Sting brought his “Sting 3.0” tour to the historic Capitol Theater in Port Chester, New York on Saturday evening (October 12), delivering a captivating and impeccable set of Police and solo classics.

The iconic musician took the stage shortly before 9 p.m. and wasted no time getting the crowd on its feet with police favorite “Message in a Bottle.” As a trio with guitarist Dominic Miller and drummer Chris Maas, the concert immediately had the feeling of an old-fashioned police show.

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Before we go any further, I want to take a moment to say that at 73 years old, Sting looks and sounds great. Whatever yoga and diet routine he’s been following over the decades, sign me up because he was probably in the best shape of anyone in the entire sold-out theater.

The next solo hits were ‘If I Ever Lose My Faith in You’, ‘Englishman in New York’ and ‘Fields of Gold’, with Sting providing brief anecdotes before starting each song. Another taste of The Police found its way in with “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic,” complete with an “E-oh oh” sing-along from the crowd.

Sting delved deeper into his solo catalog with songs like ‘Mad About You’, ‘Seven Days’ and ‘Why Should I Cry for You?’, before performing the first song he ever wrote, the haunting ‘I Burn for You’ . which he originally recorded with his pre-Police band Last Exit, and then re-recorded with The Police.

After playing “Driven to Tears,” Sting turned to Dominic Miller and asked the guitarist to surprise him with a song choice. Miller chose ‘Wrapped Around Your Finger’, much to the crowd’s delight. Another police tune followed with ‘Can’t Stand Losing You’.

Sting offered up his new single, the bluesy rocker “I Wrote Your Name (Upon My Heart),” before kicking off a string of non-stop classics to close out the main set. Starting with “Walking on the Moon,” Sting never paused, moving straight into the stirring “So Lonely,” the poignant “Desert Rose,” the soul-bearing “King of Pain” and the ubiquitous hit “Every Breath.” You take.”

A thunderous standing ovation prompted Sting to return for an encore, treating the crowd to a mesmerizing extended version of ‘Roxanne’ before ending the evening on a quieter note with the beautiful ‘Fragile’.

I was lucky enough to see The Police’s last reunion show at Madison Square Garden in 2008, and that concert will always be hard to top, but seeing Sting perform his classic songs in an intimate venue like the Capitol Theater was just as thrilling. His voice is more powerful than ever, he is still one of the greatest bass players of all time and a consummate artist.

The “Sting 3.0” tour continues with a second show at the Capitol Theater on Sunday evening (October 13) and runs via a five-night stand on November 12, 13 and 15, 16 and 17 at the Wiltern in Los Angeles. You can pick up tickets here.

Check out our photos from Sting’s show at the Capitol Theater below.

Set list:
Message in a Bottle (The Police song)
If I ever lose my trust in you
Englishman in New York
Every little thing she does is magical (song by The Police)
Fields of gold
Never come home again
Crazy about you
Seven days
Why should I cry for you?
All this time
I burn for you
Driven to Tears (The Police song)
Wrapped Around Your Finger (song by The Police)
Can’t Stand Losing You (The Police song)
Shape of my heart
I wrote your name (on my heart)
Walking on the Moon (The Police song)
So lonely (The Police song)
Desert Rose
King of Pain (The Police song)
Every breath you take (The Police song)
Encore:
Roxanne/Be still my beating heart (Medley)
Fragile