Sting enjoyed the intrigue of his lyrics...

"I don't want to end up as a bald guy in Vegas singing Roxanne in a suit," Sting, who rose to world fame in the band The Police, threatened in 1981.

The fear has not entirely come true regarding hair loss, but he last sang in Las Vegas in June, Roxanne is on the 'Symphonicities' tour program and the singer's suit is very elegant.

The soon-to-be 59-year-old star easily enchanted the arena audience with his charisma and extremely skilled singing.

He was at his most impressive in the last extra, without accompaniment.

There was a symphony orchestra, but in most songs the most important part of the arrangement was left to the quartet, which included a drummer playing rice sticks, a bassist alternating between electric and double bass, a guitarist alternating between acoustic and electric guitar, and Sting himself. The star himself occasionally grabbed a small acoustic and played it well.

The English term "vanity project" came to mind. Why have, for example, five double bassists if the electric bassist is the only one who stands out in the mix? A symphony orchestra is a formidable weapon, but now it was underused and poorly amplified. The tinny nature of the orchestration did decrease, however, when I moved to a side, basically worse place during the extras.

Sting introduced the orchestra under the name "Royal Philharmonic", and it is true that the website of the legendary London Royal Philharmonic Orchestra also sells crossover-style services of this "Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra". Quality players had been brought in, starting with a fine clarinetist.

The 'Symphonicities' concept worked best when the orchestral arrangements approached the most entertaining jazz and big band feel.

Sting knows that world as well as J.S. Bach's baroque music, which he says he plays every day, but he doesn't imagine anyone would agree to pay to listen to his Bach playing.

However, Sting has earned his pay for singing his own songs.

At first, Sting seemed to be singing his old hits, such as 'Roxanne', 'Russians' and 'Englishman in New York', in a routine manner. The only reminder of his early punk interest was 'Next To You', where the electric guitarist got to riff a bit.

After the intermission, the concert became more interesting. Moon Over Bourbon Street skilfully recycled the most familiar horror imagery and even more interestingly Sting came to life in the song Tomorrow We'll See, which contains the philosophizing of a transvestite prostitute.

'All Would Envy' also received an excellent interpretation, which is like a sequel to the Lolita story of the hit 'Don't Stand So Close To Me'. And finally, we also heard the signature melody of every control freak, Every Breath You Take.

Perhaps the best re-arrangement, however, was 'King of Pain', which is the most straightforward of Sting's depictions of self-pity.

Completely unexpectedly, the rhythmic suction was briefly even brought to the level of the ancient band The Police.

(c) Helsingin Sanomat by Vesa Sirén