So, I haven't written in a long time, mainly because I haven't really felt like I had anything to say. I could also use the excuse that I have been really busy at work, which I sort of have. If things weren't piled on me, I would have other things that I had to take care of first before writing this blog. But of course, as I have always said, I am a master of procrastination when it comes to myself. So what brings me back here. I dunno, maybe I just wanted to record my thoughts on this so I can remember it one day while rereading this. Basically I wanted to talk about seeing the Police again during there reunion tour.
I went to see them on Aug.1 at Madison Square Garden. Now you have to understand, back in the day, I was/am a huge Police fan. I loved these guys from the minute I first heard them and own every album, a bunch of the 45s. This all serves for a ridiculous irony in my life. Because you see, on Aug.1, 2007, I saw the Police live for only the second time in my life. I find it hilarious, and until they reunited a bit embarrassing considering how much I loved them and loved seeing live bands back when I was younger. But the facts are that I never saw them live except once. Every time they came to America, it was inconvenient for me to see them, or I had something else happening that night. The last time I had a chance to see them, they were playing Giant stadium and the Go-Go's, another band I love, was opening for them. I kinda had something else I had to do, plus it was a bitch for me to get out to Giant Stadium in Jersey, so I figured I would just catch them the next time they came to the Garden. Then they broke up. Sucks for me. The only time I ever saw them live was in 1978. I was 13 and already a degenerate drunk. Clocking in at about 5'10" and around 220 pounds, I already pretty much looked 20-22 years old. So I had some bad friends back then that already were hanging out at clubs so I went with them On one such occasion, at CBGBs, I saw this new group from England called, The Police. I thought they were pretty cool, with this new sound that was underlying the new wave punk sound they were playing. I asked my friend about it and he said that was a reggae back beat. My first exposure to reggae oddly enough. I loved it and they caused me to go and seek out more reggae later on at the Bitter End (another club long gone now (boo hoo)), and the Bottom Line. They were crazy energetic, as most young bands were, but their lyrics and the sheer energy and intelligence in them made me take notice. I loved them from that point on, and when they said they were releasing an album here. I couldn't wait to get it.
And ironically, you know the rest, nearly 30 years later I got to see them live on stage again. I had heard that when the tour started, they sucked. They didn't sound cohesive enough, and Sting was allowed to change the arrangements and his vocals to reflect his solo work which is significantly jazz based. But everyone basically reported the exact same thing, after the negative reactions, they tightened up their arrangements and basically returned to form, after the first month, the reports were that they were sounding incredibly good and almost like the old Police. A few weeks later, the reports were that they were fantastic.
I was incredibly anxious to see them I was wondering about the reviews for the concerts. At the Grammys when they performed "Roxanne", they started great, but then Sting went into his drawn out jazz vocal solo and the song sort of sagged there. I've seen a bunch of their live performances on bootleg tapes. The Police were a great band live, one of the best kind that believe that they should play a song live, live, which means that you change the arrangements around so they don't bore yourself or the audience. You get the chance to make the song sound fresh and when you have amazing musicians as they are, you want to add and make the music grow when you play live. And the Police have always done that, they would take their songs, and not draw the song out so that it was like the Dead or Zeppelin and when you walked away and came back 15 minutes later, they were still jamming on the same song. They would take one of their songs, keep much of the basic rhythm and then change it up a bit, juice up the reggae or the rock, fill out the bass more, mess with the percussions, and most importantly, Sting may change the inflections of his voice. Sting's voice being the actual fourth instrument in the second best power trio that ever lived. The best being Rush of course. (We were joking and someone said that Geddy Lee, like Sting, still sounded exactly the same. I said, yeah, but Sting actually still looks like himself with less hair, but Geddy went from looking like an ugly little girl to an ugly old woman.) But I digress. The best example is, of course, "Every Breath You Take". It's well known that when you seriously read the lyrics, the song is the stalker national anthem. And Sting meant it, half of Synchronicity is dedicated to his divorce and him both wanting and hating his ex. Unfortunately, the by product of Sting's weird falsetto and his love of using big SAT words and phrases is that people don't hear or understand most of his lyrics. ("How my poor heart aches" becomes "I'm your pool hall ace". Sad but true, don't lie, you know you thought it was that or something similar.) And when you listen to the studio version, it's a dark, tension filled song. But because it is an amazing song and the chorus is the only verse that is completely understandable, ridiculous amounts of people thought it was a serious love song about dedication. I read that Sting couldn't stop laughing about that, but realized people loved that song so much, they couldn't see it for what he originally intended. So, in concert, Sting changes the song completely. The basic beat is there, but he speeds the arrangement up a half beat, tones the bass down and he sings the song with a smile, completely different inflections and a lighter tone, so that it is now a love song with slightly weird lyrics. (I believe he's smiling and laughing because he still loves the irony of an angry stalker song being a love song at a wedding.) So my point is that The Police live, from the tapes I've seen, are a different experience live. I've always contended that if you want to hear the song the way it was played on the record, just stay home, put the record on, and take the album cover and move it from side to side. You'll save money.
So when my friend Stephanie and I finally went to see them, the opening band was Fiction Plane. Who is Fiction Plane you ask. Fiction Plane is Sting's son, Joe Sumner's band. I just wanted to note this because I read about an interview with him, where he didn't want to be associated with his father, he didn't want to use that as a way to get noticed. Unfortunately, when you play bass in a power trio and your live voice sounds like Sting with a bit more bass, well........ you might want to learn piano and add some more guitars. Their songs also sound like the lost Police songs. Police songs if they didn't have the reggae influence and more rock. Anyway, just wanted to mention that.
When the Police did finally come on, ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. It was almost everything I waited for. They were so far from that raw little punk band that I saw playing the shitty stage of CBGBs, where they looked like three blonde chicks hopping around. They were a tight cohesive unit. And of course the arena was filled by just the three of them. You can literally go on about just what amazing musicians these three men are. Sting's voice and his bass filled every nook and cranny of the songs. Andy Summers played the guitar as well as any of the rock gods out there. (Amazing for a man that will be collecting Social Security in December. Yes, he's a year older than Keith Richards. Or as Steffa would say, amazing until you see the neck flap under his chin. (wince) You wouldn't have known that he had only been putting out jazz, fusion and progressive guitar albums out for 15 years with Robert Fripp.) And Stewart Copeland. His performance should remind everyone that he is pretty much one of the most influential drummers in the last 25 years. (Unfortunately, when I went to see them on Friday, someone pointed out that he looked disturbingly a lot like John Kerry.) I don't say much about Sting because, well, he's Sting. Every song was a subtle or not so subtle rearrangement of most of their classic songs and some of their lesser heard early songs. They only played 2 hours, and there was at least one or two songs that they didn't play that they could have. But by the time they finished, every 40+ year old there was tired from screaming and singing along. (Hilariously, Sting wouldn't finish verses for some songs because the audience singing along filled the ends out nicely.) But they really gave you everything that you wanted. I'm not going to go on much more, just that the chance to see them is worth it. Below, you'll find the set list from Aug. 1, 2007 at MSG. Some songs will surely surprise.
My final thoughts are that I'm retarded for having waited so long to see them again. But unlike Zeppelin, where Bonham died, so there was never a chance, I at least got to see the finally and I at least found a little happiness. Something actually went my way for once.
ODD SIDE NOTES:
I went again on Friday, Aug.3, I didn't have tickets but my friend Ernesto, whom I am eternally grateful, had an extra ticket for the Cablevision suite in the Garden, so I saw them from a Skybox eating chicken wings, chicken quesadillas and drinking beer. The energy was different in the Skybox, in the arena, everyone is together and feeling the same energy. In the box, you are high and detached somewhat. A few of us still really got into it and enjoyed the hell out of it, but a number of the jaded sales guys in there were going on afterwards about how they had no energy, no chemistry, you could tell they hated each other, everything every person that has seen them recently has not said. Of course, they were all too busy trying to drink as much of the free alcohol as possible and hitting on these two blondes that they found in the hallway. I noticed that one of the sales guys' wedding ring was conveniently missing and that he was staying at his friends place that night.
My friend Stephanie and I were desperately trying to get tickets when they were first announced. We couldn't get tickets for our lives. We were so angry and sad. The company then had their lottery for the two shows. Steffa and I both threw our names in the lottery and I asked my friend Marilyn also to throw her name in. They then announced that the Police would be performing on Oct. 31 at the Garden for one more show. The day those tickets went on sale, Stef and I tried and she got through and we got seats for Oct. 31. The company then sent out the winners of the lottery (with the great prize that you get to the chance to buy seats for the concert, at no discount but only a slightly lesser service charge than Ticketmaster). Everyone won. Stef got seats, Marilyn got seats, I got seats. We went from no seats to 4 sets of tickets. Marilyn ended up selling her seats to one of the sales guys and I sold my seats to one of our friends, Jeff. Stef and I agreed to go together on Wednesday, their first show in NYC and we would hold on to the Halloween tickets and see if we wanted to go. On Wednesday, at dinner, Stef said that she really wasn't sure about Halloween and probably wouldn't go. I was pretty sure that I would go, so she said that I could have the ticket and take someone else. I tried to convince her, joking she had to come whether she liked it or not. After the show, during which Stef actually zoned out and I think she fell in love with Sting, she claims Stewart, she said she was going to the Halloween show. I said, no, you didn't want to go, I'm taking the ticket. She would probably smack me if I try to keep that ticket from her.
Finally, after seeing all the fans at the concert, Stef and I each had a good comment.
Stef: Look at that sea of bald heads.
Me: I can honestly say I'm one of the best looking 40 year old here.
MSG, Aug.1 Set List
Intro Song Over PA - Get Up, Stand Up (Bob Marley)
1. Message In A Bottle
2. Synchronicity II
3. Walking On The Moon
4. Voices Inside My Head/When The World Is Running Down…
5. Don’t Stand So Close To Me
6. Driven To Tears
7. Truth Hits Everybody
8. Bed’s Too Big Without You
9. Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic
10. Wrapped Around My Finger
11. De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da
12. Inivisible Sun
13. Walking In Your Footsteps
14. I Can’t Stand Losing You
15. Roxanne (end set)
First Encore
16. King of Pain
17. So Loneley
18. Every Breath You Take
Second Encore
19. Next To You
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