STING BACK TO BASS TOUR: LIVE IN MANILA, DECEMBER 9, 2012 - An Absolute Blast

              Clad in a body-fit black long sleeved shirt and leather pants  revealing his fine physical form, the 61 year old acclaimed musical artist, environmental activist and former lead singer of the legendary Punk/New Wave band ,The Police, known by his stage name , Sting , breezed through  the 21- song set list of the Manila leg of his Back To Bass Tour smoothly and masterfully amidst  a S.R.O. audience in the  iconic  Araneta Coliseum.

                Sting (real name Gordon Sumner) delighted the audience by performing his  all-time classic hit songs including those from his days with The Police. The audience was up singing  and bouncing  with “If I Ever Lose My Faith In You,”   “Everything She Does Is Magic,” ”English Man In New York,” “Message In A Bottle,” ”Wrapped Around My Finger,”  DeDoDoDo, DeDaDaDa,” “Roxanne.” “King Of Pain” and of course with his most popular song,  “Every Breath You Take,” Grammy song of the year awarded in 1984.   The excellent rendition of non- radio hit songs such as The Police’s "Driven To Tears,"  “Next To  You” and  “Demolition Man” managed to pump-up the audience just as well.  Other popular Sting songs performed  were the following: “I Hung My Head,” “Seven Days,” “Fields Of Gold,” ”Heavy Cloud, No Rain,”  “Shape Of My Heart,” “The Hounds Of Winter” and “Dessert Rose”.  Curiously,  no track from his debut solo album, Dream Of The Blue Turtles,  was included in the set list.

             Playing bass all night, for the final song Sting switched to guitar ,  rendering  a more personal touch to the song “Fragile.”  A   song about our  very own mortality.  He dedicated the song to the victims of the destructive  typhoon Pablo which ravaged Mindanao, claiming hundreds of lives just few days before the concert .

The  sold-out concert lasted more than two hours  with  Sting’s  superb physical conditioning very evident as he glided through it  seemingly effortless. His powerful voice was in perfect form, soaring easily to the high notes. The band’s  performance was spotless and  though  it was a Sting affair each band members  was  given the  opportunity  to shine and strut their wares on several occasions. Particularly memorable for me was the haunting voice and the   extended wailing  of the female back-up singer in  “The Hounds of Winter” reminiscent of Pinkfloyd's " The Great Gig In The Sky;" and  when the violinist shifted to 'hyper' mode, he really 'rocks'. The band also did a highly  entertaining instrumental jamming  towards the latter part of the concert.            

  All the ingredients for a memorable night of live concert were present last night.  The coliseum was packed to the rafters with more than 10,000  highly enthusiastic  audience. The audio was exceptionally sounding  clean, crisp and very clear... and  most important of all was Sting and his band’s virtuoso performance. The show was an absolute blast, a fitting ending to cap a memorable   year of concerts  in the  Araneta Coliseum.

Set list:

If I Ever Lose My Faith In You
Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic (The Police )
Englishman in New York
Seven Days
Demolition Man (The Police )
I Hung My Head
The End of the Game
Fields Of Gold
Driven to Tears (The Police)
Heavy Cloud No Rain
Message in a Bottle (The Police)
Shape of My Heart
The Hounds of Winter
Wrapped Around Your Finger (The Police )
De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da (The Police )
Roxanne (The Police)
Encore 1:

Desert Rose
King of Pain (The Police)
Every Breath You Take (The Police)

Encore 2:
Next To You (The Police)

Encore 3:
Fragile