Sting's Clam Show: Every Little Thing He Did Was Magic...

Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner, nicknamed Sting, belongs to that cast of musicians who don't need much to captivate venues or festival grounds. In Sting's case, it's his distinctive tenor voice, interwoven with recognizable, catchy choruses and simple guitar riffs that have long since become a kind of commonplace in popular music. From these ingredients, the 67-year-old has been brewing earworms for four decades, perhaps comparable to those of the Irish band U2.

On Friday evening, the muscle-bound Brit, sporting a skin-tight vest, took 9,000 fans at the sold-out Meierhofwiese at Burg Clam on a musical journey through time with his "My Songs" show. And he captivated them from the very first note. The first musical message came in "In a Bottle," one of Sting's first global hits, then a member of the new wave trio "The Police."

Sting stands out with his divine voice, easily recognizable from thousands of others, enhanced by the simple playing of his well-worn bass guitar. Musically, the live show achieves almost studio quality.

On this balmy Clam evening, he treats his fans to all his hits: "If I Ever Lose My Faith," the obligatory "Englishman in New York," "Fields of Gold," "Shape of My Heart," "Desert Rose," "Roxanne," and the politically charged "Set Them Free" – although the final part isn't quite harmoniously intoned by Sting and the backing singers. Sting and his band infuse many numbers with wholesome reggae extracts. For acoustic variety, Sting occasionally gave the backing vocals priority. They took over the stage for songs like "Break of Day" and "Shape of My Heart," and received well-deserved applause from the Clam audience.

The master himself wasn't particularly talkative that evening. His willingness to engage with the audience always ended with a brief request to clap along. Nothing more than a "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen" and a failed attempt to say in German that this was his third appearance at Clam was all that came out. This is perhaps the only minor criticism of this otherwise wonderful concert evening. Sting plays his hits routinely and straightforwardly.

This didn't dampen the good mood, anyway. After 21 numbers, the audience, who were also rather mature in years, cheered on their idol (some fans even brought their babies – for whatever reason).

Conclusion: Every little thing he did was magic: a wonderful evening with the best musical accompaniment!

(c) Nachrichten by Helmut Atteneder