Hello All, It is about 12 hours since the Police left the stage last night in Oakland. This is my first chance to sit down and write about last night. I will probably ramble, so stick with me if you can. I hadn't paid much attention to the starting time of the show. I thought it was 7:30pm. As I headed out the door to take my son to the baby sitter, I noticed the start time of 6:30pm. Now I am rushed and in a panic. It was not quite what I had in mind for my first Police concert since 1983. After dropping my son off, riding BART, picking up my Best Buy VIP Zone pass (which I never used), getting molested by security (I hoped they enjoyed it too), and using the restroom, I reached my seat just as Fiction Plane hit the stage. I have never listened to them. Not bad for an opening act, especially at a "lunch hour" time slot. A stadium is just too big a place to enjoy a band like Fiction Plane. I walked around (shuffled around slowly is more likely) after Fiction Plane left the stage. So, I missed most of the second act (who were they?). They had quite a bit of energy, but all their songs began the same way with the guitar and drum intro. It got a bit predictable. It seemed like forever before the Police began their set. Here is the setlist: Message In A Bottle Synchronicity II Don't Stand So Close to Me Voices Inside My Head When The World Is Running Down Spirits In The Material World Driven To Tears Walking On The Moon Truth Hits Everybody Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic Wrapped Around Your Finger The Bed's Too Big Without You De Do Do Do De Da Da Da Invisible Sun Walking in Your Footsteps Can't Stand Losing You Roxanne Encore 1 King Of Pain So Lonely Emcore 2 Every Breath You Take Emcore 3 Next To You Hearing Message In A Bottle live for the first time in 24 years brought tears to my eyes, as I know it has done for others. There were some real gems in the set. Voices>When the World... & Driven To Tears highlighted Andy's guitar work. He never seemed to really have those opportunities for solos in the past with the Police. Something else I noticed was that Andy never put down his red strat. The sound is much different than the tele. But, its sound is so much of Andy's sound in his post Police material, from his Private Music recordings to his Munk recordings. I rather enjoyed it. Another gem was Invisible Sun. It has always been one of my favorites from Ghost In the Machine. And it didn't disappoint last night. The video on the screens was very much like the original video, just with images of Iraq instead of Northern Ireland. The rest of the songs didn't really stand out one way or another, except for Wrapped Around Your Finger. I couldn't tell if there was a huge pile-up on I-880, or if it was the set coming to a screeching halt. In my opinion, this song was the set killer. Don't Stand and Every Little Thing (Stewart's drumming in the chorus reminded me of a conga line) weren't bad. I was expecting worse based on previous posts. Sting's bass playing is better than ever. Stewart's drumming continues to amaze, and Andy sound was more evident than ever before. To me, it just seemed to be more of a Sting solo performance than a Police performance. Maybe that is because I have seen Sting numerous times over the last twenty years. Maybe it was the large venue. Maybe it was only the second week of the tour. It is going to take some time to erase 23 years of them playing solo. I imagine over time they will continue to gel and recapture their original identity. I hope I am able to see them later on in the tour to see and hear this progression. I don't mean for this to be negative, as I stated before I would ramble. I still have three more shows to attend next week. I hope to see them more later on in the tour. I am so grateful to have this opportunity to see the Police. I have held out hope for 24 years for something I tought would NEVER happen, and I have been greatly rewarded. I hope to see some of you in Los Angeles next week. Thanks For Reading, Matt Giller PS. Is anyone recording the shows on the tour? If so, please contact me. I believe we can help each other out, if you know what I mean.