A “family affair” made it’s way to Halifax for it’s first show ever in the city last Monday night. Who was here, you ask? None other than Gordon “Sting” Sumner, with his son Joe in support!
At 8pm sharp, Joe Sumner, who takes after his father in both sight and sound, took the stage to get the Halifax crowd warmed up for what would become the best way to kick off the month of May.
Chandrae Bailey / Atlantic Canada Rocks
As the clock struck 8:45, Sting and his band hit the stage right on time. The opening chords of Police smash hit “Message in a Bottle” echoed through the sold out Scotiabank Centre, spiking the creation of a makeshift crowd choir.
The family affair continued as Sting immediately discussed the memories of being in Halifax in the mid 80s.
In December 1986, the “Englishman in New York” and his wife were heading back to London for a Christmas holiday when she began experiencing a medical emergency on board a flight. Sting informed the pilot and the decision was made to land the plane in Halifax for medical treatment. Upon landing, the treatment was successful and Sting showed gratefulness towards our doctors and nurses for helping to save his wife. During the visit, many fans encountered Sting in shopping areas including Spring Garden road.
After a resounding performance of “Every Little Thing She Does is Magic”, Sting apologetically switched gears to perform some new material from his solo catalogue along with deep cuts. A “love” theme seemed to insert itself into the set with “If it’s Love”, “For her Love” and “Loving You”, “love” is how we would describe the evening as a whole.
Chandrae Bailey / Atlantic Canada Rocks
For the second half of the show, an endless set of Police tunes, solo hits, covers and mashup tracks kept the crowd on their toes until the very end. From “Desert Rose”, to “Every Breath You Take” to the Police first single “Roxanne” a copious amount of Sonic Energy could be felt. Up until the writing of this piece, I’ve had “King of Pain” stuck in my head from this fine evening in Halifax. The concert ended with Joe returning to the stage to help his father perform the title track from his latest album “The Bridge”.
In closing, its important to remember that Sting and his son Joe will return in September to perform at Moncton’s Avenir Centre and St. John’s Mary Browns Centre. If you missed the show, or simply need another Sting fix ( where altered setlists could occur), great tickets are still available!