The Police Reunion Concert (2007)

Many years ago, there was a band. It was a great band. It was a band that was based on anger and loneliness. Every song they did seemed to be about, in one way or another, being lonely. From the first strains of their first single, “Fallout,” to the final notes of the last song on their last album, “Murder By Numbers.” These guys just couldn’t catch a break. Hell, I remember really listening to “Message In A Bottle” when I was a teenager (quite a while after its release, thank you very much) and finally realizing that I WASN’T the only one who felt that way. It was absolutely a musical epiphany!

Then, something happened. They broke up. And their leader did something that no one ever thought possible.

He got happy.

The anger still fueled a few of his songs, but the loneliness was gone. He made four very good solo albums. But, for the last 15 years, he’s been, well….too fucking happy.

Which is why it seemed so strange that Sting would decide that it was finally time to patch things up with his old bandmates and tour. The Police were a band of their time. Sure, their music is pretty timeless. Listening to Synchronicity today hardly belies its nearly 25 years. But they probably wouldn’t survive today. Hell, they barely survived in the 70s and 80s. They nearly killed each other the last time they tried this back in 1986. One song got recorded, a new version of their hit “Don’t Stand So Close To Me.” Then everything fell apart.

But that doesn’t seem to be happening this time. Sting, Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers actually seemed…happy to be together.

And it was weird.

(By the way, for anyone who is counting their original guitarist, Henri Padovani, played on that first single. He was kicked out soon after and Andy took his place.)

After nearly 25 years of fighting, The Police are back together and touring. And it’s pretty fucking amazing. They opened with “Message In A Bottle” and never looked back after that. Occasionally they even dug a little deep into their five albums worth of music. They did a quick bit of “Voices Inside My Head” as an intro to “When The World Is Running Down, You Make The Best Of What’s Still Around” and an audience participation version of the instrumental “Reggata de Blanc.” They also dredged up “Hole In My Heart” and “Truth Hits Everybody” from their first album, Outlandos d’Amour, from 1978.

It would have been interesting if they had done a bit more digging, but that’s not what this concert was about. This was about the hits and hearing these three amazing musicians getting back to what they’re good at: playing together. It was about giving the fans what they wanted.

And we got just about all of the hits. The only glaring omission was really “Spirits In A Material World.” But they did it’s companion piece, “Invisible Sun.” I could have done without the cherubic Third World kids being flashed on the jumbotron, though.

As usual for The Police, nothing here seemed by the book. All of the songs were reworked a bit and, for the most part, sounded great for it. (The aforementioned “When The World Is Running Down…” was a bit odd, but still good.) “Wrapped Around Your Finger” with the new percussion arrangement and spiderweb lighting was especially good and was probably the highlight of the night.

The only thing missing from the show was the anger. The Police were a very angry band. And, now that everyone is all grown up and have been away from each other for a while, they’re all so happy. Stewart, with his mane of grey hair, even ran to Sting as they walked off the stage and nearly jumped on his back. Sting squirted water on Andy’s face while he was playing and Andy laughed. It was great to see.

But it did take a bit away from the music. These songs (“Walking On The Moon” really being the only exception to the rule of loneliness) were meant to be played by mad, lonely people. But Sting, Stewart and Andy are no longer the Kings Of Pain. The anger was gone, which means that the meaning behind some of the music wasn’t quite there.

That did not, however stop me from enjoying the hell out of the concert. These guys are still amazing and can rock the fuck out. Losing their anger is a pretty small complaint, as far as I’m concerned. I still welcome a new album if they decide to do one. Happy Sting with Happy Police HAS to be better than Happy Sting solo. No more fucking medieval music! (Everyone will be glad to know that there were no mandolins at this concert.)

By the way, I was very happy to see so many kids at the concert. There was a 13 or 14 year old sitting next to me who was definitely there because his dad dragged him there (although he did seem to be quietly enjoying it) and a 9 or 10 year old and his little brother behind me. THOSE two were enjoying the hell out of themselves, pumping their fists and clapping along the whole time. In fact, when “Can’t Stand Losing You” started, the older brother went CRAZY!!

It does my heart good to see kids being brought up right. (Although, how many kids that age would have been allowed into a Police concert when they started out? Oh well. We all get older and safer.)