> 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
