Here is Sting’s daughter Coco Sumner in a video for her excellent song “Quicker” along with upcoming UK tour dates for her band I Blame Coco.

Bristol Thekla – Oct 13
Sheffield Union – Oct 14
Oxford Academy 2 – Oct 15
Coventry Kasbah – Oct 16
Glasgow King Tuts – Oct 18
Leeds University – Oct 19
London Scala – Oct 20
Manchester Academy 3 – Oct 26
Liverpool O2 Academy 2 – Oct 27
Newcastle Other Room – Oct 28
Nottingham Bodega – Nov 1
Birmingham Academy 2 – Nov 2
Brighton Ballroom – Nov 3

Funny how the “Quicker” video reminds me of the Police video “So Lonely”, which I’ve included here as well. Must be the trains and gritty feel. Does anybody else see the similarity, or is it just me?

With the recent announcement of a Sting concert in Napier, New Zealand on February 12, 2011, I can’t help but wonder if the Symphonicity Tour with the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra will be extended to other locations as well after visiting both North America and Europe this summer and fall. The last date in Europe is scheduled on November 10, 2010 in Rome, and with three full months until the New Zealand date there is certainly lots of time in between to add further tour dates. I guess we’ll have to wait and see, but I have a sneaking suspicion the tour shall continue on, once again postponing any further work by Sting on a new studio album.

It’s been twenty-five years since Sting released his debut solo album The Dream of the Blue Turtles to critical acclaim in 1985. Transitioning from band member of the Police to solo artist was a huge risk at a time when Sting could have easily continued coasting along with the biggest and most successful rock band in the world. 1985 was a turning point in music history with digital technology rapidly altering the landscape due to the popularization of the audio compact disk and CD players. Sting jumped on the bandwagon for change and planned his own evolution, recruiting notable jazz musicians to come along for the ride. The jazz label was doubtfully pinned to the work by critics eager to pigeonhole the music in contempt of the new path Sting was forging in a conscious effort to break down musical barriers and blend different genres of music.

The Dream of the Blue Turtles was released on the dying vinyl LP record format and introduced ten ambitious and innovative songs with intelligent lyrics and complex, sophisticated compositions, including the war themed “Russians” and “Children’s Crusade”, the vampire confessional “Moon Over Bourbon Street” and the British miner’s strike sympathizer “We Work The Black Seam”. Jazz instrumentalists Branford Marsalis, Kenny Kirkland, Darryl Jones and Omar Hakim added substantial credibility and talent to Sting’s highly anticipated freshman project. Radio DJs and listeners alike eventually overcame their jazz bias, and the catchy first single “If You Love Sombody Set Them Free” hit number three on the US charts, followed by “Fortress Around Your Heart” at number eight. The album proceeded to sell over three million copies.

The Dream of the Blue Turtles was a crucial stepping stone on Sting’s exploratory career path. It started with the Police fusing punk with reggae to form a new kind of rock, expanded with jazz and pop on The Dream of the Blue Turtles, then ventured into R&B, country and world music through successive albums. Never one to rest on his laurels, Sting continues to experiment and push musical boundaries into new and uncharted territory. Most recently Sting has crossed over the border into classical terrain, evident on the lute album Songs from the Labyrinth in 2006, traditional folk songs from the British Isles from If On a Winter’s Night in 2009, and his current symphonic tour excursion with the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra and the companion album Symphonicities released in July 2010.

In hindsight a quarter of a century later, it’s easy to recognize Sting’s solo leap of faith was the right choice based on his musical longevity and successful career. Twenty-five years is a significant milestone for any musician, and Sting is now eligible for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist. Only time will tell if Sting receives this recognition for his distinctive contributions to rock and roll. But regardless of what the future holds, it is certainly true that the dream has indeed become reality for Sting.

Here are two interesting group dances from So You Think You Can Dance using the Sting songs “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic” and “When We Dance”. These videos cannot be embedded unfortunately, so you’ll have to click on the links. Thanks to Fourth Breakfast for bringing these to my attention!

Sting is a talented guy known for a lot of things: singer, songwriter, musician, actor, author, environmental and human rights activist, and all around Renaissance man embracing the lute. Now he can add the odd occupation of farmer to the list after opening a store called Tenuta il Palagio on his estate in Tuscany to sell produce grown organically on his own land, including wine, olive oil, honey and salami. The wine, olive oil and honey make perfect sense and blend nicely with Sting’s image, especially the honey from bees that . . . well you know . . . sting. But salami? It immediately begs for some tantric joke that I wouldn’t dare offer up and definitely contradicts the ethical commitment to a vegetarian diet that Sting has espoused in the past. Maybe he’s had a change of heart? So what the heck! If you’re lucky enough to be in the Tuscan region around Florence, stop by to sample food grown from Sting’s own backyard. I’m putting the honey and wine on my bucket list for sure, but I think I’ll pass on the salami.

Here is Sting performing “Russians” in Chicago at Ravinia Festival on July 18, 2010. This was one of my favorite songs of the evening with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra on the Symphonicity Tour. The view from the back is not great, but you can hear the spectacular orchestral interpretation of the entire song. It’s too bad this amazing song didn’t make it onto the Symphonicities CD; I really wish it could have been included. While you won’t find it there, you can enjoy it here live!

Jo Lawry is the backup singer for Sting on the current Symphonicity tour, and she is making quite a statement not only with her amazing backing vocals, but also with her new haircut. Take a look at the striking new hairstyle of the talented Jo Lawry, and learn more about her on Message in a Bloggle here. Photos courtesy of Shawn Farrell, click on photos to enlarge.

AOL Radio listeners voted for their favorite Police songs, and it comes as no surprise that the top ten list is loaded with the most commercially successful of all The Police’s work from their five studio albums. Four of the songs are from Synchronicity alone, including the number one and number ten picks. Two songs were chosen from each of the band’s first two albums, Outlandos d’Amour and Reggatta De Blanc, while only one song was chosen from both Zenyatta Mondatta and Ghost In The Machine.

Here is AOL Radio’s list rearranged by Police album:

Synchronicity:
#10 Synchronicity II
#7 King of Pain
#4 Wrapped Around Your Finger
#1 Every Breath You Take

Ghost In The Machine:
#2 Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic

Zenyatta Mondatta:
#3 Don’t Stand So Close To Me

Reggatta De Blanc:
#8 Walking on the Moon
#5 Message in a Bottle

Outlandos d’Amour:
#9 Can’t Stand Losing You
#6 Roxanne

I would delete a few songs from the list and add a few others to it based on my own personal preferences. I think Ghost In The Machine was a fabulous album and is underrepresented on this list, “Invisible Sun” and “Demolition Man” make the grade in my opinion. “Next To You” from Outlandos d’Amour and “Bring On The Night” from Reggatta De Blanc are worthy of inclusion too. What do you think? What songs would you include in your own Best Police Songs list?

The sold out Sting Symphonicity tour stop in Chicago at Ravinia Festival can best be described as a musical mullet – all business in the front and party in the back. The rear lawn of the outdoor Chicago venue was obliterated by the throng of festive concert-goers well stocked for a rollicking good time with chairs, blankets, food and much drink. Meanwhile up in the pricey reserved seats, well-to-do patrons of the arts remained firmly planted in their highly coveted seats, offering up polite golf claps between songs while quietly marveling at the technical proficiency and musical prowess of Sting and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

I have never attended a concert at Ravinia before and was surprised to discover the stage was almost completely obstructed from view out on the lawn in the cheap seats.  I wonder if anything at all could be seen of the concert from out there in that sea of humanity. While grateful for my reserved seat centrally located three-quarters of the way up the center section , I felt more connected to the fun-loving and dedicated Sting fans who braved the crowds and mosquitos for the auditory experience alone.

Ravinia is a relatively small venue based on the number of reserved seats in the covered pavilion. That fact along with my excellent viewpoint and pleasant weather made this a much better show than St. Louis for me. With his opening remarks, Sting credited and thanked Chicago for providing the inspiration for the whole tour based on his performance with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in May of 2009. Courtney Cox was rumored to be in attendance, and venue personnel insisted the second performance on Sunday night was even better than the first night receiving the following great review from the Chicago Tribune.

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-07-18/entertainment/ct-live-0719-sting-review-20100718_1_sting-ravinia-songs

Following is the Chicago Ravinia setlist, with the same songs being played both nights, also the same songs performed in St. Louis. High points in the show for me were Russians, When We Dance, Mad About You and End of the Game.

If I ever lose my faith in you
Englishman in new york
Every little thing she does is magic
Roxanne
Straight to my heart
When we dance
Russians
I hung my head
Shape of my heart
Why should I cry for you
Whenever I say your name
Fields of gold
Next to you
- intermission -
A thousand years
Tomorrow we’ll see
Moon over bourbon street
End of the game
You will be m y ain true love
All would envy
Mad about you
King of pain
Every breath you take
- encore -
Desert rose
She’s too good for me
Fragile
I was brought to my senses (intro only) 

I will try to get some video up soon of Russians, my favorite of the whole entire night.

Watch the video to see the elaborate and technologically advanced method of determining the winner of the two tickets to see Sting perform at Ravinia Festival in Chicago on July 18, 2010 from Message in a Bloggle at Stingfield.com! Congratulations to the winner and thanks to all for your posts and subscriptions to Message in a Bloggle and follows on Twitter!