Wrapped Around His Finger...

Sting made more than a few dreams come true Monday night.

Several people waiting to get into the show at Credit Union Place said that seeing him live in concert was on their "bucket list" of things to do before they die.

"His voice is just so pitch perfect," said Josée Ouellon, of Moncton.

"And of course the music from The Police is good too. It's classic. It's never going to grow old on me," she said.

Margaret Parsons, of Halifax, has also waited a lifetime to see Sting - though she never imagined she'd be doing it in Summerside, P.E.I.

"It should have been 'Sting in Tuscany' but you know, Summerside (will do)," laughed Parsons.

"When I saw it in the newspaper I didn't believe it. I had to go and check online. I mean 'Sting in Summerside,'" she said.

But once she got here, she found the atmosphere much more relaxed than it would have been in Halifax, she said.

"There would have been rushes of people going in," she said.

There were indeed precious few empty seats in the house in Eastlink Arena as the 61-year-old British rocker took to the stage at 8 p.m. sharp and immediately brought the house down.

For more than two hours the former frontman and bassist for The Police played non-stop; belting out his timeless hits that range in sound from pop and rock to reggae with a bit of blues and jazz thrown in for good measure.

"I'm a virgin on Prince Edward Island. I'm thrilled to be here, we all are," said the man who was born Gordon Sumner.

He had very little chitchat with the audience, though they hardly seemed to mind - more time for the performance and more time to dance.

And dance they did. In their seats, in the aisle and everywhere else they could find bit of open space to sway to the beat.

It was well worth the hassle of getting here for Brian Robichaud of Halifax.

He was visiting the Island with his family in North River and caught a ride to Summerside for the show - but getting back to North River at the end of the night was another matter.

So, in true rock concert fashion, he drew up a sign asking for a ride and stood by the door until someone offered him a seat.

A small inconvenience for the chance to see one of the great musicians of our times, said Robichaud.

"This opportunity is not going to come around again locally," he said.

"Sting . . . some of the music he's producing now is probably some of the best music that you could expect to hear."

Sting just has that combination of old school rock and pop sound that resonates with audiences mixed with a great songwriter who writes what he wants and not what others tell him to, added Robichaud.

"Guys like Sting - you're probably not going to see many more of these guys."

(c) Journal Pioneer by Colin MacLean