On stage, Sting hasn't aged a day

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Sting At Massey Hall in Toronto on Tuesday

And so this is Sting at the age of 60. Sounding good, looking fine – every breath he took was visible, his T-shirt so tight as to reveal the details of his respiration – the milkman's son from Newcastle and former ace-face of the Police was in buff and buzz-cut form at Massey Hall, where he chatted amiably and delivered a well-received set of millionaire-Englishman blues-rock and assorted hits from his long career. On stage with a five-piece band that included a pair of fiddlers, the chatty superstar spoke of the past – "So much history," he said of Massey, also mentioning that ghosts were in his dressing room and that Toronto "felt like home" – but he wasn't completely beholden to his bygones, feeling no need, for example, to flip on the most famous red light in pop history. If Roxanne did not figure, though, 22 others did, including the following highlights.

THE STANDOUTS

All This Time A single from the 1991 solo album The Soul Cages, the opening number's breeze and bounce belied darker lyrics about the death of the musician's father. Sting's current tour is dubbed "back to bass," a play on words referring to the stripped down nature of the show, as opposed to his pretentious lute playing in the past or the orchestral hubbub of his previous tour. As for the "bass," Sting fluidly and strappingly played a pair of Fender Precision models.

I Hung My Head After the Nashville-styled I'm So Happy I Can't Stop Crying, the castle-dwelling musician told his audience he had a "problem with authenticity," as it pertained to writing country music. "I'm not from the south. I'm not even from the south of England." Perhaps his authenticity issues stem from thinking that his tuneful murder ballad was anything other than enjoyable light-rock, regardless if the song was once covered by Johnny Cash.

Insid E From 2003's Sacred Love album. If his outlandish torso didn't impress the ladies enough – as he sang, with two feet together behind the mic-stand, his baldness and V-shaped physique made him look like an Oscar statuette – his comments before this brooding rocker cemented his appeal. The long-married rock star spoke of the risk of "emotional annihilation" as the root behind the male fear of commitment. Women gasped in agreement at the observation.

Love Is Stronger Than Justice (The Munificent Seven) The spaghetti-western/country conflation was notable only for a wild-eyed bowing by fiddler Peter Tickell. We haven't seen such aggressive friction since Sting and Police drummer Stewart Copeland were going at each other regularly back in the day.

Encore The Moroccan-roll of Desert Rose compelled one to charm snakes, belly dance and eat a fig – all at once. The inching rhythm of Every Breath You Take, about an ex-lover's serious surveillance issues, took us back a couple of decades. Next to You was effervescent punk-lite. And Message in a Bottle, with Sting solo on a classical guitar, was pure pop euphoria. "Another lonely day," sang the main attraction, in a high and forlorn holler, "no one here but me." A crowd sang along in complete disagreement – message received, loud and clear.

THE COMPLETE SET LIST

All This Time

Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic

Seven Days

Demolition Man

I'm So Happy I Can't Stop Cryin

I Hung My Head

Stolen Car (Take Me Dancing)

Driven To Tears

Fortress Around Your Heart

Fields Of Gold

Sacred Love

Ghost Story

Heavy Cloud No Rain

Inside

Love Is Stronger Than Justice

The Hounds Of Winter

End Of The Game

Never Coming Home

Encore

Desert Rose

Every Breath You Take

Second Encore

Next To You

Third Encore

Message In A Bottle (Sting solo)

Sting plays three shows at Vancouver's Queen Elizabeth Theatre Dec. 8-10.