It was forecast to rain, but luckily the musical rain gods were guarding the tiny little island on the Bay from any precipitation.  As the crowds walked into the outdoor venue, they were given a pair of black and red Oracle micro blankets, along with lightweight emergency pronto ponchos, as though the organizers were expecting a downpour of rain.  The blankets provided warmth and comfort, but luckily the ponchos were not needed.

Plenty of food was served including barbecued pork, chicken and sausages, sushi rolls, shrimp jambalaya, vegetarian fare, and deserts.  Bottomless cups of beer and wine were served all evening.  All this in a carnival atmosphere that included a 100 foot Ferris wheel, and plenty of game booths for participants to win stuffed animals and prizes.

Before the musical festivities began, it was announced that Steve Jobs had passed away just a few hours ago, and a moment of silence was asked of the audience.  It was eerie to only hear the slight wind along with a few plastic cups rolling in the background, and complete silence from the large crowd.

Sting dedicated “Fields of Gold” to Steve Jobs.

Sting opened with The Police’s first hit “Message in a Bottle” from their 1979 debut album, “Regatta de Blanc”.  The rest of the 16 song set, included 8 songs from both the Police and his solo albums: “Englishman in New York”, “Everything Little Thing She Does is Magic”, “When We Dance”, “Fields of Gold”, “If You Love Somebody Set them Free”, “Hounds of Winter”,  “Driven to Tears”, “Shape of My Heart”, “Seven Days”, “Wrapped Around Your Finger”, “When the World is Running Down You Make the Best of What’s Still Around”, and finally finished his set with “Roxanne”.   He returned to the stage to perform “Desert Rose”, “King of Pain”, and his iconic signature song, “Every Breath You Take”.

Just recently, on October 1st, Sting played a charity concert at the Beacon Theatre in New York City,  that benefited the Robin Hood Foundation, the eve of his 60th birthday, and was joined by guest performers Bruce Springsteen, Lady Gaga, Billy Joel, and will.i.am.   He also released a new box set, Sting: 25 Years, featuring 45 remastered tracks, a previously unreleased live concert DVD and a hardcover book containing rare photos, complete lyrics and personal commentary, celebrating his 25th anniversary as a solo artist.

Like Sting, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers opened up with “Listen to Her Heart”, a song from his first album released in 1978, “You’re Going to Get it”,  just a year before Sting hit the musical scene.

Petty then followed his set with “You Don’t Know How it Feels”, “Roll Another Joint”, “Mary Jane’s Last Dance”, “Don’t Do Me Like That”, “I Won’t Back Down”, “Free Fallin”, “Fooled Again”, a cover of Muddy Waters “Champagne and Reefer”, “Breakdown”, “First Flash of Freedom”, “I Should Have Known It”, “Good Enough”, “Learning to Fly”, “Don’t Come Around No More”, “Refugee”, “Runnin’ Down a Dream”, and finished off with an encore of “American Girl”.

With these two great rock artists sharing the stage at Treasure Island that night, “Legendary” was definitely the word at Oracle’s Appreciation Event.