Next to 20,000 other Police Fans

Saw The Police on Tuesday at the Excel Center in St. Paul, MN. Pretty awesome show, but I'm biased. I must have been in my early teens when I heard Zenyatta Mondatta and something clicked. I had to play the drums after that.

So whatever diet/exercise regimine Sting is using works. He's, what, 60? He looks awesome. He sounds awesome. It was interesting hearing his stadium rig, too. They clearly augmented the bass sound with lots of low end synth to boost coverage and weight in such a large room. I call it "slab tone." 

It was also nice to hear them rework their songs. They didn't just play the old, recorded versions. Every tune had some fresh rhythm, orchestration or harmony. Of course the lyrics are familiar, but the reworking gave the set some appreciated energy.

Andy Summers surprised me -- I had forgotten what a knowledgeable, yet soulful soloist he can be. Stewart appeared to have a cold. At least, that's what he looked like on the big screens. I've played with a cold and it ain't any fun. Didn't look like Stewart was having fun. But he did smile a lot at the end. And, of course, his playing was brilliant. Drums sounded fantastic as well. (Much better than the drums for Fiction Plane, who opened.)

The crowd was pretty old, however. Lots of guys losing their hair, but screaming their hearts out.

But that's the way of the world, now, isn't it?

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UPDATE:  Interesting negative review of the St. Paul show in the StarTribune. But apparently the fans, like me, who saw the show totally disagree with the negative review. (Link also includes video and set list from the show.)