EVERY LITTLE THING HE DOES STINGS WORKS HIS MAGIC AT THE GREEK.Byline: Rob Lowman Entertainment Editor Sometimes you can't escape your past. It was about 40 minutes into Sting's show at the Greek Theatre on Tuesday when - as if on cue - the audience stood up as the British rocker played the first few notes of the Police hit ``Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic'' from the 1981 album ``Ghost in the Machine.'' Until then, Sting had done a mixture of songs from his Grammy-winning new album, ``Brand New Day,'' and songs from earlier in his solo career. Dressed in a sleeveless black T-shirt and grayish-black cargo pants cargo pants or trousers Noun, pl loose trousers with a large external pocket on the side of each leg , the trim 48-year-old Sting with his short-cropped blond hair doesn't look much different than he did when he hit the rock scene with the Police in the late '70s. Backed by a a tight six-piece band with guitarist Dominic Miller Dominic Miller is an Argentine-English guitarist. Born in Buenos Aires in 1960, he spent the first ten years of his life growing up in Argentina before embarking on a journey northwards to Wisconsin, North America, moving again to London, England two years later. and keyboardist Kipper, he kicked off his one-hour, 50-minute set with the atmospheric ``A Thousand Years'' from his new album, then segued into ``If You Love Somebody Set Them Free'' from his first solo album, 1985's ``The Dream of the Blue Turtles.'' With his bass guitar slung slung v. Past tense and past participle of sling1. slung Verb the past of sling1 slung sling low, Sting bounced or swayed his hips to the music as he sang. Unlike many of today's acts who churn out the music on stage like it's from a jukebox, Sting and bandmates interacted like, well, a real band, and while the interpretations of songs for the most part didn't depart radically from the album versions, they at least had an organic feel. Despite his superstar status, there was nothing of that in Sting's stage presence, which emanated a joyfulness and playfulness that has endeared him to his fans. During his first break in the music, he looked out into the audience and saw two young women holding a sign. He read it to the crowd. ``We want to belly dance for you,'' it said. ``I'll get back to you later,'' he told the women. Toward the end of the set, he asked the security guard to bring the two women to the stage, and after hugs, introduced them as Angie and Sue. He then launched into his recent hit ``Desert Rose,'' a seductive song of longing with a Middle Eastern flavor. As it turned out, Angie and Sue weren't bad, but not professional by a long shot, as they scrambled to make up their choreography as they went along. What made the moment, though, was that Sting seemed so unconcerned that the women would somehow disrupt the performance. With a more than 20-year career and numerous chart-topping songs, Sting can make almost any concert seem like a greatest-hits collection. Some of the highlights included older songs like ``Fields of Gold,'' ``An Englishman in New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of ,'' ``If I Ever Lose My Faith in You,'' ``Every Breath You Take'' (unofficially known as the stalker song), ``Moon Over Bourbon Street'' (with a nice Louis Armstrong growl and driving trumpet) plus songs off his new album such as ``After the Rain Has Fallen'' and ``Fill Her Up.'' Sting has taken a few dings in the press lately for his associations with big money. Compaq sponsors his tour and he does a commercial for a luxury car company using the song ``Desert Rose.'' Part of the criticism stems from the fact that he has always championed causes like saving the Amazon rain forest, so to some it seems like a sellout. However, he has continued to support his causes. Through the years, you get the feeling Sting could roll out of bed and write a hit pop song, but that he has had other ambitions. Instead, he has incorporated elements from his jazz background and world music in his work. Watching him Tuesday, it was clear that he was more interested in his newer, more complex tunes; nevertheless, he didn't begrudge be·grudge tr.v. be·grudged, be·grudg·ing, be·grudg·es 1. To envy the possession or enjoyment of: She begrudged him his youth. See Synonyms at envy. 2. his fans their love of oldies Oldies is a generic term commonly used to describe a radio format that usually concentrates on Top 40 music from the '50s, '60s and '70s. Oldies are typically from R&B, pop and rock music genres. and gave them what they came for. His second-to-last number, which was during his third encore, was a lovely version of the Police's ``Message in a Bottle,'' which he did without his band, accompanying himself on guitar. He turned the pop quality of the tune into a wistfulness wist·ful adj. 1. Full of wishful yearning. 2. Pensively sad; melancholy. [From obsolete wistly, intently. , and it worked perfectly as a lead-in to the lovely ``Fragile'' from his 1987 album ``Nothing Like the Sun.'' ``For all those born beneath an angry star/ Lest we forget Lest We Forget is a phrase popularised in 1887, by Rudyard Kipling; it formed the refrain of his poem Recessional. As a title, it may refer to any of:
Leave it to Sting to sober up Verb 1. sober up - become sober after excessive alcohol consumption; "Keep him in bed until he sobers up" sober become, get, go - enter or assume a certain state or condition; "He became annoyed when he heard the bad news"; "It must be getting more serious"; an intoxicating in·tox·i·cate v. in·tox·i·cat·ed, in·tox·i·cat·ing, in·tox·i·cates v.tr. 1. To stupefy or excite by the action of a chemical substance such as alcohol. 2. evening. The facts --Who: Sting. --Where: Greek Theatre, 2700 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. . --When: 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday (and Aug. 18 at Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre or Verizon Wireless Music Center may refer to:
--Tickets: $43.50 to $128.50. --Information: (213) 480-3232. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (color) Sting opens up to the audience at the Greek Theatre on Tuesday night. Performances continue Friday and Saturday. Michael Owen
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