"I never thought I’d play to a room full of critics — without dynamiting the place." That was Sting’s reaction to performing his new classical album Songs From From The Labyrinth for TV critics at press tour Saturday night. The dapper pop star has gone all 16th century, performing songs written by Elizabethan lute master John Dowland. PBS shot Sting performing the melancholy music at his Italian villa for a Great Performances special airing Feb. 26. Sting — who looks more and more like Mats Sundin — sat on a stage surrounded by candles and played various lutes. He was joined by musician Din Karamazov, who joked that he was "the second-most well-known lutanist in the world." During the hour-long set, Karamazov broke a string on one of his hand-crafted lutes. Cracked Sting, "every time you break a string a sheep dies." For an encore, Sting — whose voice sounds as pure as ever — treated critics to his Police hit Message In A Bottle on the lute. After the performance, he was asked about rumours of a Police reunion. "You know, it’s the 30th anniversary," said Sting. "It would be nice to do something to celebrate. We don’t quite know what, but we’re talking about it." Sting insists he’s "good friends" with ex-band mates Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland. "I’m deeply, deeply fond of both of them," he said. "I’m very proud of the band that we were in." When it was suggested that the two bands fans most want to see reunited are The Police and Van Halen, Sting playfully joked, "I’ll join Van Halen."
Jam!
Maybe I am still bummed because both times I saw him in concert I was bored out of my mind, but I just think that PBS is the right channel for him because it is not the most exciting channel.
