The old songs didn't quite play themselves at The Police's sold-out reunion show in South Florida. The Police play arresting show at Dolphin Stadium. (c) The Beacon (The Student Newspaper of FIU) by Ever Cruz
Maybe he's just lost that rock 'n' roll attitude that made him and The Police one of the greatest artists of all time and that's why the show was just good, not great. Maybe the problem is the fact that Sting hasn't played with his old band in so many years, or it's just because he has gone on to have a successful career singing ballads, spiritual and adult contemporary music. The biggest problems, though, were the alterations of a lot of songs and lack of band-audience interaction. A smaller venue such as an arena would've probably made a huge difference for the better, preventing the artist from being too far away from the audience. Overall, the show was good, but it could've been great. The band saved their best numbers toward the end: 'King of Pain' and their most famous 'Every Breath You Take', which suffered a bit from the band toning back down. The highest points of the show were when the band performed a right-on, excellent 'Can't Stand Losing You', an extended 'So Lonely', and an out-of-control, scorching 'Next To You', which channeled their early punk roots.Īt this point of the concert, the smell of marijuana kept getting stronger, too. When 'Roxanne' came blasting through, the audience jumped into frenzy, singing along only to become quiet moments later when the band transformed the song into an extended jazz-like number that toned down the noise.
The most notable change was heard on numbers such as 'Don't Stand So Close To Me', which the whole band or maybe just Sting turned into an even mellower jazzy version of the 1986 re-recording.Įven the reggae-fueled 'Walking On The Moon' was reduced to a quieter, extended version as the marijuana smell filled the air.
It's been 23 years since The Police last toured, and, although Sting has stated this is simply a reunion tour, they are a different band.īesides the fact that they are older, they have lost their raw punky attitude and this loss was especially evident in some alterations they did to certain songs during the set. As for the band's leader, Sting, 55, still sounds the same as the young man from the late 70's and early 80's, but he lacked interaction with the audience, almost as if he just wanted the audience to stare in amazement. Summers, on the other hand, was cool, calm and collected, showcasing his guitar craftsmanship. Throughout the set, the musicians were on point, especially Copeland who still has that flair and youthfulness of the drummer he was nearly 30 years ago. More than 40,000 people packed the place to watch The Police perform. It took just three guys - Sting on bass, Andy Summers on guitar and Stewart Copeland on drums - to bring back the noise and power of rock 'n' roll as the smell of beer, sweat and some illegal substance filled the air at Dolphin Stadium July 10.