Sting has New Wave bona fides and cool jazz credibility. He's pale and he's funky. He's almost 50 but could pass for a thirty-something. He's macho and he speaks French. A lot of guys loathe him for any or all of those attributes.
Sting knows that.
And revels in the knowledge. With a mix of old and new material, he revved the crowd, a diverse and devoted group heavy in the soccer mom demographic. It was certainly a momentous night for Sting. At a dinner before the concert, he was presented with the Arab American Institute Foundation's 2001 Kahlil Gibran Spirit of Humanity award. The MCI concert got off to a rough start.