{"id":2190,"date":"2023-02-25T21:57:00","date_gmt":"2023-02-25T10:57:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/greatgigs.com.au\/?p=2190"},"modified":"2024-05-30T12:27:35","modified_gmt":"2024-05-30T02:27:35","slug":"21-sumners-tales-sting-at-mt-duneed-estate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/greatgigs.com.au\/index.php\/2023\/02\/25\/21-sumners-tales-sting-at-mt-duneed-estate\/","title":{"rendered":"21 Sumner\u2019s Tales – Sting at Mt Duneed Estate #1"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Saturday 25 Feb, 2023<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Looking way too svelte for a 71-year-old, in a striped tee and his faithful boots, Sting<\/strong> only needs three things to win over this soaked Mt Duneed crowd\u2026 his legendary \u2018carved-by-use\u2019 57 Fender Precision bass, those songs and THAT voice.

The \u2018My Songs\u2019 tour marks his first time back in Australia since he visited with his old mate Paul Simon<\/strong> eight years ago where they co-headlined each date and this time it is all about the songs that still resonate for him and those he has deepest personal connection to.

Putting the legacy of The Police<\/strong> aside for a moment, as a solo artist Sting has released an incredible 51 singles, and with a back catalogue amassed since 1977 (and recently sold to WMG for a staggering $250 million), it must always be a quandary to cover all bases, but tonight he gives it a great crack, taking the time to showcase what he considers are the real contenders. A 21 song career-spanning set with 9 Police classics woven into the mix.

With an enviable opening three-song\u2019 salvo of \u2018Message in a Bottle\u2019, \u2018An Englishman In New York\u2019 and \u2018Everything Little Thing She Does Is Magic\u2019, he masterfully sets the tone of the evening, prowling both sides of the stage, whelping up his crack band and the audience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2018Englishman In New York\u2019 provides a brilliant showcase for the youngest member of the band, the talented Shane Sager<\/strong> on harmonica who effortlessly carries the breezy lilt of the track. The middle tub-thumping section of the track is the first test of our\u2019 Woooo-oooohs\u2019. We\u2019re on point and Sting nods his approval. We\u2019re off to a stellar start and it bodes well for a great night. As we all sing along, thoughts of the light rain are all but forgotten. \u201cEverything Little Thing\u2019 instantly transports us back to 1981 and with eyes closed it could easily be Andy Summers<\/strong>, Stewart Copeland<\/strong> and Sting<\/strong> onstage.

\u201cWell thank you! Thanks for the weather\u2026 I feel right at home here in the rain!<\/em> (Chuckles)\u2026\u201d Sting takes a few minutes to introduce the band.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A little anecdote to introduce the first of a stream of new songs.

\u201cSo you had a few hits there\u2026 you were very good, you sang along nicely, got all the words right\u2026 I\u2019m very pleased with you! But I\u2019ve got some bad news\u2026 I\u2019m gonna play some new songs\u2026 I know, I know!\u2026 no one wants to hear any new songs\u2026 but that\u2019s part of the deal though\u2026 you never know\u2026 might be a hit one day?\u2026 I mean how do you judge a hit right now? So many streaming services, all of these different download things, I don\u2019t know\u2026 Here\u2019s my definition of a hit\u2026 it\u2019s 1977, and I\u2019m woken up in a hotel room in the north of England\u2026 by a window cleaner whistling something that I recognise\u2026 My God! He\u2019s whistling \u2018Roxanne\u2019\u2026 now my friends\u2026 THAT\u2026 that is a hit! When the working people are whistling your song to get through their day, THAT\u2019S a hit. So with that in mind, I began this song with a whistle\u2026<\/em>\u201d

\u2018If It\u2019s Love\u2019 from 2021\u2019s \u2018The Bridge\u2019 follows. It\u2019s a sunny vibe with its cheery whistle refrain.

\u201cThank you\u2026 you see\u2026 that wasn\u2019t so bad after all\u2026 c\u2019mon! So I\u2019ve written many, many love songs in my life\u2026 I feel I\u2019m qualified! I\u2019ve been in love, I\u2019ve been out of love\u2026 I\u2019ve had my heart broken, I\u2019ve broken a few hearts myself. I\u2019m not some callow youth singing about something he knows not of\u2026 I have real estate there! But you know the most boring love song? \u201cI love you and you love me\u201d\u2026 That\u2019s a closed loop. There\u2019s no way inside that story\u2026 whereas\u2026 I love you but you love somebody ELSE\u2026 now that\u2019s interesting\u2026 It\u2019s painful but it\u2019s interesting\u2026 this is one of those songs.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The brooding, yearning \u2018Loving You\u2019 is next and is destined to become a classic in years to come. It\u2019s a showcase for the stunning vocal runs of backing vocalist Gene Noble<\/strong> and is reminiscent of the distant yearning and unrequited love so beautifully embodied in \u2018Don\u2019t Stand So Close To Me\u2019.

The snappy \u2018Rushing Water\u2019 is the third new song from \u201cThe Bridge\u2019 and keeps things ticking along nicely. It segues beautifully into \u2018If I Should Ever Lose My Faith In You\u2019. Familiarity has everyone back in the pocket.

\u201cAbout 36 years ago\u2026 I bought a little house in the english countryside. It was more of a castle really, but\u2026 one of the nice things about it is it\u2019s quite near to Stonehenge\u2026 you could walk to Stonehenge from my house\u2026 if you\u2019re ever in the area just knock on the door\u2026 three miles south, Judy will make you a cuppa tea\u2026 I\u2019ll be on tour\u2026 the other nice thing about the house is it\u2019s surrounded by barley fields\u2026 see where I\u2019m goin\u2019? and at harvest time it looks like there\u2019s a sea of gold all around that house\u2026 one day I thought, there\u2019s a song in there somewhere\u2026 and this is it.\u201d<\/em>

The gorgeous \u2018Fields Of Gold\u2019 from 1993\u2019s \u2018Ten Summoners Tales\u2019 follows with Dominic Miller<\/strong> on sublime acoustic guitar and the video screens now bathe the crowd in a warm gold glow and the backlit crowd sway as one to its romantic muse.

\u201cThis next song I wrote for the Millennium. Everybody was getting very anxious about the Millennium, they thought some disaster was gonna happen so I thought I\u2019d write something optimistic\u2026 This song is called \u2018Brand New Day\u2019\u2026 Now, one of my favourite parts of the recording is that Stevie Wonder<\/strong> played the harmonica on the introduction. We have a young man here who seems to be willing to step into those rather illustrious shoes\u2026\u201d To the crowd\u2019s delight, Shane Sager<\/strong> absolutely nails Stevie\u2019s intro.

\u201cThis next song is about a professional gambler\u2026 he\u2019s also something of a philosopher\u2026 but of course, all gamblers become philosophers eventually!\u201d

\u2018The Shape Of My Heart\u2019 that follows is another masterclass in acoustic meditation and metaphorical seduction. Gene Noble<\/strong> contributes a rapturous snippet of Juice WRLD<\/strong>‘s \u2018Lucid Dream\u2019 mid-section which absolutely stuns.

Next up is the thematically astute, \u2018Heavy Cloud, No Rain\u2019. It is a showcase for backing vocalist Melissa Musique<\/strong> who brings her best Aretha Franklin<\/strong>.
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\u201cOK\u2026 this song is for drummers\u2026 1,2,3,4,5\u2026  1,2,3,4,5\u2026\u201d<\/em>
It\u2019s \u2018Seven Days\u2019 which comes across super funky with drummer Zach Jones<\/strong> masterfully delivering the off-kilter backbeat. Sting\u2019s freeform bass licks on this are a delight too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Things take quite a different turn for the next track and it becomes apparent that tonight really is about \u2018His Songs\u2019. Sting introduces \u2018What Could Have Been\u2019, a track that he tells us was written for an animated Netflix TV Series called \u2018Arcane\u2019. We then watch him perform the track to a projected science fantasy anime clip. It proves a total tone change and palette cleanser from what\u2019s come before. It\u2019s massively cinematic with thunderous drums and long sustained chord progressions. From a visual perspective, the limitations of the two vertically letterboxed cameo screens at each end of the stage probably didn\u2019t do it sufficient justice. My curiosity was piqued and I went back today to revisit the original footage. And my hunch was confirmed. You can view the original footage in its intended 16:9 aspect here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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