“Every breath you take” sang, His Holiness of Pop, Sting, to a sell-out audience on July 23, at the Air Canada Centre, in Toronto. Sure it was The Police Reunion tour. Sure it was sold out. Yadda yadda yadda. But as far as I’m concerned, it was Gordon Sumner himself, in the flesh, serenading me. Sigh. I had gooseflesh the minute he sang “Roxanne” and then went to belt out such classics like “King of Pain” (incidentally I’ve heard a very good live cover version by Canada’s own Alanis Morisette – she infuses her own brand of rock into this haunting melody). Before I ramble on about the talent that he is, let me rewind to the beginning of the show that marks an interesting phase – Sting’s son Joe Sumner (such a non-fussy name till you zone in on ‘Sumner’ and then have a moment of realisation to realise it’s Sting’s last name too!) and his band FictionPlane, were the opening act for Daddy dearest. I had my déjà vu moment when he sounded like his dad on a few tracks – not necessarily in style, but purely a strain of voice that had faint echoes and traces of his father’s vocal prowess. To Sumner Jr.’s credit, his style of music is very indie and very young. At times, I got the feeling that he was very inspired by the late Kurt Cobain. After half hour or so of Junior’s playing, ‘THE’ man himself walked onto stage, dressed in skinny black pants and a ripped white tee, with his trademark metal bracelet and pendant around his neck in place. For those who only associate The Police with just “Every breath you take,” make sure you revisit the band’s old albums. Their signature sound is unmistakable and I wonder how Sting embarked upon creating an identity of his own. I still don’t think his music is entirely devoid of his earlier days’ influence. In any case, if you love music as much as I do, then just hearing some improvisations on originals made for a fantastic evening. I have yet to see someone as magnetic as Sting – perhaps it is his chiselled face (drool) or the lean body (drool again!), but I’d wager a bet to say it’s most likely the sound. There’s something undeniably sensual about Sting’s music. It brings together blues, reggae, indie funk and just plain pop and still creates a distinctive sound. I’ve heard him, performing at an informal setting in Italy in 2001 (courtesy a television recording sadly!) and was fascinated by his musical dexterity. At the very start, he mentions casually that this recording is more experimental and not polished. He added that he liked to surprise and throw a few curveballs once in a while. If I played baseball, I’d be a goner! That particular session was spell-binding and devastatingly sensitive. Going back to him playing at the ACC, I think the memory will linger on as the first time I heard Sting play ‘live.’ And I say ‘first’ because I’m pretty sure there will be many such concerts to follow…