I Finally Saw Sting for the First Time Again!
- Derek May
- 1 day ago
- 6 min read
By Derek May:
I enjoy concerts, but it tends to be a passing interest. If the time, cost, and artist all come together perfectly, then hey, I’m down; if not, no biggie. That is . . . save for a special, highly select few.
My list of those I’d shell out for no matter what is short, but it’s got some heavy hitters. It’s shrunk quite a bit over the years, either due to crossing off or it simply no longer being possible (Queen and Phil Collins are sadly never to be for me). But the last giant sitting atop this elite pyramid was the Englishman of New York himself—the mighty Sting. And two years ago, I thought our time had finally come.
In October 2024, Sting came to the Alamodome with some other dude. What was his name? Oh, right: Billy Freakin’ Joel! Talk about a powerhouse tour. My wife and I were immeasurably excited!
Naturally, I like Billy Joel, but it was Sting I was most pumped to see. That was my guy. You may know him for his metal underwear in the classic film Dune, but you may be surprised to know he’s been making music as well for the last five or so decades. No seriously, look it up!
I jest, of course. I’ve been a fan since the Police, but I gotta say Ten Summoner’s Tales and Brand New Day really hit me hard on release. Played them endlessly. The Dream of the Blue Turtles? Come on, wonderful. Hell, I even listened to “Moon Over Bourbon Street” while walking the French Quarter after my Vampire Walking Tour (highly recommend!) last June.
So that late October evening, I was buzzing with excitement. I didn’t know who’d be going on first, but I assumed Sting, and so I made sure we gave ourselves plenty of time to get there. But fate is a cruel mistress, and our historically steadfast and reliable Via Park & Ride, a service yet to fail us in our many journeys together, torpedoed our carefully laid plans.
Despite our arrival in line well over an hour in advance, Via made every inane decision possible to turn our 10-minute bus ride to the stadium into a 2-hour winding slog through lines, traffic, and half the city. Needless to say, by the time we ran to our seats, Sting was more than halfway through “Fields of Gold,” (one of my favorites), and my heart was three-quarters broken.
From our second-level perch, we listened to his final three or four songs. It was nice, decent enough. But I couldn’t help but feel robbed. And personally, it felt like he wasn’t really that into it either. He sang his heart out, but I didn’t really feel the energy. Maybe it was playing to a still only half-filled 20,000-seat venue (thanks again, Via) or the lack of any sort of real staging around the three band members. Or maybe, as my wife claims, it was just my own projections. In any case, I felt let down—not by Sting, but by circumstance. And as such, while I certainly enjoyed the evening (Billy Joel was a true showman in every sense and absolutely killed it!), I didn’t feel like I could legitimately cross this one off my list.
For the next year, I whined annoyingly whenever the subject came up and to whoever was in earshot. But eventually, as with all endless complaints to your loved ones, it finally paid off. Sting was set to play just up the highway in Austin on May 12, 2026, and my wife—totally in keeping with her boundless generosity and not at all to finally shut me up about it—got us tickets for my birthday!
Can. You. Believe. It!!
This time, we would not be deterred, not even by the oddly placed Tuesday evening showtime. We each took half-days from work on either side and got a hotel room in Austin for the night. Dinner was reserved 2 hours before a 10-minute walk to the venue. A full hour before start time, we had our seats on lock.
And what seats they were! To the surprise of even my wife who chose them, we ended up maybe 20 yards from the stage, close enough to see the veins poppin’ from Sting’s eternally ripped biceps (hope I look half that good at his age!).
The Moody Amphitheater is a gorgeous venue. This was our first time but certainly won’t be our last. The organized grid before the stage held a couple thousand folding chairs, with a few thousand more patrons spread out on towels across the patch of lawn just behind. If you had the money, you could splurge for private box seats in between the two groups. But no matter where you were, you likely had a pretty damn good view (barring any giants standing in front of you).
Once again, the staging was relatively bare save for a couple large screens projecting either the band or some trippy electric background swirls. Some minimalist lighting crisscrossed on occasion, but the real focus was simply on the three men rocking out.
Dubbed the “Sting 3.0” tour, the moniker stems from the minimalism of trio Sting, guitarist Dominic Miller, and drummer Chris Maas. They didn’t even need an opening band to bolster the show. Argentinian Miller shredded song after song, leaving no doubt why he’s been Sting’s go-to guitarist for the past 35 years. And the Belgian percussionist, Maas, made the heavy lifting on the drums look effortless.
Each member put on a dynamic performance that was shocking in how much variety they extracted from such few instruments. In an age where you typically see musicians swap out gear every few songs, I was stunned that each member pretty much stuck to what they started with the entire set. I don’t know what kind of guitar Miller was using, but he got his money’s worth, mining at least five totally unique instrumentations from it. And while I knew Sting was a bassist, seeing what he could deliver from just that single guitar was a sight and sound to behold.
For about two hours straight, including the encore, the band belted out hits from across Sting’s repertoire. There were only maybe two songs I didn’t recognize, likely from one of the latest albums I haven’t gotten to. But otherwise, he brought out all the crowd-pleasers you would expect, though not necessarily in the way you’d expect them. While it’s no secret Sting likes to tinker with existing songs, he definitely used some new arrangements for just about every one. Some variations were minor, some more substantial, but all still amazing. I can’t think of any new stylings that didn’t work, and I found myself pleasantly surprised by the fact that the old favorites were different enough to feel fresh but recognizable enough to satisfy your nostalgic heart.
With a catalogue of literally hundreds, it was impossible to play everything, but we got some epic bangers in there from “Shape of My Heart” to “A Thousand Years” to “Walking on the Moon.” I don’t think anyone left unsatisfied. And even more impressive was how good Sting still sounded. He was screaming out highs or holding notes for nearly a minute routinely throughout the night. I don’t know what maintenance routine he’s doing to keep that up, but it’s certainly working.
One of the biggest differences for me this time was that I felt a true and palpable sense of joy coming from all three men. They seemed to really be having fun. I suspect part of it was the intimacy of the venue itself, there was such an energetic interaction between stage and audience. Between songs, Sting told a few stories and spun a few yarns, even cracking a couple jokes. The only time he seemed hesitant was in letting Miller choose the next song at random, admitting he never knew what was coming and worried he might not remember the lyrics! Turns out he did, naturally, but even if not, he proved he could riff when he led the audience in several scatt repetitions, which we obliged in spades.
By the end of the night, I felt fulfilled in every way. The show was incredible. Sting and his bandmates brought the energy and the fun, blanketing us with two hours of warm nostalgia and joy. And to experience that in such an intimate venue where we had seats close enough to hardly need the giant screens, it was just about perfect. I can finally cross this superstar off my list, having been wholly satisfied. And even better, my wife never has to hear me complain about the lost concert again.
Now if Genesis can just tour one more time . . .
Derek May, of San Antonio, TX, is Editor-in-Chief and occasional writer for Flapper Press. He has written nearly 50 movie reviews for movieweb.com and completed 13 original feature film and television screenplays, many of which have been winners or finalists in such prestigious competitions as the Walt Disney and Nicholl Fellowships, the Austin Film Festival, and the Creative World Awards. He served as a judge for 10 years for the Austin Film Festival and Texas Film Institute screenplay competitions. His latest project is the highly acclaimed stop-motion animation fan series Highlander: Veritas, which released its second season in July 2022.
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