Catching Sting in Paris

The recent half dozen trips in Europe all took place in the spring. We would always see posters advertising summer tours for different bands, by which time we would have invariably retreated home.

During the summer when we were planning for this trip, it somehow got on our radar that we were going to coincide with Sting in Paris. Such an occaission was not to be missed. By then, of course, the show was sold out. We tried the reseller viagogo for the first time. It was a fantastic show for John and me, considering John is the same level of fan as I am.

The next day we happened by the Rex Theatre. It turned out Bob Dylan was in town for three nights. Unfortunately the sold out shows were not on viagogo, and we didn't feel comfortable exchanging hundreds of euros with a stranger. There was no Bob for us.

Our daylong camino to the Sting show from Saint-Malo to Paris included changing buses in Tinténiac, Bretagne where a young man was cleaning signage.


We booked a room at the Hotel Tiquetonne, near Les Halles, and thanks to the pleasant natured front desk person we ended up in a huge-for-Paris double with a fridge and a view towards Montmartre.


Since we arrived in the afternoon we had time to walk past the Hôtel de Ville and Notre-Dame de Paris, and pop into Saint-Eustache, before eating dinner and heading to the show.







The security check lines at the Accor Arena were long but moving, and soon we were inside.


Our seats were in the first row of the upper deck where the sound was loud and crisp, and the video screens easy to see.


Sting did a great show, fronting the band while playing bass, and giving each member of his band a "time to shine". He opened with a rocking Message in a Bottle and finished his encore with a solo version of Fragile.






Now appearing, Bob Dylan. What?!