Thrills with a range of police and solo hits in Port Chester

Sting brought his “Sting 3.0” tour to the historic Capitol Theater in Port Chester, New York on Saturday night (October 12), delivering a captivating and flawless series of Police and solo classics.

The legendary musician took the stage just before 9 p.m. and wasted no time in getting the crowd on their feet with the all-time police favorite “Message in a Bottle.” Performing as a trio featuring guitarist Dominic Miller and drummer Chris Maas, the concert immediately had the feel of an old-school police show.

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Before we go any further, I want to say that Sting looks and sounds great at 73 years old. No matter what yoga and diet routine he's been up to over the past few decades, sign me up because he was probably in the best shape of anyone else in the sold-out theater.

Next came the solo hits “If I Ever Lose My Faith in You,” “Englishman in New York” and “Fields of Gold,” with Sting providing short anecdotes before each song. In between, another sample of “The Police” came out with “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic,” accompanied by an “E-oh oh” sing-along from the audience.

With cuts like “Mad About You,” “Seven Days,” and “Why Should I Cry for You?”, Sting delved into his solo catalog before performing the first song he ever wrote, the haunting “I Burn for you”. which he originally recorded with his pre-Police band Last Exit and then re-recorded with The Police.

After Sting played “Driven to Tears,” he turned to Dominic Miller and asked the guitarist to surprise him with a song selection. Miller chose “Wrapped Around Your Finger,” much to the audience’s delight. Next up was another song from Police with “Can’t Stand Losing You”.

Sting offered his new single, the bluesy rocker “I Wrote Your Name (Upon My Heart),” before launching into a string of non-stop classics to close out the main set. Starting with “Walking on the Moon,” Sting didn't take a break and went straight into the rousing “So Lonely,” the rousing “Desert Rose,” the soulful “King of Pain” and the ubiquitous chart-topper “Every Breath You Take.”

A thunderous standing ovation prompted Sting to return for an encore, treating the audience to a mesmerizing extended version of “Roxanne” before ending the evening on a quieter note with the beautiful “Fragile.”

I was lucky enough to see The Police's final reunion show at Madison Square Garden in 2008, and that concert will always be hard to top, but seeing Sting perform his classic songs in an intimate venue like the Capitol Theater was the same exciting. His voice is as strong as ever, he is still one of the greatest bassists of all time and he is a consummate performer.

The “Sting 3.0” tour continues with a second show at the Capitol Theater on Sunday night (October 13) and concludes with a five-night run on November 12, 13, 15, 16 and 17 at the Wiltern in Los Angeles . Get tickets here.

Check out our photos from Sting's show at the Capitol Theater below.

Set list:
Message in a Bottle (The Police song)
If I ever lose my faith in you
Englishmen in New York
Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic (The Police song)
Fields of gold
Never coming home
Crazy about you
Seven days
Why should I cry for you?
All the time
I burn for you
Driven to Tears (The Police song)
Wrapped Around Your Finger (The Police song)
I Can't Bear Losing You (The Police song)
shape of my heart
I wrote your name (on my heart)
Walking on the Moon (The Police Song)
So Lonely (The Police song)
desert rose
King of Pain (The Police song)
Every Breath You Take (The Police Song)
Encore:
Roxanne/Be Still My Beating Heart (Medley)
Fragile