Sting – Les Francofolies de La Rochelle...

For those lucky enough to have had the opportunity to attend a concert on The Police Reunion Tour, you have to go back to 2007-2008. This tour marked the 30th anniversary of one of the most versatile trios in rock history. Reggae, jazz, punk (although... but come on...), pop-rock (I hate that AOC!), Gordon, Andy, and Stewart could play it all without straining. You only have to listen to the first three albums of the coolest police station in the world again to realize the virtuosity of its musicians. A benchmark even today. A historic tour, then, with a huge success, and everyone then went back to their own business.

And then there was the announcement from the Francofolies de La Rochelle, which, for the first date of its 2024 edition, will feature Sting as its opening night headliner. Okay, that's cool, Sting is first and foremost the former bassist/vocalist of the aforementioned Police, with a solo career featuring albums that are all different from each other but always composed and produced with finesse and musicality. I'm not talking about sales figures; that's not the point at all, and we couldn't care less here.

An outstanding musician who hasn't really been in the news, when you really analyze it. And when you dig a little online and discover that this 2024 "Sting 3.0" tour is "reduced" to a trio format, it immediately clicks! The idea of seeing on-stage a formula that could bring back the good memories of Police, we immediately realize that the show is not to be missed under any circumstances, that's really cool! And Wednesday July 10 we attended a really cool show, during this 40th edition of the Francos de la Rochelle.

At 11 p.m., the esplanade of the Jean-Loup Foulquier stage is packed, it's nice and warm, and there's a certain excitement in the audience. The tension is palpable. With a Stratocaster slung over his shoulder, Dominic Miller enters the stage and starts the fabulous intro to "Voices Inside My Head," supported a few seconds later by the sprawling drummer Chris Maas. The sound of his snare drum is super clean, a delight. Sting enters the stage last, thunderous applause is heard, the bassist knows he's already done his job, and off we go for a 1.5-hour concert. The classics that everyone knows by heart follow, "Message In The Bottle/If I Ever Lose My Faith In You/Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic/Englishman In New York," the audience gets what they want and gives back to the musicians.

The overall sound is impeccable, the musical lines of each instrument are perfectly defined, the interpretation is flawless, the whole thing is more than well-rehearsed. We really have the impression of listening to the Englishman's singles in concert, as if we were at home. In comparison, I always felt the same thing when listening to Pink Floyd's superb "Delicate Sound Of Thunder". A studio album played live. Each note in its place, played to the millimeter. The rest of the festivities will only reinforce this impression, "Fields of Gold/Driven To Tears/Can't Stand Losing You" mixed with the pseudo-instrumental "Reggatta De Blanc", "I'm Mad About You", and the emblematic reggae of "Walking On The Moon".

As midnight approaches, "So Lonely" bursts onto the set list, and the music video, which was more than fun for the time, comes back to mind. Dominic Miller, who has accompanied Sting since the album "Soul Cages," is simply brilliant. His sonic palette is enormous, his touch is very personal, and the sound of his Strat is reminiscent of Andy Summer. Here, it's the guitarist writing these lines, drooling as he listens to each riff played with precision. Chris Maas, newly installed behind the drums, is simply breath-taking.

The Mumford & Sons drummer is the ideal rhythm partner for Sting, and as the show progresses, we feel that at several points it would take nothing more for the band to transform into a jazz-rock fusion power trio that would send everything spinning out of control, musically speaking. We can feel our necks and sticks itching. Sting's bass becomes a backbone, and his distinctive voice has lost nothing and has stood the test of time. But hey, there's a show to be done, Sting is there, he's the boss, and he constantly highlights the talented musicians who accompany him on this tour.

The superb "King of Pain" and the hit "Every Breath You Take" punctuate the seventeen songs of the set before giving way to the encore of the iconic "Roxanne," and the gripping finale with Sting going acoustic on the intense "Fragile" from "Nothing Like the Sun." It was on this moving note that the trio left the stage after a concert of relative humility, without any embellishment, and a naked display of an artist who, despite everything, has nothing left to prove artistically. The trio formula itself sums up the man's entire career.

Thank you, sir, for this wonderful moment spent in complete intimacy, with a guy who prefers tea to coffee.

(c) No Name Radio