In this 21st century, one sign is sure to attest to the popularity of a song: a tide of smartphones rises above heads from the first notes. For a few seconds, we think back with nostalgia to that distant era when cell phones did not exist and you had to hide your camera ingeniously if you hoped to bring back a stolen image of your idol's concert. We think about it for a few seconds... and then we take out our smartphone.

Sting revisits different musical universes with two songs from 1999: Brand New Day and its Motown spirit (Stevie Wonder plays harmonica on the album, replaced here by Shane Sager), Desert Rose and its oriental sounds, and he slips some Bob Marley into a wild sequence of cult Police tracks, the reggae "Walking on the Moon" and "So Lonely." We also enjoy "Wrapped Around Your Finger," sung completely differently from the 1983 version, and the beloved "King of Pain," followed by the classic "Every Breath You Take," the third (and not the least) single from the Police's sublime album Synchronicity, as the official finale to the concert.

Two encores close the set: "Roxanne," a cult track from the Police's early days, with its famous rock guitar intro, whose audience sings along to the chorus while red lighting reproduces the song's "red light"; and finally the poetic Fragile (1987), for which Sting accompanies himself on an acoustic guitar, with the reinforcement of a violin and a backing vocalist. "Thank you! Goodbye!" the English singer says in French, at 10:56 p.m., to a delighted audience.

The audience will have crossed paths, with a good proportion of spectators between forties and sixties. Among the spectators interviewed before the concert, many live in the region and seized the opportunity of this mini-festival in a dreamlike setting to discover Sting on stage. Bernard-Yves, who lives 10 km away, has been listening to Sting for a long time. "I have at least four or five CDs at home. He's a very beautiful character, very committed, in addition to his music. I know Sting visited the castle earlier. I tried to get in but I didn't have the right tickets!" he laughs. A little further away, three friends, Amélie, Valérie, and Julie, aged 30 to 40, were jubilant before the kickoff. Originally from Blois, they had booked these tickets as a birthday present for one of them, Valérie, in 2020, before the pandemic. Meanwhile, blonde and friendly Amélie moved to Nantes but came back especially for the occasion: "The big thrill is seeing him at Chambord. Sting is someone who is good for the ears. And we need that!"

A family from Limoges—a couple and their teenage son—caught everyone's attention: the mother, Nathalie, was sporting a Sting T-shirt: "I just bought it when I arrived!" The father, Régis, was a musician: "Originally, I loved Clapton, and when he did a song with Sting, It's Probably Me, I fell in love with Sting, his voice, his bass! But I already loved Police! I saw Sting in concert a long time ago in Cognac." Even people who don't know his discography in detail appreciate his music and admire the man. "Sting inspires great respect in me; he cares about what's going on around him, the world, the planet," explains Flo. His neighbor, Jess, with a smile and sparkling eyes, has just arrived from Hellfest.

At the end of the show, longtime fans expressed their joy. Fans since 1982, Sébastien and Éveline were thrilled. "We knew all the songs. And in a venue like this, it's majestic," smiled the latter. "We saw a big star today," enthused Bruno, who had never applauded Sting on stage before. "I saw him in concert with the Police in Royan, under a big top, in 1980, I was twenty years old," recalled his friend Philippe, who hadn't seen him since. The two friends, who live in the region, admitted to being moved more than once during the concert. Three other, younger friends, a few meters away, who live in Loir-et-Cher and who discovered Sting on stage, shared the same smile. "Sound-wise, honestly, it was great, compared to concerts we do in Paris, or at the Stade de France where there are echo problems," observes one of them, also named Bruno, with a broad smile. "And the setting is superb." The only downside to this idyllic scene: the monstrous traffic jams leaving the venue. Just to get out of the parking lot after the show, the wait was just interminable.

After Chambord, Sting will play several French dates: Printemps de Pérouges (June 29), Main Square Festival (July 1), Nancy (July 3), Nîmes (July 4), and the Poupet Festival (July 12). He will then tour Europe before returning to France in October and November.

(c) Magcentre.fr by Jean-Luc Vezon