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July 29, 2007
Concert Review: The Police at Fenway Park
If you believe the worst of the rumors, the members of the Police spend most of their downtime on the tour bus smashing bottles and going after one another with the jagged glass. But whatever happens offstage, it doesn't seem to affect the show. The Police reunion tour hit Fenway Park for the first of two nights, and they've hardly lost a step.
The best part of a reunion that nobody thought would ever happen is that there's no new album in the works, and none of the concert is devoted to trying out new stuff. The Police know their hits, they know the fans want to hear the hits, and the hits are what they play. They launched right into it, blasting out "Message In A Bottle" and "Synchronicity II", followed by a mellow "Walking On the Moon" (with a bit of celestial assistance, as the moon hung large and red over the right field roof boxes).
There was some criticism early in this tour that the band was getting a little too experimental, letting songs drift off into unfamiliar directions. Not so much at Fenway; sure, they played around with "Roxanne" a bit, but they always do that. The biggest disappointment of the night was probably "Don't Stand So Close To Me"; Sting doesn't reach for the high notes anymore that really kick that song into high gear, and for that one song, he sounded suspiciously like a 55-year-old man.
But he more than made up for it with fantastic performances of "Invisible Sun" and "Wrapped Around Your Finger" (which included Stewart Copeland, more animated than drummers usually are, really exploring the space). When they cranked the rock back on for "Can't Stand Losing You", the mood was so good that we might have even caught Sting and guitarist Andy Summers smiling at one another.
The encore had even more good vibes, as the Police rocked out "King Of Pain", "So Lonely" and "Every Breath You Take" (punctuated by some nitwits trying to spend some time on the fenced-off infield; we know how disappointed Joe Castiglione would be). The second encore was a no-nonsense "Next To You", and the band was definitely smiling as they took their final bows. Who knows if the good feeling will last until tomorrow.
Fiction Plane opened the show with a nice set. Lead singer Joe Sumner may or may not want to be constantly compared to his dad (better known as Sting), but the similarities are too obvious to be ignored. Maybe Joe could have come out and helped Pop with some of the higher notes.
(as seen @ Bostonist and BostonNOW.)
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Comments
Nice to see this review and glad that you enjoyed the show. Hope that the weather held out.
Posted by: Vin | July 29, 2007 10:57 AM
Just got a little soaked between the bus and dinner. No rain at all during the show. Have I mentioned - THANK YOU?
Posted by: michael | July 29, 2007 03:39 PM
