2013 Back to Bass Tour at Ravinia, IL - Sting and his musicians effortlessly delivered another satisfying performance of his stripped down “Back to Bass Tour”, playing his music spanning 25 years. Sting was joined by his longtime guitarist Dominic Miller, Vinnie Colaiuta (drums), David Sancious (keyboards) Peter Tickell (electric fiddle), and Jo Lawry (vocals).
It was a beautiful, crisp night under the stars at Ravinia Park and Sting charmed the mostly middle aged, wine drinking, Highland Park crowd with straightforward yet heartfelt renditions of most of his greatest hits. Sting opened with “If I Ever Lose My faith in You” and kept it going with a strong set list that included “Demolition Man”, “Message in A Bottle”, “Shape of My Heart”, De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da” AND “Roxanne” before coming out for encores “King of Pain”, “Every Breath You Take”, “Next To You” and “Fragile”.
At 61, Sting looks fit as ever in his skinny jeans, flashing us all a great “gun show” under his short sleeved t-shirt, but the best thing about this concert was Sting’s voice, still strong, rich, full and capable of hitting all the high and low notes including his trademark howls and growls.
Each of Sting’s current minimalist rock band lineups continue to perform to the high level of perfection he demands. Peter Tickell, a 23-year-old prodigy from the UK, delivered a mind bendingly complex, fast and furious electric fiddle solo that made me laugh out loud with wonder at his youthful skills.
Sting first started this tour back in 2011 and now he is making another go round with it before releasing his first new album in 10 years, titled "The Last Ship", which will be released on Universal Music Group's Polydor Records. The Last Ship will feature 12 songs and be produced by Rob Mathes.
Even more exciting Sting news is that he will be bringing a musical production with the same name to Broadway next year. Sting (Gordon Mathew Sumner) spent nearly three years working on the story that is focused on relationships, family, and community, collaborating with Joe Mantello, the director of the hit musical "Wicked" and John Logan, co-writer of the latest James Bond film "Skyfall".
Sting seems to bend time and the quickly passing years in his favor picking up “The Back to Bass Tour” exactly where he left off in 2011 as if to say to his fans – “Get your fill of my hits, I’m still here playing rock and roll but next year I will treat you to something new and I hope you will welcome it as much as you welcome my classic catalogue.”
No word yet on if Sting will be performing in his Broadway production but I have always considered him a fine actor on a par with another brilliantly gifted, rocker and songwriter, David Bowie (The Elephant Man).
Sting fans can’t miss by seeing the Back to Bass Tour 2013 again when it hits their towns over the next 8 weeks; it is a warm, fun evening of solid hit music sure to satisfy hungry Sting fans from every generation.
In the meantime, Ravinia Park is a fantastic place to see some of our favorite musical artists and 2013 has a great schedule which includes The Go-Go’s, Journey, Jewel, Matchbox 20, The B-52’s, Natalie Cole and so many more. Be sure to check out the show listing at http://ravinia.org/. And if you are in Chicago, don’t forget that Ravinia is one short Metra ride away and you are literally dropped off at the front gate.
