August 2008 - Police - mailman.xmission.com

Re: [Police] Final show
by Doreliz Gonzalez 11 Aug '08

11 Aug '08

You can download the VLC Media Player. It pretty much plays any file and in better quality. http://www.videolan.org/vlc/ When you launch the file, it'll open a small screen and you have to click on the "play" button in order for the screen to expand and the video to show up on the screen. I hope that helps! ----- Original Message ---- From: Angeline Adams <angeline.adams(a)gmail.com> To: police(a)mailman.xmission.com Sent: Monday, August 11, 2008 5:42:15 AM Subject: Re: [Police] Final show Well, I find myself a bit teary-eyed... sounds like they did some nice stuff, though I also find it rather bizarre that they didn't just play some fan favourite tracks rather than stuff by other artists. It's not like they have to worry about ticket sales suffering due to casual fans being disappointed by that kind of thing, any more... Having a lot of trouble getting the files people have posted links to working... downloaded the AVI file and found that Windows Media Player won't play it because it needs to know something about a codec... what programme have other people been able to use to open it? Angeline

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Re: [Police] Final show
by Angeline Adams 11 Aug '08

11 Aug '08

Well, I find myself a bit teary-eyed... sounds like they did some nice stuff, though I also find it rather bizarre that they didn't just play some fan favourite tracks rather than stuff by other artists. It's not like they have to worry about ticket sales suffering due to casual fans being disappointed by that kind of thing, any more... Having a lot of trouble getting the files people have posted links to working... downloaded the AVI file and found that Windows Media Player won't play it because it needs to know something about a codec... what programme have other people been able to use to open it? Angeline

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Andy in Calendar
by Patrick Moore 10 Aug '08

10 Aug '08

The 2009 Fender Custom Shop calendar features Andy's telecaster and the man himself with a picture for one month.

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NY Times ad
by Jeff Lee 09 Aug '08

09 Aug '08

Hi, I heard that the NY Times had a great ad of the Police thanking everyone for the tour. Did anyone happen to get an extra copy they could sell to me? I actually found the paper where I live but there was no ad. I think I bought the "national edition" which is different. I am confused? Thanks, Jeff

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Re: [Police] Final Show - Madison Square Garden
by Chris Ryan 08 Aug '08

08 Aug '08

> The trio made a few minor tweaks and changes, the comedic end with a > roadie dressed up as the "fat lady opera singer" and Looney Toones' > "That's All Folks" was funny, but left this fan wanting just a bit > more. Instead of two extra songs from other bands, I wish we could > have > heard some of the gems in the catalog. Synchronicity, Murder By > Numbers, Spirits in the Material, Walking in Your Footsteps, Bring on > the Night. They know how to play them, in fact, they played them this > tour. Just not all in one place. Doesn't the "final" gig justify > that? > > A couple decades ago, I watched "The Church" play what seemed like an > infinite show. It was almost 3 1/2 hours long and most of the crowd > had > left by the end. Inexplicably, they just kept playing and playing > to a > small Utah audience. I wondered how long The Police could play > before I > left. If by some superhuman ability, they could play days, weeks, > months, how long would the fans hold out? When would it become > obnoxious and numbing? How much is too much? When would I be > forced to > get back to reality and my life? In many ways this tour was that. 18 > year-old Pete pushing 41-year-old Pete back into the fan-seat for a > band > that in some years I had forgotten completely. A band whom I spent > most > of my savings on buying singles and rarities during my first trip to > New > York in 1985 yet left me conservatively hesitant about how much to > spend > ($10K for a meet & greet?) for this trip. Whether intentional or not, > the band consistently gave off the aura of, "Yes this is fun, but we'd > really rather be doing something else." In the time since I saw one of the Vancouver shows, which I suppose is over a year now, I can't say that the band has been "re-activated" for me. Like you, over the years I had all but forgotten about The Police, though with the advent of iPods they would occasionally come up on a shuffle play. But the gig, or the reunion as a whole, have not made a lasting impression on me. I think this is partly a matter of the lack of new material, and partly my own shifting musical tastes. I still find it quite incredible that three experienced professional musicians can spend most of a year and a half on tour and not only come up with nothing new, but play essentially the same set list for most of the numerous shows. To me, this signifies that they were really just going through the motions. Did they play together, or even spend time together, offstage? I thought they probably played better in Vancouver in 2007 than they had when I saw them in the same city in August 1983; they were better rehearsed, I believe. But they were no longer relevant, of the moment. Again, the lack of new material was significant; but also, Sting's increasingly unlistenable output hung over the proceedings like a bit of a cloud. It was almost like much of the crowd was letting out a collective sigh of relief. I have a very fond spot for this band; they provided the soundtrack to some key moments in my youth. The obvious tunes were, and are, all important to me; but right now, this is my Police top five, the tunes that I would actually seek out to play on my iPod or stereo: Message in a Bottle (I quite like the live version from the box set) The Bed's Too Big Without You (from the box set) Darkness (an overlooked gem) O My God (I understand this was actually an early song, finally recorded for Syncrhonicity) Tea in the Sahara (a taste of what might have been, and very much still a group) I have always loved Every Little Thing -- it's what got me back into the band after the over-hype of Zenyatta, which turned me off -- but I think I've overplayed it. So that's it, I guess. The years of reunion speculation are over, the reunion itself is over (I don't see any more activity, particularly given Summers' age), and the band becomes a "former band" forever, three eddies and a big wake. Chris

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Final
by Pete Ashdown 08 Aug '08

08 Aug '08

Just a quick note from FATS. The show was great and filled with fun. Sting shaved his beard between encores. They played "Sunshine of Your Love" and "Purple Haze". The band an audience energy was through the roof. If I could have, I would have bought tickets for everyone on the list. More later

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Best Buy live webcast of the encore
by Sweetmomb＠cs.com 07 Aug '08

07 Aug '08

Okay -- so which of you were holding up the "Thank You" signs?! I said to my husband,"I bet I know everyone who's holding up a thank you sign!" Was it my imagination, or did Stewart look relieved? ;-) It was great fun to be there in spirit with those of you lucky enough to have been there in person. Congratulations! Have a great weekend! I look forward to reading your posts! Holly

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The Police - Finale (?)
by foxie 07 Aug '08

07 Aug '08

Steve - Thank you for the post. All - So, tonight's the night. Having seen the fellas three times last year, I am heading to the city of my birth today to see what is alleged to be the last ever concert of the band known as The Police (a/k/a, my favorite band of all time.) I go to it with mixed emotions...emotions that just started this morning. Melancholy - Because after waiting 20+yrs for them to reunite, that reunion allegedly ends tonight. Bitterness - Because I am going into Madison Square Garden tonight knowing that their will be no surprises...that while they may be playing better than ever since the reunion, they are still playing the same songs in the same way. In other words, this monumental event will have no grand finale; they will give themselves (or us) no great sendoff. Wonderment - Because is this really it? Will they ever play again? But must of all Happiness... Happiness because they FINALLY reunited; that I FINALLY saw them play together; that I FINALLY witnessed that rhythm section interact. Happiness because I can go on to the next chapter with this band...whatever that chapter may be, if the book has another chapter in it. And if not...so what? Police fans everywhere are ahead of the game today. We got a reunion that none of us thought we'd get. So be happy... Best, Rich ----- Original Message ---- From: Steve Langele <slangele(a)yahoo.com> To: Pete Ashdown <pashdown(a)xmission.com>; Mailing LIst Police <police(a)mailman.xmission.com> Sent: Thursday, August 7, 2008 1:28:07 AM Subject: Re: [Police] Jones Beach 8/4/07 You know, I have to come out of lurker mode as I normally operate and chime in with my two cents. I don't have any concert review, cause the last show I saw was in Buenos Aires alast December and, although I thought the band was really tight and sounded great, I wasn't too impressed with the crowd's lack of enthusiasm. I'm still in shock that they chose those shows to use for their DVD, as I understand it, but I am thrilled to think I might watch it when it comes out and wonder if I'll be able to see myself in the crowd. Anyways, I digress... I can't hardly believe that over a year has passed since the mayhem began upon these 3 guys announcing that they were getting back together to do a tour. That fact that I got to be a part of their first show, the fan club show, together still boggles my mind. I saw them again in Denver and of course, B.A. But, looking back, I am very saddend that I was not at more shows or more into the whole thing. i always said to myself, "man, if these guys ever get back together, I will be the most diehard fan and be at every show in the front row, etc. etc..." Now, don't get me wrong, I listen to these guys just about every day in my car, or on my iPod or pick up my bass and hammer out Man In A Suitcase or Voices or even try my hand at Message on guitar. (My 6-string skills are not yet up to an Andy Summers level unfortunately. I do dream though.) I love these guys, their music, the success they were able to achieve, etc... I simply missed most of it. The beginning, their tours, etc... And although I said that I would throw myself into a tour headfirst, no-holds-barred, I really didn't. Maybe because I had my first and second child during their tour and it wouldn't really have been too responsible of me to leave my wife to go to a bunch of shows (both boys by the way- I'll be able to have my own 3-piece band and when they get older, they will feel safe in the knoweldge that they were born in the year of the Police reunion 8^) ). Or maybe because I knew that what I was going to be seeing was not what I would have seen during the Police's heyday. I love the fact that they can still jam their tunes out after so many years have passed, but I'm sorta let down by the fact that it is no longer their heyday and it's almost like watching one of these bands play these 4th of July festivals. I guess what I'm trying to say is, whilst lurking, I do read most of the posts that people send in, and although I don't reply or chime in hardly at all, I must say that I sorta wish that I had the enthusiasm that some of you have had and still have. Some of you are non-stop and I wonder where you find the time.. I realize that some of you are younger than I and perhaps, unattached, but I know for a fact that a lot of you are my age or maybe older (trying to be nice- i'm 37) and must have families and demanding jobs/careers. Anyways, I wouldn't have found out a lot of the stuff that I have without this message board, ie. articles, links to websites about these guys, etc... cause I wouldn't have had the time or maybe even taken the time to look for it. Pete Ashdown, especially, I appreciate the link you had to all the bootlegs that I never even knew existed... I'm still working on listening to them all!! I have to get a whole 'nother iPod just to load it up with Police stuff. I wish I had known about this message board years ago, had been a member of the fan clubs, etc... might not have made much of a difference, just help me feel like I didn't miss anything.. Ever since my buddy Brian first played Ghost In The Machine for me back in the early 80s while we were in junior high, I have never stopped listening to these guys. To those of you going to the MSG show tomorrow night, I envy the hell outta ya and hope that it is a great show. I look forward to a lot of comments on the show and will be curious as to how they bid farewell to their fans. I also hope that somebody bootlegs it and that it will be readily available so that those of us less fortunate can share in another piece of Police history. I don't think they'll ever record anything new, I still hope, but I doubt it. I will just have to be satisfied with all that they have given us and just try to play my bass and guitar as close to these guys as possible.... Well, I realize that was probably a rambling mess of a post, but I was suddenly overcome by the urge to contribute after reading Pete's review. I know I never posted much, and I know most of you probably don't know me, but I wish I had taken more time to get to know some of you better. Sounds like this is the end or something, and in a way it almost feels like it. I mean, when the tour is over, then what? I know there will always be more things to talk about, but feels like the ending of yet another Police era. Alright, well, I imagine some of you may share my sentiment, maybe not, but I will look forward to reading some of your replies.... Steve --- On Wed, 8/6/08, Pete Ashdown <pashdown(a)xmission.com> wrote: From: Pete Ashdown <pashdown(a)xmission.com> Subject: [Police] Jones Beach 8/4/07 To: police(a)mailman.xmission.com Date: Wednesday, August 6, 2008, 9:26 PM Sorry this review is a bit late, I'm having too much fun in New York. I saw The Police last Monday at Jones Beach in what was once billed as the "final show". As recent discussion affirms, they are very capable at this stage in the tour. Everything is very tight and all three of them have their chops up to par with what they were 25 or even 30 years ago. Only criticism of the show is the same I had in Salt Lake City, spontaneity is rather lacking. Of course, they never have been much for straying from the part of skilled musicians who are paid to perform. If I recall correctly the set-list was exactly the same as SLC. I noticed the blaring absence of either Synchronicity this time and I couldn't remember if "One World" had been played at all during any of the shows I've seen. I hope we get a fabulous send-off on Thursday and not just the show they've been playing for the past year. The show is really short for a band with five great albums. I'm curious as to how the length compares to that first fan-club show in Vancouver. 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 Everything She Does is Magic Wrapped Around Your Finger De Do Do Do De Da Da Da Invisible Sun Can't Stand Losing You Roxanne King of Pain So Lonely Every Breath You Take Next to You _______________________________________________ Police mailing list Police(a)mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/police

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Jones Beach 8/4/07
by Pete Ashdown 06 Aug '08

06 Aug '08

Sorry this review is a bit late, I'm having too much fun in New York. I saw The Police last Monday at Jones Beach in what was once billed as the "final show". As recent discussion affirms, they are very capable at this stage in the tour. Everything is very tight and all three of them have their chops up to par with what they were 25 or even 30 years ago. Only criticism of the show is the same I had in Salt Lake City, spontaneity is rather lacking. Of course, they never have been much for straying from the part of skilled musicians who are paid to perform. If I recall correctly the set-list was exactly the same as SLC. I noticed the blaring absence of either Synchronicity this time and I couldn't remember if "One World" had been played at all during any of the shows I've seen. I hope we get a fabulous send-off on Thursday and not just the show they've been playing for the past year. The show is really short for a band with five great albums. I'm curious as to how the length compares to that first fan-club show in Vancouver. 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 Everything She Does is Magic Wrapped Around Your Finger De Do Do Do De Da Da Da Invisible Sun Can't Stand Losing You Roxanne King of Pain So Lonely Every Breath You Take Next to You

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Police guitarist: 'We're the same three (jerks) we always were'
by Mitch Darby 06 Aug '08

06 Aug '08

From http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/Music/08/06/police.reunion.tour.ap/index.htm l Police guitarist: 'We're the same three (jerks) we always were' NEW YORK (AP) -- During a lengthy reunion tour that concludes Thursday, The Police didn't necessarily resolve the conflicts that blew apart one of rock's most successful groups nearly 25 years ago. At least its members seem to understand them better. "People don't really change," guitarist Andy Summers told The Associated Press. "We're the same three (jerks) we always were. I'm actually quite proud of the fact that it's gone on as long as it has." The Police had initially planned to end their 30-year reunion tour a year ago in Giants Stadium, bringing full circle to a career where the first U.S. show was in New York's grungy CBGBs nightclub. Things were going so well, both personally and as a business, that they kept adding legs; the reunion tour will end as one of the five biggest money-making rock tours of all time. The full circle idea stuck, however. The 96th and final show of the tour will be in New York's Madison Square Garden <http://topics.cnn.com/topics/Madison_Square_Garden> , a benefit for two local public television stations. At the simplest level, Summers said it has been immensely satisfying to see the faces of fans who had grown up listening to songs like "Roxanne," "Don't Stand So Close To Me" and "Every Breath You Take." "I'm in front of the stage and you literally see people break out into sobs or kiss each other and jump around expressing joy," he said. "It's been quite emotional in many ways." Some things never change: Summers was stuck in the middle between the "two kids scrapping on either side," headstrong singer and composer Sting and drummer Stewart Copeland, the volatile anchor of the band's meld of punk rock, reggae and jazz. Copeland is a visceral musician, one who sees music as a spontaneous exercise of joy and who loves the creative process. Copeland views Sting as a musical genius, but one sure of his ideas and not really interested in collaboration. Now that Copeland has spent several years composing film music <http://topics.cnn.com/topics/Music> , hiring musicians to play exactly the notes he wrote, he can understand why he drives Sting nuts. "When he exercises his right to have it the way he imagined it, it's a problem for both him and me," he said. "I just can't do it. I can't remember it. I have my own ideas. I'm incorrigible." When he was 25 years old, he couldn't understand all this, said Copeland, now 56. Sting, Copeland and Summers would occasionally socialize after the band broke up in 1984, "but not really to the extent where we were able to clear up all of our misconceptions about each other," he said. "It was really good for us to figure out what made the band work and what didn't work, so we could appreciate each other unconfused by these other issues." Working with Sting has been inspiring, he said, "but, man, I need to breathe sometimes." He doesn't want to overemphasize the conflicts, because Copeland said they've really been having a good time on the road. Copeland gave another hint to his personality when he trashed the band's performance over the Internet after the first couple of gigs. "We are the mighty Police and we are totally at sea," he wrote on his blog. The last leg of the tour has contained the best shows, he said. "As we're getting more into it and less uptight about living the legend, it is actually becoming the stuff that got us here," he said. So is this really the end? "Yes," Copeland said. "It was the commitment in the beginning that made it possible, that it was a finite commitment. That has actually made it a lot of fun." Same question to Summers. Is this really the end? Yes, but ... Maybe it's because he's seen the history of bands like the Eagles, who are now a fully functioning recording and touring unit again after once saying hell would freeze over before they would reunite. "I'm fully prepared to say that was it, we're fine and we're done," Summers said. "On the other hand, I'm fully prepared if someone comes back in a couple of years and says we ought to give it a go. You have to consider it. "A lot of bands, like the Eagles and probably numerous other ones, everyone sort of matures and they realize that it's fantastic business and the impetuosity that comes with being very young and walking away from something that is really successful, you kind of get over that." He said he doesn't expect it to happen, but "that's the model that's out there for me."

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