A Knockout Performance by Sting at the Auditorium...

Chicago’s Auditorium Theatre has more than 3,800 seats, and almost every last one of them was filled this past Monday night as Sting — the ever remarkable singer, bass guitarist, songwriter and audience charmer (now 73, and looking fit as a fiddle) — took to the stage for two hours of his terrific music, along with ideal accompaniment from guitarist Dominic Miller and drummer Chris Maas.

Sting’s performance of more than 20 songs (a number of them from his days as the lead artist of The Police, that wonderful English rock band) had the audience on its feet. People moved to the classic melodies and memorable lyrics (although at moments the amplified sound muffled some of his wonderful lyrics).

The songs performed on the “Sting 3.0” tour are timeless; almost all are about the many manifestations of love and loss, desire and despair. Sting’s ideally matched music and emotionally revealing lyrics, along with his distinctive voice and subtle sense of rhythm, remain captivating. (For one brief moment in the show he also made a very timely but subtle political comment that earned him ideally deserved applause.)

The concert, with such classics as “Mad About You,” “Never Coming Home, “Shape of My Heart,” “Every Breath You Take” and “Roxanne,” was a reminder of the way wonderful songs never lose their magic. And the abstract projections on the back wall of the stage artfully captured the songs’ moods.

Serving as the warmup act for the first part of the evening was ELEW (aka Eric River Lewis), a most unusual pianist of jazz, rock and pop music. He never sat on a bench, but rather played the piano standing up, with one leg bent at the knee and the other stretched behind him, and one arm reaching into the instrument so he could pluck the strings. Quite a feat.

(c) WTTW News by Hedy Weiss

“Every Little Thing He Does Is Magic”: Sting’s “3.0” Auditorium Theatre starter is a charm...

The idea of Sting returning to a trio configuration, even if wasn’t in the reunited format of The Police, was potentially thrilling enough that it sparked no less than four shows at the landmark Auditorium Theatre.

As far as the local “3.0” Tour kick-off was concerned, it was indeed a charm and very much worth whatever it costs to catch the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer on either October 29, November 1, November 2 or as many dates as possible.

That’s because the nearly two-hour set isn’t only stocked with solo smashes and his previous band’s best, but there seem to be at least a few subtle changes whenever the singer/bassist, longtime guitarist Dominic Miller and drummer Chris Maas (Mumford & Sons, Maggie Rogers) get together.

The 73-year-old legend sounded and looked superb as he sent a “Message In A Bottle” and wondered “If I Ever Lose My Faith In You” with the latter’s trademark line, “you could say I’d lost my belief in our politicians,” earning a particularly hearty cheer.

Nonetheless, the sold out house put their trust exclusively towards this “Englishman In New York,” well, more like the Windy City, though the geography was quickly forgotten as he cast the spell of “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic.”
 

Sting also explored a handful of album-oriented tracks from the 1980s, ‘90s and 2000s, including “Never Coming Home,” “Mad About You,” “Seven Days” and “I Burn For You,” plus debuted the entirely new romantic rocker “I Wrote Your Name (Upon My Heart).”

The Police pulled up in the rearview mirror again come “Walking On The Moon” and “So Lonely,” followed by his own world beat-flavored “Desert Rose” leading the way to the group’s iconic “King Of Pain, “Every Breath You Take” and of course “Roxanne.”

As is customary, Sting calmed everyone down with the gentle, almost lullaby-like strums of “Fragile,” surely sending them home feeling rejuvenated after having encountered the superstar in this somewhat intimate and exceptional setting. 

(c) Chicagoconcertreviews.com by Andy Argyrakis