Looking back without looking forward...

At the sold-out Dolder ice rink, Sting delighted his fans with many classics. However, he failed to deliver any new songs.

On this magnificent summer evening, Sting appeared inconspicuous on stage, as if he were just one member of his band, the bassist. And that was probably the plan – the current tour has been running under the motto "Back to Bass" since 2011. After performing with a symphony orchestra, Sting wanted to present his songs in a stripped-down format – with a five-piece band, as he did on Friday evening in Zurich.

The musicians gave a sinewy interpretation of the first song, "If I Ever Lose My Faith In You." Sting played distinctively without pushing himself into the musical foreground. Yet the 61-year-old Englishman confidently performed his role as bandleader, letting his charisma shine through while remaining sympathetically modest. He greeted his audience with "Gruezi mitenand" and bowed as they applauded. During the course of the concert, which lasted just under two hours, he joked several times about his knowledge of Swiss German and also repeatedly made comments on the songs being played.

With the Police hit "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic," the band brought the audience to their feet. During "Englishman In New York," most of the crowd swayed happily to the irresistible reggae groove, perfectly captured by the perfectly coordinated musicians. "Sit down and relax!" Sting declared with a smile, noting that it would be a long evening. One with some thoughtful passages: "All This Time" is from the album "The Soul Cages" (1991), which was inspired by the death of his father; it was then that he began to explore his heritage artistically.

This song would have been the perfect starting point for the repertoire of the new album "The Last Ship," due for release in September; it marks Sting's first new songs since "Sacred Love" (2003). The songs originated from his work on his Broadway musical of the same name, which deals with the decline of the shipbuilding industry in his hometown of Newcastle. Ultimately, "The Last Ship" is supposed to be about Sting's own childhood. Sting didn't perform these songs in Zurich, though.

This made the audience all the more delighted by the fantastic band, whose high level of musicality ensured that more than just nostalgic needs were met. Drummer Vinnie Colaiuta, for example, brought polyrhythmic tension to the song "Seven Days." Guitarist Dominic Miller, who has worked closely with Sting since 1991, played with a punk drive, as in the Police song "Driven To Tears," at times acoustically delicate, as in "Shape Of My Heart," or sound-painting, as in "The Hounds Of Winter." Keyboardist David Sancious rarely stood out, but he lent a jazzy flair to even seemingly banal songs like "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" with improvised interludes. Unusual were the appearances of violinist Peter Tickell, who often played the part previously performed by saxophonists.

The audience got their money's worth, with many old hits performed; Almost half of the songs were from Sting's time with The Police and are over thirty years old. The evening ended on a thoughtful note with "Fragile": We can't wait to hear the new album.

(c) Neue Zürcher Zeitung by Markus Ganz