Sting’s New Power Trio Makes New York City Debut...

For the first time in over 15 years since the Police played their final show at Madison Square Garden, Sting returned to the Big Apple on Monday and performed again as part of a power trio. Rathern than a reunion with former Police bandmates Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers, Sting’s new group included his longtime guitarist Dominic Miller and drummer Chris Maas - which is why the legendary singer-bassist’s latest tour of North America is appropriately titled Sting 3.0.

Monday’s kickoff of Sting’s three nights at the Brooklyn Paramount (which resumes on Wednesday) was very successful as he and his bandmates played a focused and economical set of solo and Police songs, hearkening back to the minimalism that Sting’s previous band became famous for (Even the stage setup didn’t distract from the music).

Launching with the classic “Message in a Bottle,” the British musician offered a balanced set of his biggest hits (among them “Fields of Gold,” “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic,” “Walking on the Moon” “Desert Rose” and “All This Time”) and deep cuts (including “Shape of My Heart” and “Why Should I Cry for You”).

Along with the popular solo and Police material, Sting performed his latest single that he recorded with Miller and Maas, the anthemic rocker “I Wrote Your Name (Upon My Heart)” - perhaps a tease of more new material from the trio. He also unveiled a rare song from the past: a reworking of the haunting “I Burn for You,” which the Police first recorded for the soundtrack to the 1982 film Brimstone and Treacle.

Near the end of the set and during the encore, Sting performed his two biggest songs from his Police days, the iconic “Every Breath You Take” and “Roxanne” - the latter of which incorporated a jazzy interlude. He concluded the evening by playing guitar on the reflective ballad “Fragile” - which, along with another song from earlier in the set, “Driven to Tears,” provided a very sobering moment given the current state of the world.

The show captured Sting in very good - even humorous - spirits through his banter with the audience between songs. With tremendous support from Miller and Maas, Sting’s singing and bass work sounded stronger than ever as indicated by this first night of his Brooklyn shows. Like the Police, Sting’s power trio delivered no-frills and energetic musicianship that yielded entertaining results.

(c) Forbes by David Chiu