Former Policeman brings his slick tour to Akron

When the woman sitting next to me answered her cell phone at Sting's sold-out two-hour set at the E.J. Thomas Hall in Akron, I knew I was out of my league. On the road to promote his inoffensively poppy new album Brand New Day, Sting made his triumphant return to Ohio on Tuesday, and based on the makeup of his audience, it is more than obvious who is listening to the former Police chief these days. Along with the usual meticulous playing from his band and expertly executed choreography came a sea of gentrified suburbanites not afraid to pay the $125 top ticket price.

Say what you will about the most literate man in top 40 music (the artist formerly known as Gordon Sumner was a former high school English teacher) he has the moves down pat, and he still defines hip.

Sting is still crafting fiendishly difficult pop music that, to the untrained ear, comes off as soaring, infectious ear-candy. He is an easy performer to derail due to this breezy adult-pop sound, yet when seenlive the spectacle of his band's music making is surely impressive. But one couldn't shake the idea that things were too staged, too finessed. As a performer, Sting has been harangued about this before. Every action is so polished, it is as if any improvised movement must be written down. This shortcoming is also evident in the live playing, with most everything Sting performing sounding identical to the album version.

But one expects this sort of precision from an enormous production that will be touring for a year and stretch over three continents.

Ascending a stage bursting with light trusses, monitors, amplifiers and gaudy backdrops, Sting and band began the set with the opening track from Brand New Day, "A Thousand Years." One of a few songs on the album with a vaguely Middle Eastern sound, the song nicely blended the very English tone of the pennywhistle with Arabic-inflected melodies.

"Set Them Free," an audience favorite ever since the release of Dream of the Blue Turtles, followed with lovely trumpet flourishes from Sting's trumpeter, Chris Botti, an up-and-coming jazz trumpeter in his own right. Botti was a nice complement to the band, appearing on the most recent album as well.

The first single off of Brand New Day followed, "After the Rain", another of the Arabic-inflected numbers on the album. Criss-crossed projections covered the back wall as the lights bathed Sting in deep reds and yellows.

When he did chat-up the crowd, it was quite amusing. "You must be real rich you guys in the front row," he deadpanned. "You know, I couldn't even afford to sit in the front row to see myself." An incredibly hokey "Perfect Love...Gone Wrong" off of the new disc followed, with extraordinarily talented drummer Manu Katche featured on an incredibly awful rap.

But the band redeemed themselves with a string of tunes: "Seven Days" from the musically brilliant Ten Summoner's Tales, "Fill Her Up," Sting's version of a country tune, backed by three gospel singers. For "Fields of Gold," umbrella-shaped pinwheels spun up from the floor behind the band. The song, with its touching Shakespearean allusion, "you'll forget the sun in his jealous sky" gave Dominic Miller, Sting's long time guitarist, a moment to meditate on his acoustic guitar.

The Police favorite "Every Breath You Take" had the audience in mild conniptions, as did the old favorite "Englishman in New York.." Jason Robello on piano matched Sting scat for scat in a dizzying cabaret-inspired playing style. "Moon Over Bourbon Street" was particularly wonderful, as Sting parodied the inimitable Tom Waits, complete with black fedora and larynx growl. Percussionist and drum-programmer Kipper bashed away with utter glee. It was a moment that made me want to change my major - to rock star.

The final string of songs included "Roxanne" (accompanied by his wonderful opening act, Me'Shell N'degeocello on bass) and "Desert Rose" from the new album.

Encores included the anthemic "If I Ever lose My Faith" from Ten Summoner's Tales and interestingly, on a more subdued note, a solo acoustic version of "Message in a Bottle." This ending exonerated Sting and was perhaps the true test of his musicianship. Stripped of his robotically tight band, with a tired and cracking voice, Sting performed the song almost touchingly, staying on stage to shake the last note out of the guitar, while the audience sang the chorus in quiet unison.