The band, who made a boat load of cash last year with their reunion tour, will once again hit the road on May 1 in Ottawa. They’ll play some more North American dates in May, before heading to Europe in June and then returning to North America to wrap things up by August.

The Police will play mostly amphitheaters, with a few arenas, as opposed to last year’s stadium tour (which was great, but the sound in certain stadiums just sound like garbage) and will feature Elvis Costello & The Imposters as openers.

I saw them last year, and spent too much for tickets, but seeing them in a better venue and with Elvis Costello could make me go catch them one last time.

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The weather held out last night, as fans eagerly waited for the reunion tour of the year, maybe even the decade. The legendary trio came blazing onto the stage with electric renditions of “Message in a Bottle” and “Synchronicity II”.  Of course the band played all of their hits including “Every Breath You Take”, “Roxanne”, and “Don’t Stand So Close To Me”, but managed to sneak in some favorites like “Invisible Sun” and “Bed’s Too Big Without You”.

If you’ve been following this tour, the setlist hasn’t really changed, but fans didn’t seem to mind. Sting sounded fantastic, while adding a lot of “e’s” and oh’s” to generate a crowd response. Andy Summers guitar work was stellar, making us forget that he’s in his 62. But drummer Stewart Copeland stole the show. During songs like “Wrapped Around Your Finger” and “King of Pain” Copeland ran back and forth from his drum kit to another percussion kit. Sting noted the brilliance of Copeland during “So Lonely” when he changed the lines from “Welcome to this one man show” to “Welcome to the Stewart Copeland show”.

Highlights from the show were “Driven To Tears”, “Walking in Your Footsteps” and Can’t Stand Losing You” where the band incorporated “Reggatta de Blanc” and Sting told the crowd that he wanted us so loud that “New York City can hear you”.

The only problem was the venue, Citizens Bank Park, home of the Philadelphia Phillies. While it’s a new and beautiful ball park, it’s not a great place for concerts. The acoustics at times were too unnatural and overwhelming, which made me miss the good ol’ Vet. However, the 2 hour set was money well spent, and if you have a chance, check out The Police’s reunion tour.
 

Setlist:                                                                                                                                  Message in a Bottle
Synchronicity II
Walking On The Moon
Voices Inside My Head
When The World Is Running Down
Don’t Stand So Close To Me
Driven To Tears
Truth Hits Everybody
Bed’s Too Big Without You
Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic
Wrapped Around Your Finger
De Do Do Do De Da Da Da
Invisible Sun
Walking In Your Footsteps
Can’t Stand Losing You
Roxanne
                                 Encore:                                                                                                                                         King Of Pain
So Lonely
Every Breath You Take
Next To You

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The song has great lyrics by Sting and Stewart Copeland does some amazing drumming as well. It’s been preformed by both The Police and Sting’s solo concerts and at events such as Live Aid and Live Earth.

Pearl Jam also covers “Driven To Tears” from time to time at concerts, mainly during their 2003 tour. It’s hard to cover a band like The Police, but if any band, Pearl Jam would be that band.

The Police – Driven To Tears video

Pearl Jam – Driven To Tears video

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The 1978 debut from The Police is one of my favorites. Lyrically it’s very dark, but musically is upbeat. If you didn’t listen to the lyrics, you would probably dance around and not even know that Sting is singing about suicide. Genius. I read that the album didn’t sell much when first released, but eventually caught on after touring and the release of a song called “Roxanne”.

The album starts off with a bang with the punky “Next To You” and then smoothly goes into one of my favorite songs ever “So Lonely”. “Roxanne” is track 3, before the jammy “Hole in My Life” kicks in. The album also contains some more of favorites that include the suicide themed “Can’t Stand Losing You”, the love gone wrong tale “Truth Hits Everybody” and an anthem for the decade of conformity “Born In The 50’s”. Overall the album has a reggae/punk blend that surprisingly works with great vocals and harmonies.

It’s a great album from a great band and you should buy it now if you don’t already own it.

Post from: Smells Like Alternative

The 1978 debut from The Police is one of my favorites. Lyrically it’s very dark, but musically is upbeat. If you didn’t listen to the lyrics, you would probably dance around and not even know that Sting is singing about suicide. Genius. I read that the album didn’t sell much when first released, but eventually caught on after touring and the release of a song called “Roxanne”.

The album starts off with a bang with the punky “Next To You” and then smoothly goes into one of my favorite songs ever “So Lonely”. “Roxanne” is track 3, before the jammy “Hole in My Life” kicks in. The album also contains some more of favorites that include the suicide themed “Can’t Stand Losing You”, the love gone wrong tale “Truth Hits Everybody” and an anthem for the decade of conformity “Born In The 50’s”. Overall the album has a reggae/punk blend that surprisingly works with great vocals and harmonies.

It’s a great album from a great band and you should buy it now if you don’t already own it.

Post from: Smells Like Alternative