# Sting & the San Francisco Symphony at Davies Symphony Hall, February 14, 2024

[San Francisco Symphony](https://www.sfsymphony.org/Buy-Tickets/2023-24/STING) presents [Sting](http://sting.com/)  
[Davies Symphony Hall](http://www.sfsymphony.org)  
[201 Van Ness, San Francisco, CA 94102 USA](http://maps.google.com/maps?q=201+Van+Ness,+San+Francisco,+CA+94102+USA&hl=en)  
7:30 PM, Wednesday, February 14, 2024

[[2024-02-11|Back to the previous event!]] ☸ [[:#section2024|Up to the 2024 yearbox!]] ☸ [[:2024#February_events|Up to the 2024 event list!]] ☸ [[2024-02-15|On to the next event!]]

## Set One

[7:25 PM] {pre-show orchestral noodling as the crowd drifts in to their seats}  
[7:35 PM] {lights down; house announcements}  
[7:36 PM] {orchestral tuning}  
[7:37 PM] {enter Edwin Outwater & Sting}  
[7:37 PM] {greetings from Sting; Sting puts on acoustic guitar; _Roxanne_ story}

01. [7:41 PM] _Roxanne_  
[7:44 PM] {applause; guitar off}  
[7:45 PM] {Quentin Crisp story}
02. [7:46 PM] _Englishman in New York_
03. [7:51 PM] _Every Little Thing You Do Is Magic_  
[7:56 PM] {Sting talks about his castle estate near Stonehenge: drop by for tea!}
04. [7:57 PM] _Fields of Gold_  
[8:01 PM] {banter}
05. [8:01 PM] _When We Dance_  
[8:06 PM] {applause; contrabass swaps to bass}  
[8:07 PM] {writing a western story}
06. [8:09 PM] _I Hung My Head_  
[8:14 PM] {father-son story}
07. [8:16 PM] _Why Should I Cry for You_  
[8:22 PM] {bass swaps back to contrabass; fox-hunt story}
08. [8:24 PM] _End of the Game_  
[8:30 PM] {applause at set-end; intermission!}

## Set Two

[8:51 PM] {lights down; tuning}  
[8:51 PM] {applause for entrance of EO + Sting}  
[8:52 PM] {banter about gambler-philosophers}

01. [8:52 PM] _Shape of My Heart_  
[8:57 PM] {recollections of the COVID-19 shut-down in SF; Sting on acoustic guitar}
02. [8:58 PM] _the Last Ship_  
[9:02 PM] {SFS sits out for the next three songs; Sting takes off the guitar; RM swaps from keyboard to grand piano; set-up story for the next two songs}
03. [9:03 PM] _Practical Arrangement_  
[9:06 PM] {Biden joke}
04. [9:07 PM] _What Say You Meg?_  
[9:11 PM] {contrabass swaps to bass; SFS rejoins; Wyatt Underhill moves out front; Sting: I would vote for Biden... this is Wyatt}
05. [9:12 PM] _What Could Have Been_  
[9:15 PM] {back to bass; story about watching Russian kids television in the 1980's}
06. [9:17 PM] _Russians_
07. [9:21 PM] _King of Pain_  
[9:26 PM] {applause; Sting: I got no story; Sting on acoustic guitar; contrabass swaps to bass}
08. [9:27 PM] _Every Breath You Take_  
[9:32 PM] {applause at end of set two; EO & Sting head offstage for a break}  
   
**Encore**
09. [9:34 PM] _Desert Rose_  
[9:39 PM] {refugee boat guitar story; Sting on acoustic guitar}
10. [9:44 PM] _Fragile_  
[9:48 PM] {final applause; show ends}


## Performers

### San Francisco Symphony

[San Francisco Symphony](http://www.sfsymphony.org)

* [Edwin Outwater](http://www.edwinoutwater.com/): conductor;
* [Esa-Pekka Salonen](http://www.esapekkasalonen.com/): music director;
* [Wyatt Underhill](https://www.sfsymphony.org/Data/Event-Data/Artists/U/Wyatt-Underhill): concertmaster, violin solo during _What Could Have Been_;
* symphony members vary by program;
 see [the current list](https://sfsymphony.encoreplus.app/posts/111500/the-orchestra4).


### Special Guests

* [Rob Mathes](https://www.robmathes.com/): piano, keyboard;
* [Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner AKA Sting](http://sting.com/): acoustic guitar, vox;
* ?Dominic Miller: guitar;
* ?: drums (playing in a plexiglass cage, lol);
* ?: bass, contrabass;

## Notes

Today is a dull, grey, somewhat rainy winter day. Traffic is thoroughly snarled at the 13 N-to-24 E merge -- bumper to bumper beyond our Thornhill on ramp, but we have built in time for things like that, and we arrive at West Oakland BART without any other trouble. Our westbound train pulls up as we finish climbing to the platform: another reason why it's worth the extra drive vs. Rockridge! Soon afterwards we pull in at Civic Center Station, where we climb the stairs back to street level. Happily, today's storm has swindled to a soft mist, and after our brief walk past UN Civic Center Plaza, the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, and SF City Hall, we arrive at Davies Hall shortly after 7 PM: no need for worry or rush, whew!

And then I realized that I don't have any e-tickets in my stash. Weird! I check my email: nothing there either, extra weird. I visit the box office and ask them to look me up. Success! Tickets are printed and handed through the window, yay! Turns out that we're sitting up in the front row of the stage right side tier: exactly even with the line of musicians across the stage front. It's a great view, if you're a profile lover. I'm ok with it: I wasn't happy with the price being asked for my usual seats in center orchestra, and if I'd rather be close and off center than centered way up in the balcony where the ticket prices matched my interest level.

So how was the show? I thought it was quite engaging: it was a treat to hear Sting tell stories connected with his songs, even if that meant we got to hear fewer tunes (stories take time, after all), and even when the stories were about lesser known tunes than his big hits. I'm glad I went ... and really surprised to hear that Sting will be back in town later this year, doing an electric show at the Masonic. That could be a fun time too!

[Program Notes](https://sfsymphony.encoreplus.app/c/02-1415-sting-and-the-sf-sympho/feed?postTypeId=whatsNew) or {{:2024:2024-02:20240214pn.pdf|program notes}}

## Photos

Big thanks to Ting for the photo gallery!

{{gallery>:2024:2024-02?20240214-*.jpg}}

{{:wip.png?nolink}}  **Whoa!**  This section is incomplete for now, sorry! {{:wip.png?nolink}}

{{tag>music San_Francisco_Symphony Sting Davies_Symphony_Hall Edwin_Outwater Esa-Pekka_Salonen Wyatt_Underhill Gordon_Matthew_Thomas_Sumner Rob_Mathes}}

[[2024-02-11|Back to the previous event!]] ☸ [[:#section2024|Up to the 2024 yearbox!]] ☸ [[:2024#February_events|Up to the 2024 event list!]] ☸ [[2024-02-15|On to the next event!]]