Kevin's Watch

Hyperception says he just heard the Police's show in Orlando is tonight, and supposedly tickets are still available. He has seriously proposed we hit the Ticket Master outlet at the mall when they open and see what we can get.

Holy moley...

We got home about 1:30 am, and I crashed right out. So here is how it went.

Openging act was...Elvis Costello.
I am not a fan.
When Hyperception finally told me that as we were looking for parking, I nearly balked.
But...we got to our seats five minutes before he took the stage.

So...OK...
I'll admit it.
He is much better live than on anything from the studio of his I have heard. Not that I had heard all that much...

I don't know his music to tell you what he played. But he put on a solid tight show for a full hour. Sting came out at about the 40 minute mark and joined him on one song. All I know of the lyrics is "My aim is true." Don't know if that is the title. But, they sounded great together.

After Elvis Costello finished, it took the roadies about 15 minutes, and the lights went down. The Police then took the stage. Andy Summers has aged. Sting was as hot as ever, in his older way. But, Stewart Copeland looked exactly the same to me, except he wore his glasses on stage. I also found myself watching Copeland more than the other two. I never realized how good he actually is.

Set list...

First Set:
Bring on the night
Message in a bottle
Walking on the moon
Demolition Man
Voices inside my head
When the world is running down
Don't stand so close to me
Driven to tears
Hole in my life
Every little thing (she does)
Wrapped around your finger (Stewart Copeland, was simply amazing on this)
Doo-doo-doo
Invisable Sun
I can't stand loosing
(Sting's comment right before launching into I can't stand loosing: ''This is not Miami. This is not Tampa. This is not fucking Pensacola. This IS ORLANDO! We last played here about '93. But I remember our first gig here, in Disney.')

*end of first set*
3 minutes cheering to call them back

Second set:
Roxanne
King of pain
So lonely ('Welcome to the Stewart Copeland show,' said at one point in the lyrics)
Every breath you take (90 minute mark)

*end of second set*
3 minute break

Encore
All I want is to be next to you

And then came to the front of the stage to take a bow together, and said good night.

*soft smile*
I'm glad we went. It was awesome.

Coolness.

Okay, I posted in another thread about this, as did you, but I'd be excited about the Elvis Costello part as well.

The song you refer to is one called Allison, and one of the best of his early stuff in my opinion, and would have loved to hear that. Strangely enough, I never got especially excited about his early stuff. He is one of those performers that I think his best stuff lies on the albums rather than the radio. Queen is the same for me. I prefer their non-hits.

EC is especially poetic later on, and am blown away by his lyrics around the time of King of America and Spike. The one he did with the Brodsky Quartet (Juliet Letters) is another favorite of mine, though I understand a lot of people were turned off by that. The lyrics are amazing on that. And as I said in the other thread, All This Useless Beauty is one of the few albums I own that is solidly good from start to finish. Not a clunker on the entire thing.

For a long time, my favourite band. Possibly still.

Anyway, I regard it as one of the great musical tragedies that they got back together. I used to own a doco on these guys, in which Summers relates a story about how a fan was asking them to reform. This doco was made about fifteen years ago. Summers told the fan, "nah, we don't wanna be those sad old gits who go passed their useby dates . . ." Ironic.

Not that I'm saying they can't do it. It's just that it did end at exactly the right time the first time and, now, they had to go and mess it all up. I guess someone badly needed the money, or Sting was sick of people asking him why his stuff he wrote for The Police was always sooo much better than 90% of his solo career.

Anyway, just my five cents.

I can see that, Montresor.
They performed nothing new.
But, the musicianship is still powerful, and is definitely worth seeing. It still amazes me to have heard the sound that filled the arena with just the three of them.
No added keyboardist or rhythm guitarist, or anything.
Simply the classic trio throughout the show.

And...I'll admit nostalgia definitely enters the picture. Speak to me again regarding this 15 to 20 years on, OK? I am sure I would have had a similar attitude towards them reuniting when I was 30, compared to my current 48...

It's sound like it was an awesome show, Menolly. I'm quite jealous.

Watching the Police in high def (720p) on my PC - concert from Tokyo this year.

Wow! I sincerely did not realize that the original Police were back touring. Just last night I had a dream about them playing together again. What a coincidence. (Unless the physical manifestation of Sting's tantric-caliber ego actually reached all the way up here to NY and influenced my dream. Coincidence? Perhaps not...)

I saw them in concert back in the 80's (Synchronicity tour, I believe.) They were indeed very good (and not just in comparison to the dreadful opening act performance by Wang Chung. Woof.) And I agree about Stewart Copeland. Outstanding live drummer. I love Copeland's story of how the Police originally broke up (paraphrased): "Sting said we should take a short break and that he would call me when we should get together again. It has been over 20 years and I am still waiting for the phone call." I guess he finally got it.

Bought the Certifiable DVD/CD set. Just finished watching the Buenos Aires concert -- what beautiful noise it was -- and the documentary feature, which showed the guys to be just as wryly funny as they were all those years ago.

AjK wrote:Wow! I sincerely did not realize that the original Police were back touring.

Geez...I thought I was the one out of touch around here. (Kidding!)

matrixman wrote:Geez...I thought I was the one out of touch around here. (Kidding!)

LOL, just hand me that crown, my friend!