The Police Part II

This is not my picture, but rather courtesy of a person whose name completely escapes me on the Creative Commons.

Here is my disjointed account of the concert:

I always forget to bring my camera when it matters. LK took some pics on her phone, but we could have brought a bazooka, and they would not have cared. They even did not scan our tix, but just tore them off, in the old-fashioned way. For some reason I am still stuck in the era of concertgoing when they frisked your bags with intensity akin to airport security, and I always forget they don't care about cameras anymore.

BTW, what is it with people taking pics of themselves at concerts? Who cares that you are sitting in a sea of other people in a stadium? Wouldn't it be better to take pics of the band? Just a thought.

Friction Plane, Joe Sumner's band, opened. Not my kind of music, but Joe looks, sounds AND moves on stage like his dad. Genetics are an interesting thing. Nobody in the stadium cared about Friction Plane, unfortunately, as the average demographic was 40.

Umm, what I said yesterday about "wrapped around your finger"? Absolutely true. Haunting, beautiful, a religious experience. I think it was the best performance of the set, with Roxanne being a close second, and Every Breath You Take fitting for the encore. The actual closer for the set was Next To You, which I don't know well, but it totes did not matter, because the showmanship was excellent, and the light show looked like a fireworks finale.

Everyone said how Sting can't hit the high notes anymore, and it's true, he can't. Not in "Walking On The Moon" anyway. But do we really care? Didn't think so.

The stage design was clean - I love it when bands use white light and graphics, because white is so effective. Don't get me wrong, there was lots of colour as well. In addition to the screens and scores of automated light rigs above the stage there were six hydraulic platforms with moving lights upstage, providing interesting backlight. These cracked me up slightly, because they were oval, and at times they moved between songs in the dark, looking like menacing UFOs. However, in my book, U2 takes the prize for light shows and graphics.

I kept wondering if Stewart was not having a good time playing, as the man never cracked a smile. Andy was clearly enjoying himself, and Sting is just...Sting. When we saw him at the Orpheum, he played for two hours straight without breaking a sweat. I guess (tantric) yoga really pays off. However, for the bows all three laughed and thanked the audience, Stewart beating his chest over his heart, and Andy taking photos of the audience. So I guess Mr. Copeland just needed to concentrate really hard on keeping up with the pace of the concert?

Fenway Park as a concert venue? Rather poor, I felt. I hope nobody I like ever plays there again, because you can't really see the performers unless you are in the $500 field seats. Mind you, we had good seats, but I've been spoiled by smaller venues (even the Garden has better vantage points, and it's HUUGE). The sound was great though.

Yesterday's sighting of shirtless Sting was a bonus, because tonight the shirt stayed on. The man's bass looks like he fought a battle with it, all chipped and chewed up. But neither he nor Andy changed their guitars during the show, which I found unusual - most acts I've seen in the last few years change instruments multiple times during the show, either to achieve a different sound, or as a preference thing. On the other hand, Stewart threw his drumsticks around like candy, almost after every song.

Pet peeve of the evening - a couple in their early 20s texting incessantly in the seats in front of us. The girl must have sent 40 messages. What could POSSIBLY be so important to text every three minutes? For fuck's sake, the concert was only 2 hours long! Can you really NOT go without talking to others for two hours? I was reading over their shoulders, since the phone screens were annoying the crap out of me, and the girl was composing things such as "btw are you moving 2morow?" and getting responses like "i heart you"! I saw that the guy was writing a set list, which is silly, because it's posted on Wikipedia, and they did not deviate.

All in all, an excellent evening. This particular concert redeems my next musical indulgence - Justin Timberlake at the Garden in two weeks. I'll report on him bringing sexy back in a totally different way from Sting...

The Police Part I

As the entire universe should know, The Police were playing Fenway Park tonight. LK and I have tix for tomorrow night, and as we live within a stone's throw of said park, we thought we'd enjoy the concert remotely, as a little preview. There was some question as to whether or not the torrential rains that knocked out our power will allow for the concert to go on, but by 6 pm all was well.

We went out to dinner, and as we were passing behind the Green Monster on our way back home, the ethereal voice of Gordon Sumner (aka Sting) filled the entire neighborhood. It was seriously akin to G_d speaking to you about being "wrapped around your finger." I have this T-shirt from the last Sting concert we attended that says "There is no religion but Sex and Music", and it felt quite to the point.

We stopped to listen, and stayed for the rest of the set. Right before the encore, we noticed a limo cortege pulling up to Gate C, which is right at the edge of the stage. The same limos with police escort we saw at 6 pm entering the park. Hmm, coincidence? We walked over, parked ourselves on the sidewalk, and our patience was rewarded. The band exited the stage right out of Gate C after the last song, and Sting stopped and (very consciously and exuberantly) waved at the fans (us and maybe 50 or so others) right before getting into the vehicle. He was shirtless. And hot. Andy and Stewart were right behind. Lots of screaming ensued, much of it from women AND men standing around us. The van pulled out of the gate, and all 3 members of the band actively waved at us as they passed.

I am not a celebrity stalker. Celebrity doesn't really phase me. I find most celebrities to be as flawed (and maybe more) as the rest of us, and respect their privacy. I also fully realize that what makes them a celebrity is a talent in a particular field, just as the we all talented in our own, not quite as glamorous, fields. But as Sting was standing by the side of the van, LK turned to me and said "Ok, I am straight right now." And I wholeheartedly agreed. If I was alive during the height of Beatlemania, I would have been one of those girls waiting hours for the band to arrive/depart. As it is, we will thoroughly enjoy ourselves tomorrow night.