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A thrilling evening with Sting and Chris Botti
When I was 15 years old, I had a cassette tape of Ten Summoner’s Tales. It was my introduction to the music of singer-songwriter Sting. He’s had a lot of hits throughout his decades-long career, but this album contains some of his most beloved songs, including “Fields Of Gold,” “If I Ever Lose My Faith In You,” “Seven Days,” and “Shape Of My Heart.”
A few years later, but back when we were still buying our music on CDs, I remember stumbling upon a particular record of his called Sting At The Movies, a limited edition CD released only in Japan. It cost about P1,200, almost triple the price of a regular CD at the time and way above what a skinny 21-year-old earning just slightly above minimum wage could afford. I bought it anyway, the most expensive piece of music I ever bought in my life.
The point is: I’m a fan, and was therefore almost catatonic with excitement last Thursday. The British superstar was in Manila for a one-night only show as the special guest of popular instrumentalist Chris Botti. I was too young (and too broke) to have caught Sting’s first show in Manila back in 1994, and was out of the country when he returned in 2012. But the stars aligned this time around and I got to the venue – the enormous Marriott Grand Ballroom at the Marriott Hotel Manila – right on time.
Like Sting, Chris Botti is not a first-timer in Manila and it’s clear why he keeps coming back. Audiences lavished applause and eager whoops of appreciation to the Grammy-winning trumpeter when he walked out and all throughout his set.
Blessed with youthful good looks, the 53-year-old Botti and his merry band of extremely talented musicians immediately launched into a medley of jazz standards, including “When I Fall In Love, “You Don’t Know What Love Is,” and “The Look Of Love.” He also brought out violinist Caroline Campbell for a solo that drew wild praise from the crowd.
Sting was billed as a featured artist, but, without meaning any disrespect to Botti, the 64-year-old rock star was clearly the star of the show. Wearing a striped blazer over a t-shirt that showed off his toned physique, the former frontman of the band The Police began with “If I Ever Lose My Faith in You.” Suddenly, all those memories of endless afternoons with my Walkman came rushing back. Such was the man’s impact and appeal that the entire venue became electrically charged the minute his smiling face and bass guitar appeared onstage.
There was hardly any pause as he reached into his catalogue of hits and pulled out a best-of set: “Every Little Thing He Does Is Magic,” “Roxanne,” “Fields Of Gold,” and “Seven Days.”
Admittedly, I was worried how much different his voice would be from how I remember it on record and countless YouTube videos, but I was relieved to discover that my apprehensions were unfounded. Weathered slightly by time and aged by experience, Sting’s voice was lovely and transcendent. He soothed and caressed on the slow ballads, and jabbed and thrilled on the louder rock numbers.
I particularly enjoyed “Message In a Bottle” and relatively later hit “Desert Rose,” in the middle of which he sampled the Bill Withers original “Aint No Sunshine.” Each time he started on a song, audience members gave each other knowing looks and high-fives, a virtual transport into specific moments in their lives. Sting effectively turned the venue into one giant, communal time machine.
When Mr. Gordon Sumner (Sting’s real name) took a quick break, Botti sustained adrenalin levels with the help of one of his back-up vocalists and Campbell on the violin.
Sting then came back out to do a few songs with Botti. “Sting and I have known each for about 20 years,” Botti said. “He’s one of the finest musicians of his generation. When Sinatra died, I asked him to sing this song in tribute. His secretary called me back to say he would do it, but only if I agreed to fly to Italy and record with him on his next album. Guess who got the better end of that deal?” The two then proceeded to perform the classic “In The Wee Small Hours.”
Sources at the show said Sting was contractually obligated to perform not more than six or seven songs, but as it turned out, he ended up doing almost a full set of about a dozen. The crowd stood up and joined him for an extended “Every Breath You Take,” which ended the regular set. Not five minutes later, Sting and Botti came back out for “Englishman In New York,” and finally, the tender, heartbreaking modern classic “Fragile.”
As Sting and Botti walked out amidst earsplitting cheers from the crowd, I found myself muttering a silent prayer of thanks, for the gift of music, and for the people who create them for the benefit of countless people on the planet, like me. We draw strength, joy, satisfaction, catharsis and a whole bunch of other emotions from a few words set to music, and, thanks to them, life is just a bit more entertaining, and even bearable. — BM, GMA News
Paul John Caña is a magazine writer and live music geek. He is also co-founder of libreto.org, an online collective of writers and artists. Email him at pjcana@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter and Instagram @pauljohncana.
