Eavesdrop on some of the conversation as four high-school friends travel to see The Police perform at the Bell Centre in Montreal.

Mark, Jay, Franc and Tom recall memories of The Police, being in bands, Loverboy on Good Rockin’ Tonight (with Terry David Mulligan), brushes with celebrity and going to concerts including Sting, Rolling Stones, The Who, Billy Idol and KISS. A post concert analysis takes place on the drive home.

This show qualifies as iTunes explicit.

 

 Roadtrip to see The Police [30:40m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

I waited twenty-five years to see The Police and it was worth every minute of the wait (though, it would have been amazing to see them perform during their original run). I have the photos, memories and the $40 t-shirt (I know, I know) to prove I was there — the July 25th show at Montreal’s Bell Centre.

It’s amazing that three people can create such incredible music. The degree of complexity, simplicity, depth of sound and open spaces is astounding. It’s no wonder The Police have cemented their place in music history and that people are flocking to their shows in amazing numbers and at record rates — makes you think that Sting, Stewart and Andy should seriously consider long term plans including another studio album and a supporting tour.

I was relieved to figure out that the critics of the tour have it all wrong. They have complained about reworked and experimental versions of the hits. Anyone who has seen The Police live, or has watched or listened to any of their live recordings between ‘78 and ‘84 will know very well that the band has always explored, experimented and reworked songs in their live act. In fact, Regatta De Blanc (the song) evolved out of the extension of live version of Can’t Stand Losing You. I will concede that Don’t Stand So Close To Me was a bit dull with the leveled vocal range, and that the smoothed-out singing in Truth Hits Everybody and Next To You took away from their edginess.

Stewart performed in a shirt that read “Leroy Coolbreeze”, the nickname of his brother, Ian, who was the booking agent for The Police (among others). Sadly, Ian lost his fight with skin cancer in May 2006. If those shirts were available for sale at the concert, I would have bought one.

I did the road trip to Montreal for the concert with three high school friends. During the drive to Montreal we recorded some of our thoughts about The Police and concerts. On the way home, we did an impromptu review of the concert. I’ll release some of that audio as a podcast on this site in the next few days.

Would I see The Police, again? Without a doubt.

Click here to see my photos from the concert.
Click here to see photos in the Flickr Police Reunion Tour 2007 group.

From STLtoday.com, the online version of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, comes this excerpt of an interview with Stewart Copeland in which he was asked about his candid review of the first full-length concert of The Police reunion tour.

Q: Do you stand behind what you wrote on your blog about the band’s Vancouver show?

A: It was a private little joke on my private little site. A lot of artists have their own little sites, and mine is where I write a review of all the things I do and where I might give myself terrible reviews.

I might go through a show with a big smile, but an amp might have gone out and it might be what I call a disaster gig. And the audience has no idea. So I was just sharing this inside gag with a few people, and Reuters picked it up and misrepresented it.

Q: How did Sting and Andy react to the blog?

A: My two buddies have a sense of humor. They first heard about it from the wrong side, but then they got it. We can truly say we’re our own harshest critics, and that was the worst review we got. And it was a great gig anyway.

And, for my friend AJ of the Bob and AJ Show, here is the closing quote from the interview.

Q: What reunion would you like to see happen?

A: ABBA. I’m only sort of half-kidding. They did some really good pop songs, though they’re probably pretty ugly now. But we were ugly, too, and we’re still playing.

Photo: fboosman

There is a lot of excitement in the press and on the web about a forum post by Police drummer Stewart Copeland about the rough spots on the first gig of the Police reunion tour (see OUR FIRST DISASTER GIG!)

Critics of the post — and there are MANY — have decided that the post has doomed the tour and that Stewart is antagonizing bandmates Sting and Andy Summers through his remarks. They fail to recognize that the post is both humble and self-deprecating. It’s an honest and humourous look at the first full length concert performance by the band in twenty-three years — that they have to build up their endurance, learn their stage setup and get over their nervous energy of the beginning of a long and demanding tour.

What the critics have failed to acknowledge (or perhaps realize) is that the post is extremely positive. It illustrates the excitement and commitment of the band and the fans. Everyone is getting geared up and the wrinkles are getting ironed out. There also seems to be a recognition that now is the time to fix things up, at the beginning of the tour when mistakes are expected and forgiven.

I am happy to see that Stewart is embracing the new media mindset and is apparently trying to include everyone in the excitement of The Police reunion tour. I hope that all of this controversy that some people have invented doesn’t force the band to keep to itself during the tour and take issue with fans that are posting concert videos, audio and photos on the web.

Photo: Kris Krug (see his Police photos here) — Great photos, Kris! Thanks!