And then Sting and Trudie walked in to the bar…. my night at the Blue Note

Ordinarily I would tell you all about my run in Central Park yesterday morning, or the nice walk around the upper east side and how charmingly grand-parenty I think that neighborhood is, or the great late lunch I was fortunate enough to squeeze in at the infamous Spotted Pig in the West Village….but seriously, given the highlight of the night, who cares. Just so you know, I do sometimes worry that all my stories are not as interesting to other people as they are in my little head, but this morning I’m not worried.

Because as I was sitting and waiting for the Chris Botti show at the Blue Note to start, a little uncomfortable being alone, chatting with the random and very nice people I ended up sitting with, thinking to myself “who are the slackers that reserved that table right there and are about to miss the show?”, Sting and Trudie Styler and their (I’m assuming) bodyguard walked in and sat down about 5 feet from me.

I am a huge Sting fan, for the record.

Here’s the photo from Chris Botti’s Instagram this morning. You can see Sting on the right. I’m just off the frame behind him, about to pass out from excitement:

Only in New York.

I’ve seen Chris Botti perform probably five or six times, and the show honestly doesn’t change much, but I don’t care. I just love his music, his band, the energy….it’s always a great show. And he’s a musician’s musician – other artists clearly respect and love him, and he often has special guests at his shows. I’ve seen him with Josh Bell, and last time I was at the Blue Note, about five years ago, John Mayer sat in.

But STING? Come on.

It was a struggle to just get lost in the performance the way I like to, because I kept watching Sting and Trudie like some teenage fangirl….what do they drink? (tequila)…are the other people at the table with them or were they just randomly sat there? (random, and freaking out)…. is Sting as hot close up? (yes)

But soon enough the music was in full swing, the band commanding everyone’s attention, and before I knew it the show was almost over and there they sat, just watching along with us. Was he really not going to sing? I mean, I guess he should be able to go see music just like the rest of us and not be expected to perform, but….really?

It was 9:50 and the next show started at 10, so it wasn’t looking good.

Then Chris turned to him and said “I know this is an ambush, but would you sing one for us?”

YES!

Apparently I don’t have the right setup to upload video to these posts, so my description will just have to do. He got up onstage and first talked for a minute about how proud he was of Chris (Chris was Sting’s trumpet player for many years), and how Chris had discovered the secret of a great team: hire the absolute best people you can find and then give them room to shine. Amen, brother.

Then he brought down the house with “Every Breath You Take”. The Blue Note is a tiny venue, and everyone was standing and singing along…what an incredible experience. Even the Turkish family I was sitting with knew every word.

We all walked out into the cold New York night sort of stunned. Did that really just happen?

I’m off to NC today to visit with family… may your holidays be merry and bright and full of unexpected experiences. Be open to them – be willing to go places by yourself, talk to people you don’t know, and be uncomfortable sometimes. You never know when Sting might show up.

Cheers!

Traveling Girl